Hi
Please see my four picks for Saturday:
Megatipsters.co.uk – Hanbury Racing Tips – 18 September 2021 – Premium Tips.
Khagan – 4.10 Catterick – 1m 6F Handicap – 12/1 Paddy Power – 1 Point Each Way.
Khagan was a Godolphin cast off and originally trained in France by Andre Fabre where he achieved a decent level winning his maiden and placing in Group 2 & Group 3 events over 1m 4F. He was injured and missed a whole season so was sold on.
David O’Meara took over training duties where Khagan started this season on a mark of 100 and has been slowly nursed him back to fitness. Khagan has raced 8 times this season, mainly over an inadequate 1m 2F trip and I think the plan was to get him fit and lower his handicap mark.
He was stepped right up to 2 miles for his last two runs and didn’t quite see out the trip and today drops back to what appears to be a much more suitable 1m 6F.
Khagan looks a nice bet today as he is now fit and well and down to a rather attractive mark of 80. David O’Meara won this race last year and has a very good candidate in Khagan and can be backed at 12/1 in this 6 runner field.
I therefore recommend 1 point each way with Paddy Power.
He still looks value at 8/1.
Soldiers Minute – 2.30 Ayr – 6F Handicap – Silver Cup – 18/1 Bet365 – 5 Places – 1 Point Each Way.
This is the Uber competitive Silver Cup, the consolation race for the sprint Gold Cup later on the card and there are many in here with good chances.
However Soldiers Minute looks a stand out to me. He is trained by the very capable Keith Dalgleish who has a fine record at the track and always targets the Silver/Gold Cup.
Indeed Soldiers Minute has been a regular at this meeting running twice in the Gold Cup itself finishing 7th and 4th (last year) off marks of 96 and 98 respectively. On both occasions he wasn’t drawn particularly well.
Soldiers Minute went onto run well over last winter, winning a Class 2 handicap off 98 and running well off 102.
This year hasn’t gone to plan as Soldiers Minute must have developed some wellbeing issues as he has only run three times. Once in May and the other two in July and August. These weren’t the greatest runs, but he ran twice on unfavourable soft ground and also over 5F which isn’t his trip.
Despite these poor runs, I feel the Scottish trainer, Dalgleish has clearly targeted this meeting in the past for Soldiers Minute and there is every likelihood Soldiers Minute will be trained to peak today.
The difference being he is now down to a mark of 92 and takes a drop in grade from the Gold Cup to race in the Silver Cup, and most importantly gets his preferred fast ground.
He looks well enough handicapped to win but most importantly I think he finally has a good draw this time in stall 6. Yesterday the low stalls dominated in the sprints and that coupled with the horses favoured in the market being berthed around him, with pace there also should mean he is drawn on the right side!
At 18/1 with Bet365, who go 5 places, he looks to have a rock solid chance and I therefore recommend 1 point each way
He still looks value at 14/1.
Time Zone – 4.25 Newmarket – 1m 1F Handicap – 66/1 Bet365 – 1 Point Each Way.
This is an amateurs race over the Cambridgeshire intermediate trip of 1m 1F and this trip just might make the difference today.
Time Zone won on his 2 year old debut at Newmarket over 7F postmarking a highly creditable 81 but didn’t train on.
He is bred for further, but as a young horse he tended to pull too hard and burn himself out, so his second trainer brought him back to sprinting trips, but his form regressed, and Time Zone was moved onto current trainer Louise Allen.
She tried him over 1m 2F and on his first attempt finished a good 1 length 4th off a mark of 67. He led and was only picked up in the final furlong, so this was a promising run. It did look like the final furlong was just slightly too far for him, which is why I like the 1m 1F trip today.
Unfortunately he suffered injury and didn’t run for over 2 years and only returned to action for three quick runs last month. These were all over 1m 2F and were very much needed for fitness and wellbeing, but he did show enough in his second run to suggest his ability is retained.
Time Zone has been given a nice 25 day’s rest and that is a perfect timescale to recuperate from 3 quick runs. We know his fitness is now in place and I’m expecting a better run today.
The jockey is important in a race of this nature and Harriet Tucker has caught my eye as a good competent jockey over the sticks who has won races in that sphere. Most importantly that includes keen running sorts and I think she may be able to settle Time Zone.
Time Zone is 4lb out of the handicap but runs off just 56 so is very well handicapped based upon her back form and hence very capable of winning this.
At 66/1 with Bet365 he is massively overpriced, so I recommend 1 point each way.
He still looks value at 25/1.
McQuinn – 2.20 Navan – 2m Handicap Hurdle – 90/1 Paddy Power – 5 Places – 1 Point Each Way.
This is high in numbers, with 19 runners, but low on quality. My eye was immediately drawn to Tango Theatre who ran so well for us last time out when stepped up to 2m 5F (and backed) to finish a close second and well clear of the third.
I wanted to put him up, but he is dropping back 5F to 2 miles and the cheekpieces have been removed, plus he is trading at only 5/1.
That is too short a price in a big field, with so many question marks (famous last words!!). He might still win but the price is putting me off.
The one I prefer at the prices is McQuinn who trades at 90/1. The 9 year old gelding is lightly raced, with 4 NH flat races, 4 maiden hurdles and just one handicap run.
These spanned over a four year period, so he hasn’t been the easiest to train and many of his poor runs have partly been down to lack of fitness or just looking to gain experience. This is no surprise coming from a small Irish yard.
He has only finished 3rd twice, the rest of the time he has been unplaced or pulled up.
What I have significantly noted is all his good form is on decent going and his bad form on soft or heavy ground.
McQuinn looks interesting as he was sent to the UK early in September 2021, off the back of a 4 month break, to run in a fair maiden hurdle where he manged to finish 3rd of 7 on good ground, postmarking 101 in the process. Now looking at his rivals, they were all rated higher, and that race looks under rated by the handicapper and can be upgraded by maybe 5-10lbs.
McQuinn returns to Ireland and goes back into a handicap running off just 92 and gets the good ground he desperately needs.
He should also come on for his last run a Perth as that was just 13 days ago and if he can build on his form, he has an excellent chance.
He should be much shorter than the current 90/1 available with Paddy Power, who also offer 5 places, and looks a great value bet and I therefore recommend 1 point each way.
He still looks value at 25/1.
