Saturday Haydock and Ascot Tips by Dave Stevos

by Dave Stevos | Dec 17, 2021

Saturday Haydock and Ascot Preview

We finally got back into the black at Cheltenham and Doncaster last weekend. Deyrann De Carjac landed place money for us in 5th at 25/1. Then, Tommy’s Oscar got the job done for us at 5/1 at Donny. I am looking forward to seeing him upped in class. Current Mood didn’t get an easy lead as I hoped. Heaven Help Us was disappointing and Anythingforlove was pulled and came out and won easy during the week. Let’s hope for a few more quid this weekend. Check out Dave Stevos’ Saturday Haydock and Ascot tips below.

1.50 Ascot – Hawden Handicap Chase (Class 2)

The first race on ITV4 this Saturday is a tricky looking 19f handicap chase. Palmers Hill heads the market after his comeback win at Wetherby. He is 4lbs higher now though and the form has been let down by a couple of the horses that were in behind him. The one I’ll be taking a chance on off a mark of 130 is Golden Whisky for Wedge and Williams. This horse isn’t a model of consistency but when he puts it all together, he is a decent horse. He last won in January off 121, landing a 20f handicap at Ludlow on soft by 16L.

The son of Flemensfirth followed that up with solid efforts when 3rd at Fakenham (21f hvy) off 128 and then a good 2nd off 130 behind Five Star Getaway at Sandown (20f sft). The winner was in off 105 that day and he is now rated 130 so it was an excellent run considering Golden Whisky was giving him 25lbs. Last time out at Aintree (16f gd/sft) our selection was well beat behind Darling Du Large but he has usually needed his first run back in the past. The step back up in trip will suit and the ground should just about be soft enough for him. With four places on offer, Golden Whisky is worth backing e/w at 14/1.

Saturday Haydock and Ascot Tips: Golden Whisky e/w @ 14/1 (4 places Hills)

2.05 Haydock – Handicap Hurdle (Class 2)

Just the nine will line up behind the tape in this 19f handicap hurdle. It is soft ground at Haydock and the one I like in this off his last winning mark is Minella Charmer. James Moffatt trains this son of King’s Theatre and Charlotte Jones takes off a handy 5lbs. She was on board for that last win at this track (16f hvy) and she rode a nice winner for Moffatt a few days ago at Carlisle.

This 10yo is clearly a hard horse to get right as he has only been seen three times since 2019. However, he does go particularly well when he is fresh and his last two wins came after layoffs of 101 days and 280 days respectively. In December 2018 he finished 3rd over today’s C&D off 125 after a 100 day break. With his jockey’s claim, he is effectively racing off the same mark now. He also has a win and a place from his two previous visits to this course. At odds of 14/1, he is worth backing to continue that good record today.

Saturday Haydock and Ascot Tips: Minella Charmer e/w @ 14/1 (4 places Hills)

2.25 Ascot – Long Walk Hurdle (Grade 1)

The big race of the weekend is the Grade 1 Long Walk Hurdle. A trip of 24f awaits the field of eight, reduced from nine after Buzz suffered a pelvic injury during a schooling session. Thyme Hill now heads the market at odds of 7/4. He was beat out of sight on his return in France last month (24f hvy). Philip Hobbs’ son of Kayf Tara will appreciate this nicer ground and he was a fine second behind Paisley Park in this race last season.

However, it really was a laboured effort he produced at Auteuil and 7/4 looks short on the back of that. Ronald Pump is clearly a capable horse on his day and he ran as well as could be expected over 20f behind Honeysuckle last time. The bookies make him a 7/2 poke here but he hasn’t won a race since landing a beginners’ chase at Fairyhouse in November 2019. While he has been very highly tried, he seems to keep bumping into one. That could be the case again today.

Champ Adds Intrigue

The presence of Champ in this race is intriguing. He is back over hurdles for his seasonal return after running a stinker in the Gold Cup in March. His form over fences is top class and he was good over the smaller obstacles in his younger days (5/7). Is Henderson running him in this just to boost his confidence over fences? It’s hard to know but I doubt this is the be all and end all for him. You’d imagine a clear round is the aim and then make a plan from there.

We backed Thomas Darby the last day when he won well at Newbury (24f gd/sft). He has 4.5L to find with Thyme Hill on their meeting at Aintree back in April. Olly Murphy’s horse is a very talented sort but he had a hard race at Newbury and given his overall profile, he is no banker to back it up. It is a big chance for Fergus Gregory but the percentage call is to look elsewhere.

