The weekend is go time for punters and Saturday’s race card features events at Newbury, Newcastle, Wolverhampton and Naas. As per the usual routine, we’ve been digging through previous form to find angles to provide you with the top horse racing tips of the day alongside odds from the best sports betting sites in the UK.
Below, we’ve laid out our top three horse racing predictions for today’s action, including a tasty 9/1 longer shot.
Best Tip #1: Cover Up – Newcastle 6.45
Cover Up will start as favourite from 12 runners after dinner at Newcastle and the 4-year-old – who runs out of John Gosden’s prolific stable – won at Windsor in August last year before moving up a class to win at Lingfield a couple of months later on his third handicap start.
Cover Up remains at the same grade for Newcastle and could be difficult to out-manoeuvre.
Other contenders include Pepsi Cat, who completed a hat-trick of wins with a triumph at Newcastle last month. The 5-year-old has finished first, first and second on her last three trips at the track and deserves respect.
Henery Hawk is also a previous winner at Newcastle (Jan & Feb), and should garner attention on betting apps despite carrying a 5lb increase.
| Bookmaker | Odds |
| Betzone UK | 2/1 |
| Planet Sport Bet | 2/1 |
| Fitzdares | 2/1 |
Best Tip #2: Its On The Line – Naas 4.15
Eddie Mullins’ Its On The Line came up trumps twice in this category back in 2022 and made strides to become a powerful contender last season, recording two point-to-point wins at Punchestown and Down Royal in a pair of 2m chases.
A hattrick chance might be too much of a prize to turn down for the in-form seven-year-old and with a well of stamina to pull from, he is taken to deliver on his promise.
Some other votes might go in the direction of Hitak, who looks prepared to cope with the step up in class. The 7-year-old comes from excellent stock and beat favourites twice last year.
Battleoverdoyen meanwhile, is short on form, but as a previous Grade 1 winner in novice hurdle and chase events, should be watched with one eye at least.
| Bookmaker | Odds |
| Betzone UK | 6/4 |
| Planet Sport Bet | 11/10 |
| Fitzdares | 11/10 |
Best Roughie: Lookaway – Newbury 3.15
A previous dual Grade 2 winner, 7-year-old Lookaway has form figures of 11122 this season and was runner-up on soft ground at both Cheltenham and Newbury in Class 1 events over 2m and 2m 5f.
Neil King’s charge is taken to go one better on those performances here in a race that has typically favoured horses with more experience over hurdles. Conditions are expected to be heavy today, which should suit him.
Spirit D’aunou shouldn’t be discounted either and has strong credentials following a streak of wins last year, including two firsts at Sandown. A 10lb rise for the 5-year-old demands some caution there, however.
Elsewhere, Ocastle Des Mottes could threaten out of Willie Mullins’ top class yard. Still unexposed, Ocastle Des Mottes was a regular winner on French soil last year.
| Bookmaker | Odds |
| Betzone UK | 9/1 |
| Planet Sport Bet | 9/1 |
| Fitzdares | 9/1 |
Stats and Insights
- Horses with plenty of stamina tend to excel at Newcastle and runners equipped with staying power are always worthy of attention when mining predictions for the circuit in the north east. Both the chase and hurdle tracks at Newcastle are left-handed and the stamina comes into play over the final furlong which runs up an incline.
- The track at Newbury is also a left-hander for both Flat and National Hunt races, though the Flat has a straight run of around a mile for horses to contend with. Naturally, that set-up can give an advantage to galloping types and ground can be made up from the back on occasion.
- Naas is the third left-handed circuit of the day and another track that is a good fit for gallopers. There is a four furlong straight to overcome that includes a steep uphill final flourish. The calls for stamina to get horses over the line, so factor that in if you’re availing of any betting websites offers.
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