Naas and Lingfield Saturday Tips by Dave Stevos
Naas and Lingfield Saturday Tips
The snowy conditions in the UK means that Saturday’s racing schedule has been decimated. Newbury, Warwick and Chelmsford have all been postponed so the ITV4 cameras will instead be at Lingfield and in Ireland at Naas. The Irish track faces a morning inspection too but hopefully the snow stays away. We landed a couple of nice places last weekend at Leopardstown and Musselburgh. Let’s hope we can get a winner on the board this weekend. Check out Dave Stevos’ Naas and Lingfield Saturday tips below…
Naas and Lingfield Saturday 1.40: Opera Hat Mares’ Chase (Listed)
Precious black type is up for grabs in this 16f chase for mares only. Just 5 of them will go to post and Elimay is odds on to get back to winning ways for Mullins, McManus and Walsh. This 7yo daughter of Montmartre found just Allaho too good last time at Thurles (20f sft/hvy). She went down by a nose to Buildmeupbuttercup on her seasonal return at Punchestown (18f hvy). However, that form hasn’t really worked out.
Shattered Love is next best in the betting and she is rated 152, the same rating as Elimay. She gets 5lb from that rival so on the figures she should win but this is a massive drop in trip. She won at Clonmel back in November (20f hvy). Last time out she was well beat over 24f off a mark of 136 over hurdles at Navan. Her last run over this short a trip came back in 2017 when she won a Grade 3 at Cork. She is a 10yo now though and this distance may be on the sharp side nowadays.
Yukon Lil, a 133 rated hurdler, won well on her first chase start in November at Cork (16f hvy). She failed to get home next time at Navan (20f hvy). She then ran a stinker when stepped into Graded company last time out at Thurles (20f sft/hvy). Yukon Lil jumped very poorly and was pulled up before the final fence. On the plus side, she does get a nice chunk of weight from the top two, the drop back in trip will suit and her yard is flying. However, she’ll need to jump a whole lot better than she did the last day to figure.
Outsiders Out Of Their Depth
The remaining two horses look to be facing a very tough task. Tintangle was runner up in this race last season but that was a far weaker renewal. There are question marks about her jumping too. Waitnsee is a nice type but she is rated just 127 and she surely wants much better ground than she’ll encounter here. Elimay does look the most likely winner but at the prices she makes no appeal whatsoever. This is not a betting race for me and I’ll be sitting this one out.
Naas and Lingfield Saturday: No Bet
2.00 Lingfield: 6F Handicap (Class 3)
First up from Lingfield’s all-weather track on Saturday is a 4 runner 6f handicap. It looks a tight little race and the bookies have made Water Of Leith the narrow favourite. Trained by Jim Goldie, this son of Kodiac arrives in search of a hat-trick. He was well beat on debut at Ayr but he was gelded soon after that run and he looked a different horse when winning a pair of Novice races over 6f at Wolves in December. The form of his second run looks rock solid. The horse he beat (off level weights) has gone on to win a handicap off 88.
Secret Handsheikh is trained by Archie Watson and he is owned by the Ontoawinner Syndicate. Rated 88, he hacked up on his last two starts at Southwell. He is now 17lb higher than he was for his first win there and this is a very different surface. Charlie Fellowes, trained by George Scott, is on a 4 timer. He won three on the bounce at Beverley (5f gd/fm), Wolverhampton and then Southwell. However, he is back from a break and the lack of match sharpness may count against him.
Twilight Heir, who is having his first run back after being gelded, completes the field. He was only 0.5L behind Secret Handsheikh off level weights at Bath last season. He is 8lb better off with that rival here so he is entitled to turn that form around. However, I think Water Of Leith is going to be hard to beat. He was only pushed out to win last time and it looked like there was an awful lot more to come. Jim Goldie has an exciting horse on his hands and at odds of 15/8 he is the pick.
Naas and Lingfield Saturday: Water of Leith win @ 15/8
2.15 Naas: Handicap Chase (0-130)
The one I like at a massive price in this 20.5f handicap chase is Allardyce. Trained by Eddie O’Grady, this 9yo son of Black Sam Bellamy is back down to his last winning mark. He has failed to fire in five starts this season but as a result he has become feasibly handicapped. He unseated at the second fence last time out at Fairyhouse. Eddie O’Grady’s charge failed to beat a rival home on his previous start at this track (16f hvy). However, I think the return to a longer trip is going to suit and he has run well at Naas in the past.
This horse’s last win came at Naas, over 16f on yielding ground off a mark of 116. He also ran a nice race over hurdles here over 19f (hvy) when finishing 3rd in a maiden back in February 2018. Allardyce has been ridden by claiming jockeys the last twice and Philip Enright is back in the saddle today. He has been on board for 3 of this fella’s 4 wins and he usually gets a decent tune out of him. This horse isn’t one for maximum faith and stakes should be kept to a minimum but at the odds, I think a modest each way bet is warranted.
Naas and Lingfield Saturday: Allardyce e/w @ 25/1 (6 Places Skybet)
2.35 Lingfield: 8f Handicap (Class 4)
Only 6 runners have been declared for this 8f handicap. Previous 7f course winner Crackling is the market leader for Martyn Meade and Ryan Moore. That 7f victory came on his debut back in 2018 when he beat the now 89 rated Gin Palace comfortably. A long spell off the track followed but he shaped like he still retained ability on his return when slowly away at Kempton.