Paisley Overpriced

The one that looks a shade overpriced to me is Paisley Park. Yes, he was 11L behind Thomas Darby at Newbury but he tried to make all in cheekpieces and that isn’t his game. He overraced early and in the end he didn’t get home. Hopefully more patient tactics are deployed today. Paisley Park didn’t shape that badly at all on his comeback run at Wetherby. He stayed on stoutly for 3rd, 5L behind the winner Indefatigable and with Thomas Darby 7L behind him in 4th.

If Paisley Park is going to bounce back to winning form, this is where it will most likely happen. He has a 100% record at Ascot with two wins from two, both in this race. Emma Lavelle has decided to freshen things up, applying a tongue tie and enlisting Tom Bellamy for the ride. I think it is too soon to be writing off this dour stayer and at odds of 8/1, he is capable of running a huge race if he is in the mood.

Saturday Haydock and Ascot Tips: Paisley Park e/w @ 8/1

2.40 Haydock – Tommy Whittle Handicap Chase (Class 2)

I fancied Potters Legend to run big at Cheltenham last time out but he was pulled on account of the ground. This time he gets the ground he desires and off a mark of 133, he could go close here. Lucy Wadham’s charge likes it at Haydock and he is a previous C&D winner. That came in March 2018 by 11L off 130. He was also a decent second behind Royal Pagaille here in the Peter Marsh off 136 in January of this year.There is nothing as good as Royal Pagaille in this contest.

You’d imagine that this race has been on his radar ever since that Peter Marsh run. He had a pipe opener at Warwick a month ago (24f gd/sft) to blow away the cobwebs. It wasn’t a bad effort at all in 5th, 10L behind the winner Final Nudge. This fella should strip a lot fitter now with that run under his belt. Wadham has her string in fine fettle and Jack Quinlan retains the ride. 25/1 looks too big a price about Potters Legend and he is the each way selection.

Saturday Haydock and Ascot Tips: Potters Legend e/w @ 25/1 NAP (5 Places)

3.00 Ascot – Silver Cup Handicap Chase (Listed)

We were on Annsam last time out at Newbury where he ran a cracker over hurdles. He tried to make all under an aggressive ride from Isabel Williams and he did well to keep on for third. That was his second run over hurdles this season and he now returns to chasing. His last start over the bigger obstacles was a dire effort at Sandown when he was pulled up. However, previous to that he ran big races at Ludlow when beaten 2L by House Island and then when beating Fidelio Vallis by a distance.

Both those wins came over 20f and this will be his second attempt at 24f. He fell the first time he tried this distance. However, it was too early to say whether he stayed the trip or not. On pedigree, there is every chance he’ll get 3 miles. Black Sam Bellamy is a big stamina influence and Annsam’s dam won over 25f.

The key to him getting home will be whether Adam Wedge can get him to settle. Sometimes he can be keen and if that happens on Saturday, he is goosed. However, if Wedge can get him into a nice rhythm early and he doesn’t pull too hard, I think this horse is more than capable off his current mark of 134. Annsam has a serious engine and if he learns how to use it properly, he can progress into a very smart horse. At odds of 15/2, he is the selection in what looks an open race.

Saturday Haydock and Ascot Tips: Annsam e/w @ 15/2 NB (4 places)

3.35 Ascot – Betfair Exchange Trophy (Grade 3)

This Grade 3 handicap hurdle closes the show on ITV4 on Saturday and 14 will go to post. The trip is 15.5f and with a first prize of just under £60k, hopefully most of them will be trying. Ben Pauling has his horses in great form at the minute and Global Citizen represents him here. This 9yo son of Alkaadhem has been out of form for some time but he showed some of his old spark at Doncaster (19.5f gd/sft) a couple of weeks ago. He made a bold bid from the front and he held on well for 2nd off a mark of 137.

He was admittedly beat over 8L and it was in a lower grade than today’s race but it definitely proved that some of his ability remained. Okay, he’ll have to go some to get back to the form he showed when he beat Rouge Vif in a G2 chase at Kempton back in 2019 but he clearly had issues as he has only seen the track five times since.

The first time cheekpieces that perked him up last time out are retained and Kielan Woods takes over from a 5lb claimer. Global Citizen actually ran in a similar race to this in 2018 and he was a solid 2nd behind Fidux off a mark of 145 carrying top weight. He is now 9lbs lower and he carries just 10st 9lbs. If his last run has restored his confidence, a bold bid from the front could be on the cards today. Global Citizen isn’t one for maximum stakes but at 33/1, a small e/w bet is warranted.