Free Expert ITV Racing Tips (10/04/23)

Bank Holiday Monday brings nine more races from Ed and the gang at ITV with five coming from Fairyhouse and the feature race of the day the Irish Grand National to be run on soft ground whilst we have four intriguing races from Kempton Park on the all-weather with possible classic contenders on view. Here are my ITV Racing tips for Easter Monday.

14:40 Fairyhouse

Nine juvenile hurdlers have declared for this 2M grade 2 Donohue Marquees Juvenile Hurdle. Willie Mullins saddles three runners with the best of them appearing to be Blood Destiny who went off a well-backed 3/1 second favourite for the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham only to face too freely early on and finished a disappointing 9th beaten some 27L. He’s better than that and wears a first-time hood and tongue tie here to help him relax better. 17L ahead of Blood Destiny in the Triumph was his stable mate Gust Of Wind but one would have thought that Mullins’ number one jockey Paul Townend, who rides Blood Destiny, would have had the pick.

A couple who also ran at the Festival in the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle though was Sir Allen and Tekao with both of them finishing down the field and are hard to fancy too much here. The Favourite Blood Destiny doesn’t come without a few question marks now but if he’s anywhere back to the horse that won so impressively at Cork and Fairyhouse prior to Cheltenham he will be very hard to beat.

BLOOD DESTINY 2 points win @ 11/8 with BetVictor

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14:55 Kempton

An intriguing five-runner 1M class 2 fillies conditions stakes has attracted just the five runners. Four of the five have future classic entries so there is the possibility that we could see something pretty special here. One of the quintets who doesn’t hold a big race future entry is the outsider of Roger Teal’s Ellexis who is no mug herself having won well last time. Charlie Appleby saddles two very promising fillies in Dancing Goddess and Rainbow Sky who both won on their debuts here.

One would think that William Buick has had the pick and he’s chosen the former who has 1000 Guineas and Oaks entries going forward. He may be the pick of the two Godolphin fillies but there’s a big danger in the shape of the John and Thady Gosden-trained Running Lion who also has the 1000 Guineas and Oaks entries. She’s more experienced than the Godolphin pair having won his last two starts on the all-weather at Lingfield and Chelmsford. Oisin Murphy takes the ride and he can take this from the boys in blue.

RUNNING LION 1 point win @ 9/4 with Bet365

15:15 Fairyhouse

A highly competitive 22-runner 2m 5F 155 yards handicap hurdle is up next. A wide-open affair where stakes should be kept to a minimum. My shortlist comprises of the Tony Martin-trained Unanswered who was seen impressively winning at Cheltenham at their November meeting but flopped next time out at Leopardstown only to bounce back when a good third at Navan early last month.

One of three JP McManus-owned runners, Cadatharla trained by County Wexford-based C A Murphy bolted up when the cash was down at Naas in January and only went down by a neck here six weeks later despite having gone up 13lb. He’s up another 5lb here and under 7lb conditional jockey, Aidan Kelly, can play a hand in the finish.

One of McManus’s other runners A Great View is back on a winning mark gained at Punchestown last season and I wonder if that’s the plan for him again soon. Willie Mullins saddles three with surprisingly stable jockey Paul Townend not riding any which probably says more in the negative about the three than anything. A tough call but I’ll take Cadatharla small each way with additional places.

CADATHARLA 1 point each way @ 6/1 with Bet365 1/5th 123456

15:30 Kempton

It’s very hard to look away from the exciting John and Thady Gosden runner here in this 1M class 2 conditions stakes. He looked useful when coming out of the fog here on his debut last November on his racecourse debut been pushed out to win by 5 1/2L. That form doesn’t look anything too special with six running from down the field all being beaten since but it was the manner the 2000 Guineas and Epsom Derby entry travelled and put the race to bed that impressed me. Owned by The King and The Queen Consort, could we see this chestnut colt heading towards the 2000 Guineas on the day of the King’s Coronation?

The best of his four opponents may well be Marco Botti’s Legend Of Lewis who did it well when winning a backend Doncaster maiden on soft ground, a race which has worked out very well with four winners coming out of the race since. Too short to back but this should be going to Slipofthepen. The stable also has Laurel at prohibitive single odds later on that should be winning so let’s double them up.

SLIPOFTHEPEN & LAUREL 2 points win double. 4/6 & 2/5 with William Hill

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15:50 Fairyhouse

The 2m 4F Rathbarry & Glenview Studs Hurdle is a grade 2 contest and is all about the long-awaited re-appearance of Willie Mullins’ Monkfish. A winner of four of his five chase runs including the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at 2021’s Cheltenham Festival. He’s not been seen for 713 days mind and back in trip and reverting to hurdles this could easily be a prep race for Punchestown back over fences especially when stable jockey Paul Townend appears to have jumped ship to ride the other Mullins runner Asterion Forlonge.

