Free horse racing tips for today: Cheltenham, Doncaster, Newbury and Kempton – The Wizard of Odds’ betting preview for Friday, October 26
The Wizard of Odds guides you through Friday's racing at Cheltenham, Doncaster, Newbury and Kempton
IMPROVE can live up to her name by winning Newbury’s 2.50.
She looks full of potential stepping up in distance to 1m2f for the first time.
She went well enough on debut over 7f at Newmarket in April before quickly coming out and winning over a mile at Haydock.
William Haggas has given her plenty of time and she was off for four months before coming back on the all-weather at Newmarket last time out.
She relished every yard of the mile distance there and was doing all her best work at the finish. The line came too soon with her beaten a neck into second place.
Punters steamed in to back her there and those losses should be back in their pocket today.
COUNTER ATTACK Top class colt Cross Counter all set for Melbourne Cup assault
PREJUDICE (1.20 Doncaster) looked a really nice prospect when winning on his handicap debut at Redcar last time out.
He was always in control and didn’t have to hit anything like top gear in winning by more than two lengths.
The second home has come out and won since so the form looks solid and this hike in class looks fair enough.
The handicapper was watching and has hiked him 10lb but Luca Cumani’s three-year-old has what it takes to rate a lot more highly over this mile trip.
Wizard's top tips
STRIKE IT LUCKY 15: PREJUDICE (1.20 Doncaster), SOLID STONE (2.25 Doncaster), IMPROVE (2.50 Newbury), HERCULEAN (4.45 Doncaster).
EACH-WAY DOUBLE: COURT MINSTREL (3.10 Cheltenham) came back to something like his best when beaten less than four lengths at Chepstow last time out. He likes this ground and should have no issues staying. From the same mark, he should be in the shake-up.
Pair him with MAGIC DANCER (5.30 Cheltenham) who has had a wind operation since winning in style here in April. He has been upped just 4lb for that success which came over this distance. A repeat of that effort would make him hard to keep out of the frame.
TOP TEAM: Richard Johnson has ridden 37 winners from 87 mounts for Gordon Elliott in the past two years (43%). He is on MAKE MY HEART FLY (2.00 Cheltenham) and HIGH EXPECTATIONS (3.10 Cheltenham) today.
SOLID STONE looks hard to topple in Doncaster’s 2.25.
The notebooks were out in earnest after his encouraging fourth on debut at Newbury last time out.
Sir Michael Stoute’s juvenile looked very green in the early stages before improving as the contest went on.
He seemed to handle the 7f trip in tacky ground well and is bred to be a lot better than this level. There should be a step forward from that opening run and looks good enough to strike.
It will take a massive effort to stop HERCULEAN winning Doncaster’s 4.45.
This son of Frankel has done very little wrong so far and signed off last season with a convincing win at Ascot over 7f.
That was never going to be his best distance and he found a mile on the tight side when still a good second on his comeback at Newmarket in May.
This 1m2f looked ideal when he coasted to victory when long odds-on at Pontefract last time out.
Despite that easy win, the handicapper hasn’t over-reacted and you would hope an opening mark of 90 wouldn’t come close to putting the brakes on.
DIAKALI looks the pick over the sticks in Cheltenham’s 2.35.
He will find this tougher than his two summer wins at Fontwell and Newton Abbot but he had some class over hurdles and has already taken well to the bigger obstacles.
He has enough pace for this trip and there should be a lot more to come.
NEWBURY
1.10 Phosphor
1.40 Current Option
2.15 Franz Kafka
2.50 IMPROVE (NAP)
3.25 Elegiac
4.00 Eraad
4.35 Lady Freyja
5.10 Picture Painter
DONCASTER
1.20 Prejudice
1.50 Ambling
2.25 Solid Stone
3.00 Forest Of Dean
3.35 Teruntum Star
4.10 Surya
4.45 Herculean
5.20 Tralee Hills
CHELTENHAM
2.00 Go Another One
2.35 Diakali
3.10 Court Minstrel ew
3.45 Lil Rockerfeller
4.20 Some Day Soon
4.55 Cucklington
5.30 Magic Dancer ew
KEMPTON
5.45 Nawar
6.15 Goodwood Showman
6.45 Amjaady
7.15 Verve
7.45 Ginger Fox
8.15 Augenblick
8.45 Confrerie
9.15 Embers Glow