talkSPORT have you covered with free horse racing tips and free bets on Friday’s fixtures at Uttoxeter, Wetherby and Newmarket.
Tom Lunn has gone through the cards, form, going and much more to help guide your horse racing betting choices.
talkSPORT BET have you covered with Tom Lunn’s racing tips on all the day’s action![/caption]
talkSPORT BET – Bet £10 Get £30 free bets – CLAIM HERE*
Friday racing tips
- WETHERBY
1.15: West Balboa 4/5 (2pts)
2.25: Liam Swagger 6/4 (1pt)
3.00: Prairie Wolf 7/2 (1pt) - NEWMARKET
1.43: Magic Mild 7/2 (1pt) Running Queen 14/1 Each-way (1pt) - UTTOXETER
12.20: Lookaway (1pt)
2.35: Kay Tara Tara (1pt)
West Balboa
This mare has a great chance of winning after only managing to grab fourth place last time out.
4/5 may be odds-on and not appealing to many but the fact she’s rated so much higher than Farnoge and gets the mares allowance on top of that means you can probably afford to go 2pts on the mare.
The Skeltons are in top form and West Balboa should go better on her second chase start especially up in trip.
That’s likely what they were going for as well rather than sending her out over 3m for her first time over fences.
Farnoge is 10/3 but is also coming into this after a wind op and needing to go well first time over fences.
Liam Swagger
Liam Swagger is the clear favourite here after winning with ease on hurdle debut ahead of some much more experienced young horses.
Torrent was second not too far away from him in that race and comes here 3lb lighter than his rival now having given away as much as 8lb at Market Rasen, for a 12lb shift in the weights.
It would be no surprise to see him backed in from a huge 16/1 price as he appeals each-way for that reason alone, but as there’s only seven runners there’s a high chance another one or two can run to form in second instead.
Especially as the pair come up against plenty of unexposed and improving sorts, including Denzil from the Skeltons who won by a mile in a three horse race on his debut.
But Liam Swagger won so well on debut that the weight differences probably won’t be an issue, with Sam Twiston-Davies on board they should get the right tactics too to take this home nicely.
Prairie Wolf
Next up at Wetherby is the Class 1 bet365 handicap chase over 2m3f.
With just five runners all closely rated it is wide open in the betting making it prime to bet on.
All five are priced within a couple of points of each other between 10/3 and 11/2.
Midnight River is by far the top-weighted and top-rated though at 153 so carrying 11lb more than the next Heltenham.
Giving close to 2 stone away to Genois, who is the not only the bottom weight but also the highest price.
Galop De Chasse could be well-weighted given his win last time out but hasn’t been seen for nearly a year being absent since that early seasonal win.
Midnight River is also stepping back in trip off this high mark, also after close to a year away so the ideal bets would be either Heltenham, who has Ciaran Gethings on board rather than Harry Skelton, or Prairie Wolf who had a run out a couple of weeks ago which could have prepped him nicely for this.
He ran over hurdles and over 2m which is more of a sign of a prep run for a horse that probably needed the run.
Over fences though, he was in great form going well behind Outlaw Peter at Ayr on his final run of last season, which saw Heltenham fall four out.
That was despite him being raised by 7lb for winning well ahead of Heros at Haydock.
He’s been an improver and can keep finding more for trainers Joel Parkinson and Sue Smith.
Magic Mild & Running Queen
Nardra is the big favourite for this contest after her huge debut win when beating the rest of the field by over eight lengths at Haydock.
Those sorts of races can be misleading though, because she’s so unexposed there’s no guarantee on her running to this level and as such is difficult to back at 6/4.
I’d be looking at the bigger prices for this in hopes they can outrun the odds and test the favourite, who could well be something special.
Running Queen has run to a good level over 5f so far, beating Betty Clover in May on soft ground but she reversed the form next time out at York on good ground.
She will be suited by going up in trip to 6f and ought to not be discounted in listed company once more.
Magic Mild has great form and should be up there in this contest, having beaten Adoon Valley in July before going on to beat It Ain’t Two at Newmarket in August.
She followed that up with a solid run behind Tabiti at Salisbury in Group 3 in September.
She finished well ahead of Betty Clover in that race and has the consistency to show she should be able to win this or at least go close.
Lookaway
A match is usually cut and dry but this one between Lookaway and Personal Ambition has a lot of potential for a great race.
They both have great form over hurdles but make their chase debuts against each other, with a huge chance to get off the mark at the first time of asking over fences.
Lookaway is rated higher and has got the superior form in more graded races, going close to Iberico Lord in November in a Grade 3 before stepping up in trip well to place second behind Captain Teague in the Challow in December.
The Ask gelding was then third behind Mystical Power at Aintree in April which was still solid form, placing ahead of Mistergif, Lump Sum and also Personal Ambition.
Personal Ambition must have had a few excuses in that race as he finished so far back.
He has run incredibly well when winning at Kelso, Doncaster and Warwick – beating Jango Baie in Grade 2 company, and also beat Inoui Machin by over eight lengths at Doncaster, with that horse running well since.
He has disappointed once when upped to 2m4f when not quite jumping well enough, which could lead to Lookaway being a much better option on chase debut.
I have tipped both of these horses a couple of times before and both have promising seasons ahead.
Kay Tara Tara
She ran very well to place second behind El Elefante in March, which has obviously worked out well, as she’s rated 130 over fences and 124 over hurdles.
They ran off the same weight and Kay Tara Tara still went close to the odds-on favourite.
It was expected she’d run better next time out but pulled up in a Class 1 novice hurdle before finishing far back again.
Clearly something was amiss with her and she went for a wind op in September so now if she’s had whatever was wrong fixed, she could be very well weighted, down 3lb from when she placed second behind El Elefante.
Tom Lunn’s Profit/Loss
- October ’24: +21.57
- From May ’24: +155.99pts
- From July ’23: +368.55pts
All odds correct at time of writing
talkSPORT BET – Bet £10 Get £30 free bets – CLAIM HERE*
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chase their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
- GamCare – www.gamcare.org.uk
- Gamble Aware – www.gambleaware.org
For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.
*18+ New customers only. Opt in via mobile device, bet £10+ on Horse Racing at odds of 2.00+, in 7 days. Get 6x £5 in free bets on selected markets. Bonuses expire in 7 days. Card payments & Apple Pay only. T&Cs Apply. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly
