2023 York and Sandown Saturday Tips – DS
2023 York and Sandown Saturday Racing Tips
It is always a tricky time of the year for punters with Royal Ascot just around the corner. The very best horses are preparing for that meeting so for the last week or two, the quality hasn’t been great. Last week was tough going with just one place but we’ll do our best to improve on that this weekend. We have posted an e/w G1 Sprint double for next week, check that out here. Dave Stevos’ 2023 York and Sandown Saturday tips are below.
2.00 York – Queen Mother’s Cup (Class 3)
Not a race for big stakes. This 12f contest is restricted to Lady Amateurs and the ground at York is good to firm. Tim Easterby has a fine record in the race and with his horses in flying form, Bollin Margaret has to be respected. The bookies haven’t missed her though and at much bigger odds, it might be worth taking a chance on one that also hails from a red hot stable.
Julie Camacho has been flying in the last ten days or so. Eight runners, three winners and three top four finishers is a fine return and she runs Shake A Leg in this race. The son of Excelebration will be ridden by Miss Elle Paterson, a jockey with a win, a second and a fourth from just four rides. Those three frame hitting rides were all for Camacho so she looks an interesting booking.
Shake A Leg has had two runs this term. His return was underwhelming but he shaped better when midfield over this C&D last time out off 78. The assessor dropped him to 76 for that effort and with Paterson’s claim he is effectively in off 71. That’s 9lb lower than when beat 0.5L over C&D on fast ground last season and 7lbs lower than she was when last winning at Ripon (12f gd). At odds of 20/1, Shake A Leg is the e/w selection.
2023 York and Sandown Tip: Shake A Leg e/w @ 20/1 (4 places)
2.15 Sandown – Aspall Cyder Handicap (Class 2)
We backed Maysong a couple of weeks ago when not much went right for him at Epsom (8.5f gd/fm). Kieran O’Neill didn’t have his best day aboard the son of Mayson but perhaps connections were lining him up for a crack at this race. It was strange to see O’Neill take a massive pull after his mount broke smartly from the stalls and even though he met trouble when making a challenge up the inner, he was still only beat 4L for the win.
If things had panned out better he definitely could have finished a lot closer to the winner and it looked to me like he was still in good form. The handicapper dropped him to 79 for that run and with Shariq Mohd’s claim, the last jockey to win on him, he is effectively in off 72, 8lbs lower than he was at Epsom.
He won off 76 for Mohd at Redcar in April (8f sft) and what makes him worth backing again today is his course form. From two previous runs at Sandown he has a 2nd on good to soft in August 21, and a near 5l win on good ground last Summer off 68. Maysong goes on any ground and I don’t think he deserves to be 40/1. At those odds, a small e/w interest is advised.
2023 York and Sandown Tip: Maysong e/w @ 40/1 (4 places)
2.35 York – Sky Bet Handicap (Class 3)
Linda Perratt is a trainer that has done me many a turn over the years. She is no stranger to having winners at big prices and at odds of 20/1, Judgement Call could go well for her here. A 5yo son of Pivotal, he has been in good form this season. A fourth on his return off 72 was followed by a solid win at Ayr (7f gd) and then he ran another decent race when fourth off 76 at the same track four weeks or so ago.
The horse he beat into 2nd at Ayr, Novak, has won two in a row since. The last race he ran in was for a pitiful pot so perhaps Perratt was using it as a run to keep her charge sharp ahead of a tilt at this much bigger prize.
For a small yard she has a fine record at York, 7/105 with 16 top 4 finishes and just under £200k in prize money. The booking of Hollie Doyle catches the eye and it will be her first ever ride for the yard. Seven furlongs on fast ground is ideal for Judgement Call and while he has never raced at this high a level before, if he can repeat the form of his win at Ayr six weeks ago a place is not out of the question at odds of 20/1.
2023 York and Sandown Tip: Judgement Call e/w @ 20/1 (4 places)
2.50 Sandown – Scurry Stakes (Listed)
On the figures this looks a straight shootout between the 108 rated Great State and the 106 rated Perdika. Both horses won in Listed company last time and they look the two to beat. Tajalla is stepping up in class after two wins and he could easily rate higher than his current mark of 95. However, on a line through Silent Words, he has it all to do to beat Great State. This looks like a race that’ll be dominated by the market leaders so we’ll leave it alone. No bet.
