2025 Leopardstown & Musselburgh Saturday Tips

What a fantastic couple of days racing we have this weekend. Yellow Car ensured we didn’t go home empty handed last weekend and Dave Stevos is hoping to find more winners at the Dublin Racing Festival, Sandown and Musselburgh on Saturday. He has previewed all the major races, check out his 2025 Leopardstown & Musselburgh Saturday preview below.

1.15 Leopardstown – Nathaniel Lacy Novice Hurdle (Grade 1)

Final Demand is a warm order to get Willie Mullins off to a flyer at the DRF. The form of his facile Limerick win has worked out nicely and Paul Townend has decided to ride. If Final Demand does fluff his lines, in all likelihood Mullins will still get off to a flyer.

Not only does he train the second fav, Supersundae, he also trains the third and fourth horses in the betting, Sounds Victorius and Jasmin De Vaux. Mullins also has a 50/1 outsider, so he really does have all eventualities covered.

Can anything upset the Mullins’ applecart? I rate World Of Fortunes but she’d make a lot more appeal on proper good ground. Wingmen landed a nice place for us at Naas last time out but this trip on this ground might stretch him. One that might outrun her odds is the Declan Queally trained mare, Mozzies Sister.

Smart Bumper Form

She has some smart bumper form in the book and she got off the mark over hurdles at the first attempt at Galway in October. Queally wasted no time stepping her up into Grade 2 company at Navan (2m4f, sft) and she ran a pleasing race to finish a 5l third behind The Yellow Clay. I liked how she stayed on after the last that day and Queally must have too because he stepped her up in trip at Limerick over Christmas.

She again ran a nice race, beaten 4.25l into second by The Big Westerner who is 10/1 for the Albert Bartlett. I think she got outpaced on that flatter track and I am hoping that even though Saturday’s race is a furlong shorter, it might become more of a stamina test. If it does, I can see Mozzies Sister running a big race and with odds of 10/1 on offer, she is the each way selection.

2025 Leopardstown & Musselburgh Saturday Tip: Mozzies Sister e/w @ 10/1 NAP

1.42 Musselburgh – Scottish Triumph Hurdle (Listed)

An interesting race in which a case can be made for a few. Harry Derham’s French recruit Maitre On Science is on a hat-trick but lacks a recent outing and is untried on decent ground. Nardaran is surely capable of better than he showed at Kempton last month and the addition of cheekpieces might help him to settle better.

At double figure odds, perhaps Hasaamm can go well for Adrian Keatley and Brian Hughes. This son of Zoffany was a decent operator on the level, winning a Newbury maiden (10f, good) and finishing runner up in a Doncaster novice over 1m4f on good to soft. He was awarded a rating of 93 for those two runs but he failed to make an impact in two handicaps, although soft ground may not have suited in the second one.

Distracted

On his hurdling bow at Catterick he was sent off the 10/11 fav. All appeared to be going to plan on the run to the second last, he seemed to be travelling powerfully, but he may have got distracted by a horse running out on through the wings of the hurdle on his outside and he completely lost concentration and more crucially, momentum. He did pick up again to finish second but there is no doubt that incident had a big bearing on the outcome of the race.

In his second start over hurdles he got off the mark by a head. He came there hard on the bridle but paddled through the last and for a moment it looked like he had thrown his winning chance away. Hughes managed to galvanise him though and he got him up close to home.

The bare form of his two races isn’t exactly top class but given what he did wrong in both starts, if he gets his jumping right and focuses on the job, there could be a big performance in this horse. He’s only been handed a rating off 110 but if he puts it altogether, he has the natural ability to rate a whole lot higher than that. At odds of 14/1, Hasaamm is the e/w selection.

2025 Leopardstown & Musselburgh Saturday Tip: Hasaamm e/w @ 14/1

1.50 Leopardstown – Juvenile Hurdle (Grade 1)

We are already on Galileo Dame ante-post for this race. JJ Slevin rides and while she hasn’t been strong in the betting (yet) I am more than happy to stick rather than twist. You can find my reasoning for tipping her by clicking here.

2025 Leopardstown & Musselburgh Saturday Tip: Galileo Dame already advised e/w @ 16/1

2.17 Musselburgh – Scottish County Handicap Hurdle (Class 2)

I am going to take a chance on one at a monster price in this handicap hurdle. Rewired has been tumbling down the weights since joining Tristan Davison from Dr Newland & Insole. He started out for his current yard off 124 at Wetherby in November and was beaten 21l. His last three starts, all on unsuitably soft ground, have resulted in similar heavy defeats and he was given 5lb back for his last run at Haydock!

This time almost exactly a year ago Rewired was winning a class 4 Taunton handicap by 5.5l off 120. Two starts later at Aintree he ran a huge race in a class 2 handicap off 127 on ground he would have hated, beaten just 5.5l for the win and finishing sixth of 19.