He built on that encouraging effort last time out at Southwell when going down by a head to a Daafr over a mile on his handicap debut off 75. Crackling received a 3lb hike for that excellent run but on his 2yo win a mark of 78 looks workable and he is a real contender.
De Vegas Tempting At A Price
One that could go well at bigger odds is De Vegas Kid for Tony Carroll and Darragh Keenan. This 7yo has won 9 races during his 48 race career, including 2 on the all-weather at Wolves. His last win came off 77, his highest winning mark is 79 and he is in off 78 today. He has yet to get his head in front at Lingfield but he has run some crackers in defeat. Last February he was beat 0.75L off 83 and he ran better than the distance he was beat suggests on his last visit in November.
Darragh Keenan claims a valuable 3lb and he has an excellent record when riding for Tony Carroll. He has notched up 6 wins from just 23 rides, and he is 2/3 when riding this son of Lope De Vega. Crackling has a more attractive profile and is far less exposed than De Vegas Kid but the bookies haven’t missed him. He should be difficult to beat but if he fluffs his lines then Tony Carroll’s charge should be there to pick up the pieces. At odds of 18/1 De Vegas Kid is the each-way pick.
Naas and Lingfield Saturday: De Vegas Kid e/w @ 18/1
2.50 Naas: Rated Novice Hurdle (4yo Only)
This 15.5f rated race is restricted to novice hurdlers rated less than 130. Autumn Evening and Druid’s Altar head the market but at a nicer price, I think Awkwafina could go well. Sam Curling is having a great season and this mare won for him at 100/1 on her hurdling debut. She has to carry a 4lb penalty because of that win and she carries the same weight as the top two in the betting. Zoffanien was nearly 6L behind that day at Limerick (16f hvy) and he is better off at the weights today. However, I can see Awkwafina upholding that piece of form, even at these revised terms.
I think that her next run at Fairyhouse perhaps came too soon when she was over 10L behind Druids Altar and Autumn Evening. She has been given an extra week off this time and even though she is 7lb worse off with those two horses, I don’t think that last run was a true reflection of her ability. Palm Beach, who she beat at Limerick, went on to finish 2nd in a decent Punchestown maiden on his next start and he was 5L ahead of Zoffanien. Awkwafina is clearly no superstar but I don’t think any of these are and at the prices, she is a speculative e/w selection.
Naas and Lingfield Saturday: Awkwafina e/w @ 11/1
3.10 Lingfield: 10F Handicap (Class 5)
10 horses will go to post in this 10f, Class 5 handicap. It is as trappy a heat as you’ll see and I am going to take a chance on Bealach for Gary Moore and Shane Kelly. Moore also runs Avorisk Et Perils, a last time out winner who is a much shorter price. However, Shane Kelly has ridden lots of winners for Moore while Shoemark has never won one for the yard so on jockey bookings it looks like Bealach may be Moore’s best hope.
The son of New Approach has failed to win in 11 starts but he his not devoid of ability. He finished last season with a couple of good 2nds at Lingfield and Wolves, both over 12f. You could forgive him his comeback run a couple of weeks ago. Firstly, he may have needed it after a break and secondly, it was over a mile at Southwell. The step back up to this distance will suit, as will the return to Lingfield. He races off a mark of 64, the same rating off which he was 2nd here back in September. This race won’t take much winning and at odds of 25/1 Bealach is worth backing each way for small stakes.
Naas and Lingfield Saturday: Bealach e/w @ 25/1
3.25 Naas: Handicap Hurdle (80-109)
A low grade handicap hurdle is the final live race of the day from Naas on ITV4. Wicklow based trainer Philip Rothwell runs two in this and I think Mc Alpine could go well for him with Daniel Holden in the plate. This horse remains a maiden after 12 hurdle runs but he has a small race in him. He ran one of his best races at Naas back in January 2020 when beat just over 1L off a mark of 99. The ground was good to yielding that day but he has placed maiden form on soft/heavy too.
He was sent off at 25/1 and 50/1 on his first two starts of the season at Fairyhouse and Punchestown. Both those races were at 20f and it is interesting that he was sent off at just 5/1 on his penultimate start at Tramore when dropped to 16f. He was again well backed last time out at Fairyhouse (16f hvy) when he wasn’t given the best of rides by an inexperienced claimer. He was held up and made his challenge wide and while he kept on well to the line, he had too much ground to make up.
Henry De Bromhead’s apprentice Daniel Holden takes over in the plate today. He has never ridden for Rothwell before but it is interesting that when Mc Alpine was placed at Naas previously it was Hugh Morgan, another De Bromhead employee, that got the leg up. This stiff 2 miles test should suit Mc Alpine well and so should the ground. With 6 places on offer, Mc Alpine is the each way NAP of the day at odds of 12/1.
Naas and Lingfield Saturday: Mc Alpine e/w @ 12/1 NAP (6 places skybet)
3.45 Lingfield: 6F Handicap (Class 5)
Another class 5 heat closes the show at Lingfield and this one is a 6f contest. Michael Attwater has his string in super shape at the minute and Real Estate could go well for him here. This 6yo has an excellent record around Lingfield and bar his last run he has rarely run a bad race there. He has two wins at 6f and 7f, as well as another three places.
He did run poorly last time out at this track (6f) but that was his first run back from 196 days off. The handicapper generously dropped him 2lb and he is now just 1lb higher than his last winning mark. He was beat a neck off 75 over 6f here back in June so he is weighted to be competitive. William Carson was placed on his only previous ride on this fella and Attwater is flying. 3 of his last 12 runners have won and at odds of 10/1 Real Estate could keep his good spell going.