The latter is also better known as a chaser although was back over hurdles following a year’s break when runner-up at Thurles to Summerville Boy last month. Officially rated only 2lb inferior to Monkfish and with Townend appearing to have picked him he’s the one I would want to be with today. The remaining four runners all have a few pounds to find with the Mullins brace and this looks like another race going to the Closutton base of the master trainer.

ASTERION FORLONGE 1 point win @ 9/4 with Bet365

16:05 Kempton

An open fourteen-runner renewal of the class 2 1m 3F Racing TV Rosebery Handicap. The first thing to mention is the draw. The last 9 winners have been berthed 1, 5, 1, 1, 9, 1, 7, 8, 1. So we can see that a low draw is a definite advantage and for that reason only my form pick Simply Sondheim is passed over from a wide berth of 13 which will mean jockey William Buick will have to either go forward or drop in.

William Haggas, fresh from more success in Australia with his globetrotting Dubai Honour at the weekend, saddles an interesting runner in Pride Of Priory with Ryan Moore booked. He looks like a player along with Charlie Johnstone’s runner Capital Theory who is the pick here. He’s been running consistently well this winter on the all-weather with his recent win at Chelmsford from Chichester has been boosted already by the runner-up chasing home the smart Balding runner Berkshire Shadow last weekend and the 3rd Gargadian not been disgraced in the Lincoln.

Drawn ideally in stall 5 and ridden by Franny Norton expect him to be ridden prominently. There are plenty of others with chances including Amo Racing’s Sir Rumi who’s already run well on the turf this season. I’ll dutch my bets with Capital Theory and Pride of Priory with a slight preference for the former.

CAPITAL THEORY 1 point each way @ 10/1 with Bet365 1/5th 1234

PRIDE OF PRIORY 1 point each way @ 11/2 with BetVictor 1/5th 1234

16:20 Fairyhouse

Six chasers line up for this 2m 3F 200-yard grade 2 McInerney Properties Fairyhouse Chase and looks another contest set to wing the first prize to Willie Mullins’ Closutton base. He saddles half of the field with stable jockey Paul Townend set to ride Easy Game who’s going for a hat trick in this contest having won the past two renewals. He’s not been seen since the 1st of October when beating the now-retired Kemboy in the PWC Champion Chase at Gowran Park but will no doubt be ready here in his bid to get the hat trick up and win for the seventh time in his last eight starts.

Officially he’s rated the same as rivals Janidil and Royal Rendevouz but he’s a confident pick. The two Robcour-owned runners French Dynamite and Magic Daze also line up with a preference for the former who was last seen when running a decent fourth in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham.

EASY GAME 2 points win @ 2/1 with William Hill

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16:40 Kempton

Nine have declared for the 1M Racing TV Snowdrop Fillies’ Stakes, a listed race for four-year-old fillies and mares. It’s hard to look beyond John and Thady Gosden’s smart four-year-old Laurel who’s always been held in high regard by her Newmarket-based trainers. She has already got course form having won over course and distance here last September in cosy fashion at 1/2.

She took a big step up in class only ten days later when finishing an excellent 3/4L runner-up in the group one Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket and is officially rated 12lb and higher superior to today’s rivals. She should win this en route to her early season target The Lockinge Stakes at Newbury next month for which she’s currently a 6/1 chance.

The best of the rest may be fought out by Sound Angela trained by Roger Varian and the Charlie Appleby-trained Life Of Dreams who is making her all-weather debut here. They’re both rated 100 (that’s 12lb below Laurel) and a slight preference is for the former. Again like stable mate Slipofthepen in the 15:30 she is too short to back but maybe a win double the pair will pay dividends.

17:00 Fairyhouse

A maximum field of thirty line up for this year’s renewal of the Boylesports Irish Grand National Chase, run over 3M 5F. As always it has a wide-open look about it. My shortlist comprises Barry Connell’s Espanito Bello who looked so good when winning at Naas last time although has to shoulder an 11lb penalty here, I Am Maximus who’s been bought by JP McManus since a fine 4th in the Brown Advisory at Cheltenham and Chemical Energy one of eight runners here trained by Gordon Elliott and who was last seen running second in the NH Chase at Cheltenham. I’ll take him to run well each way with additional places.

CHEMICAL ENERGY 1 point each way @ 14/1 with Bet365 1/5th 123456

All odds are accurate at the time of writing.

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