2023 York and Sandown Tip: No bet
3.05 York – Race To The Ebor Grand Cup Stakes (Listed)
Very annoyingly, just seven run in this Listed Ebor Trial. Israr and Quickthorn head the betting and they are hard to separate. Quickthorn probably has the better recent form which came over this C&D so of the top two, he makes most appeal.
Roberto Escobarr can’t be discounted either. He won a 16f Listed race on his last start and he ran well when 6th in the Ebor in 2021. However, he is probably most effective at 16f these days. Of the outsiders, Ching Shih is the most interesting. Her rating of 97 leaves her with a bit to find but there could still be more to come from this 4yo filly.
Arguably her best run came over 10f (gd/fm) at York last season when she stayed on well for 3rd in the G3 Musidora, 7L behind Emily Upjohn. On her seasonal return at Goodwood (12f gd/sft) she shaped nicely enough, staying on for 3rd again, 4L behind the winner Luisa Casati. This 14f trip should really suit her and if there were three places on offer e/w I’d be backing her. Getting into the first two just might be beyond her though so reluctantly, this has to be another no bet race.
2023 York and Sandown Tip: No bet
3.20 Chester – Edinburgh Gin Handicap (Class 2)
At odds of 20/1, maybe Reidh can sneak into the frame here from a nice draw in stall 3. Trained by Richard Fahey, this son of Kodiac showed plenty of ability as a 2yo. Yes, he failed to win but his two runs at Thirsk (4th) and Ayr (3rd) showed that he was more than capable of winning a handicap at some point. He again ran a pleasing race in a Ponty novice on his seasonal comeback before running disappointingly on his handicap debut off 78 at York.
At York he was held up but he was far too keen in the first three furlongs. As they entered the straight he cruised into contention but those early exertions took their toll and he finished weakly. In his Novice runs at Ayr and Pontefract, he broke well and raced a lot more forward.
You’d imagine that connections will revert to those positive tactics around Chester. At Ayr, he got to within 2.75l of the winner Hi Royal, form that has worked out well. Graham Lee takes over in the plate and he is 13/58 with 17 Top 4s when riding for Fahey. 7.5f around a tight, turning track might be exactly what Reidh needs and at odds of 20/1, he is worth backing e/w.
2023 Chester Saturday Tip: Reidh e/w @ 20/1 (4 places) NB
3.40 York – Macmillan Sprint Handicap (Heritage)
The big race of the day is this Heritage Handicap Sprint. We managed to find Navello in the Dash a couple of weeks ago, hopefully we can repeat the trick here. With 22 going to post, this is going to be a proper battle charge. Six of the last seven winners were drawn seven or lower and from stall two, Northcliff looks well overpriced at around 33/1.
Trained by Tim Easterby, winner of this race three times since 2013, this son of Dandy Man has surely been trained with this race in mind. He had a very busy 2yo campaign, running seven times. He failed to get his head in front but his three best runs came on his three visits to York.
Course Form
On the first occasion (6f gd/sft) he bumped into Coventry winner Bradsell. Three weeks later in a maiden (6f gd) he finished 4th, 2.75L behind subsequent G3 winner Cold Case. Then, on his last 2yo run in the Premier Yearling Stakes he ran a massive race at 66/1 when finishing 1.25L 3rd behind Shouldvebeenaring and Washington Heights off level weights. That was the last time Duran Fentiman rode and he’s back in the saddle today.
Washington Heights re-opposes here and Northcliff is 10lbs better off with him. Obviously, Northcliff’s form hasn’t really taken off yet this season but his Novice run behind Tajalla and Silent Words at Hamilton might be franked earlier in the Scurry at Sandown. Nothing went right when he ran over 5f at York earlier this season off 85, if things go more smoothly today Northcliff is more than capable of outrunning his odds of 33/1 off 5lbs lower.
