It is Champions Day at Ascot, and top tipster and broadcaster Ed Quigley, aka ‘Longshot Ted’ is back with his best bets on a cracking card and casts an eye to Sunday’s action…
Find the following picks for the races of the day on weekend, October 19 and 20. Play on the races with our best expert-rated horse racing betting sites:
Saturday
Sunday
BUCANERO FUERTE hasn’t really hit top gear this season, but looks capable of striking here having needed the last couple of runs to get himself cherry ripe on the comeback trail after a small setback.
As a two-year-old, he was absolute mustard, and this Group 1 winner isn’t without a shout here at a big price. Slow ground won’t be an issue, and this is the division which is capable of throwing up shock results as we saw last year in this race, and at Haydock last month.
Bucanero Fuerte was taken off his feet over the minimum trip at the Curragh last time out, and should be much happier stepping back up to 6f for this assignment.
David Egan takes the ride on the colt who on official figures is right in the thick of things here and it would be far from a shock if this combination were to hit the frame at a massive price.
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To date, it has been a season of hitting the crossbar for the Aidan O’Brien trained HENRY LONGFELLOW, and he looks the value play to get in the shake up here for the powerhouse combination of Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore.
Unbeaten as a two-year-old, things haven’t quite gone right for the Dubawi colt so far this term, but there have been signs that he isn’t a million miles away from striking again, as we witnessed over this Course and Distance back at Royal Ascot, when he was beaten just a neck by the high class Rosallion in the St James’s Palace Stakes.
A return to this track won’t be a bad thing, and cut in the ground poses no issue either. This is a hot race, but the yard are on fire, and it isn’t hard to envisage Henry Longfellow playing a part at the business end of proceedings in what should be an absolute belter of a contest.
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This is a sensational renewal of the Champion Stakes, and this can go the way of the win machine that is ECONOMICS for the William Haggas and Tom Marquand combination.
The three-year-old is seeking a five-timer, and arrives here on the back of his first win at the top level when seeing off Auguste Rodin in an epic clash in the Irish Champion Stakes last month. For a horse who is relatively lightly-raced he showed a great blend of class and guts, as he battled it out with a proper battle hardened rival to claim the victory.
This is another stacked encounter, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if there was more improvement to come from the Night Of Thunder colt. Underfoot conditions shouldn’t be an issue and he can cap off a fine season in style by dining at the top table here with the yard continuing to operate in fine fettle.
Calandagan is a formidable opponent amongst others, but this can go the way of the ‘home team’ on this occasion.
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IDY WOOD has a good record fresh, and showed some smart form in the autumn last season, so is one to take note of on Chase debut. The Jamie Snowden trained representative was a smart winner at Fontwell on Hurdling debut, and was a winner on another occasion at Plumpton.
He also managed to finish third in a Grade 2’s at Cheltenham and at this track, so as a solid body of work in the locker. He looks the type physically who should benefit immensely from tackling a fence and he has the scope to prove much better than a BHA rating of 120 in this discipline.
Gavin Sheehan takes the ride on this unexposed individual, and a big performance should be on the cards for the son of Coastal Path. The Jamie Snowden team had a terrific campaign last season and more can be expected once again over the coming months from the Lambourn handler.
This is a fascinating encounter, where on ratings, last year’s winner Rubaud should have a lot of these in trouble. However, many of Paul Nicholls’ string have been needing the run to hit top gear, and so it may pay to look elsewhere.
In receipt of plenty of weight from her rivals, the Nigel Twiston-Davies’ trained 6-year-old CASA NO MENTO has won four of her last five starts and appears to be going from strength to strength.
She is versatile in regards to underfoot requirements, and has an excellent record when fresh, so reappearing after a 171-day absence shouldn’t be viewed as a negative, especially with the yard of the Cotswold base operating at around a 30% strike-rate for October.
She is likely to be fully revved up for this assignment and can serve it up to her higher-rated rivals here, who may have their eyes on bigger prizes further down the line.
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Don’t forget Ed will be back on Tuesday with his best bets for Exeter’s opening meeting of the season here at talkSPORT!
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