2024 Haydock Saturday Preview and Tips – DS
2024 Haydock Saturday Preview
Good Friday by name, crap Friday by nature. Bar Misty Grey, either the races weren’t run to suit, they ended up on the wrong side of the track or else they just ran absolute stinkers. After such a tough day we are going to tread with caution on Saturday. Musselburgh is off and ITV are only showing dirt races from Meydan and one flat race from Cork so we are going to focus on the jumps. 2024 Haydock Saturday tips are below.
2.05 Haydock – 2 mile Hurdle Series Final (Class 2)
The ground is soft at Haydock and that should pose no problems for the fav here, Brentford Hope. He’s won three of his last six over hurdles and he won doing handstands off 135 last time out. He’s now 5lbs higher and he carries 12 stone here so he’s going to need to improve again. That is a distinct possibility though and the strong travelling son of Camelot is the one to beat.
Are any of the outsiders worth backing? Holly hails from a shrewd yard but I suspect she wants nicer ground than this. Salsada is another one that would like faster conditions and El Jefe looks handicapped to the hilt. The only one that you could make half a case for is the rag, Three Cliffs Bay.
Ffos Las Winner
By Jukebox Jury, this horse was beat 33l on his hurdles debut at Hereford (16f gd) last October. He left that well behind in a Ffos Las novice next time, beating Steel Ally by 1.5L off level weights on heavy ground at 25/1. The first two pulled well clear and the runner up has since won a Novice and was beat a neck off 124 at Newbury last week.
Since then, Evan Williams’ charge has been seen just three times. He ran ok under a penalty back at Ffos Las over 20f, finishing 7L behind the Albert Bartlett runner up The Jukebox Man. Good ground was no use to him next time at Taunton and then he managed to qualify for this race when 4th on heavy at Chepstow.
In form James Turner takes off 7lbs and that means Three Cliffs Bay effectively runs off 107 here, negating the fact he is 3lbs wrong. If he could repeat either of his last two Ffos Las runs, he could be very well treated and his odds of 20/1 are big enough to warrant an e/w interest for small stakes.
2024 Haydock Saturday Tip: Three Cliffs Bay e/w @ 20/1
2.40 Haydock – Stayers Hurdle Series Final (Class 2)
It has been a while since the Gardners have had a Saturday horse but in Astronomic View, it looks like they have found one. Lucy rides this son of Schiaparelli for her Mum and he absolutely hosed up on soft ground at Warwick (26f) last time out. Conditions look ideal for him again and an 8lb rise for that win three weeks ago looks fair. I’d just worry that maybe this race may come too soon for him.
Martha Brae also ran in that Warwick race and she was sent off at just 9/2 for it. She was under pressure almost from the outset and while she did run on a bit at the finish for third, she was over 30L behind the winner.
The assessor left her mark alone after that run but Heidi Palin takes off 7lbs now. She has had twenty rides for Dan Skelton, winning on four of them. With her claim Martha Brae is effectively 2lbs lower than when winning at Kempton at Xmas and she ran with credit in a G2 on bad ground behind Botox Has on her sole previous run at Haydock back in February. At odds of 25/1, she is a speculative e/w selection.
2024 Haydock Saturday Tip: Martha Brae e/w @ 25/1 (4 places)
3.15 Haydock – Middle Distance Veterans’ Chase Series Finale (Class 2)
A trappy race and none of those at bigger prices make much appeal. Pink Legend would prefer better ground, Top Ville Ben is capable if on a going day but he is too hard to predict these days. Daly Tiger hasn’t finished closer than 20L behind a winner since leaving Noel Meade and this trip probably stretches Le Ligerien on this ground.
The rest are priced up at 13/2 or shorter so for me, this is a no bet race.