This will be the first time he has got his ground for Davidson, apart from his stable debut. He was beaten 2l on his only previous visit to Musselburgh so he acts on the track and the more the ground dries out, the more it will suit him. Now, maybe he’s simply lost his form and his trainer hasn’t been hatching a plan. But maybe he has, and given that his odds are 40/1, it is worth chancing that the latter scenario holds true.

2025 Leopardstown & Musselburgh Saturday Tip: Rewired e/w @ 40/1 (4 places)

2.25 Leopardstown – Race And Stay Handicap Hurdle (Listed)

Meetingofthewaters bids to exploit a 36lb lower hurdles mark here. Rated 149 over fences, he’s certainly an intriguing runner with Blackmore on board but odds of 9/4 are no use to us each way players.

The one I like at a half-decent price here is the Michael Bowe trained Glen Kiln. BY Famous Name, this 6yo is from the family of Limestone Lad and while he isn’t as good as that legend, I think there is a chance he could rate a bit higher than his current mark of 124.

This lad was good enough to win a maiden hurdle at Naas a year ago. He fell when beaten on his handicap debut at Fairyhouse two weeks later and that was him for the season. He returned to action at Gowran in November and ran ok considering the 16f trip. Bowe stepped him back up to 20f at Navan in December (yld to soft) and he absolutely hosed up off 115.

This horse is totally unexposed on left handed tracks. He’s only had three starts going that way around. He finished sixth of 16 in a Naas maiden, then won his maiden back there and won at Navan. Those form figures of 611 compare very favourably to his form figures of 704242F6 going right handed. Has he as much in hand as the fav, probably not, but there could be a lot more to come from him at 3m and he looks a solid e/w bet at odds of 20/1.

2025 Leopardstown & Musselburgh Saturday Tip: Glen Kiln e/w @ 20/1 (5 places) NB

2.35 Sandown – Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase (Grade 1)

Just four runners here and an easy race to swerve. No strong opinion and no bet.

2025 Leopardstown & Musselburgh Saturday Tip: No Bet

2.50 Musselburgh – Scottish Champion Handicap Chase (Class 2)

In the hope that the rain stays away and the ground dries out at Musselburgh, I will take a chance on the Irish raider The Big Chap here. This horse is a bit hard to predict at times but when he is good, he is very good. He won a decent pot at Limerick back in October (19f, good) and followed up off his revised mark of 140 at Gowran (16f, good) two runs later the following month.

The best of his last three runs came at Navan in December but he pulled up last time out at Limerick and that’s probably why he’s over 20/1 today. However, he is 2/2 on right handed tracks with good in the description so if he is going to produce his best, he’ll have his ideal conditions here. Given that last run, he isn’t one for max stakes but at 25/1, he is worth a small each way interest.

2025 Leopardstown & Musselburgh Saturday Tip: The Big Chap e/w @ 25/1 (4 places)

2.55 Leopardstown – Irish Arkle Novice Chase (Grade 1)

I was planning on putting up Jordans if he ran in this but he wasn’t declared. With just six runners I’ll be leaving it alone but I’ll be watching and hoping that the colossal Jeannot Lapin puts up a bold show against the Mullins and Elliott runners. No bet.

2025 Leopardstown & Musselburgh Saturday Tip: No bet

3.07 Sandown – Virgin Bet Handicap Hurdle (Premier)

This could turn into some slog on the forecast heavy ground. The 4/1 fav Henri The Second hacked up in similar conditions over C&D last time out and the form has since been franked by Up For Parol. Consistency is not his strong suit though and a massive performance like that can take a while to get over.

Deborah Cole runs a couple here and with Ellis Collier taking off 5lb, Flight Deck effectively runs off a mark of 127 here. On his seasonal return at Newton Abbott (21.5f, hvy) in October he ran a cracker to finish second off 132. Next time out at the end of November at Newbury (24f, sft) he ran in a Grade 2 and while he finished last of four, he was far from disgraced.

He’s been given a two month break since that effort and he will be effectively 10lb lower than his last winning mark. The visor he wore when second at Newton Abbott returns, his form figures on heavy ground read 12 so at odds of 22/1, Flight Deck is the e/w selection.

2025 Leopardstown & Musselburgh Saturday Tip: Flight Deck e/w @ 22/1 (4 places)

3.30 Leopardstown – Irish Gold Cup (Grade 1)

The feature on Day 1 of the DRF and Galopin Des Champs is odds on to follow up his superb win here over Xmas. It was a sensational display and if he is in the same form again, it’s hard to see him getting beat. Fact To File was 7.5l behind him in second that day and if the ground is softer, he could close that gap but it is difficult to see him turning it around.

Five lengths separated Monty’s Star and Embassy Gardens at Tramore on New Year’s Day and they look most likely to fight it out for the minor honours. Hewick could go well if the ground dries out and you couldn’t rule out an improved display by Inothewayurthinkin but I don’t fancy either strongly enough to put them up. It’s a race I am happy to watch and enjoy, hopefully Galopin puts on another show.

2025 Leopardstown & Musselburgh Saturday Tip: No bet

-DaveStevos