Derby and Oaks trials take place on Saturday at Lingfield, with the Victoria Cup headlining Ascot’s card. here are Andrew Mount’s top tips to kick off the weekend.
Back his selections with SkyBet’s new customer offer of Bet 5p Get £30 In Free Bets.
Posted: 2.54pm, Friday, May 9th
1.20 Nottingham – BULLDOG SPIRIT (1pt win – 7/1 bet365)
IT’S TIM, bidding for a five-timer, will be popular under a penalty but I’d rather chance BULLDOG SPIRIT. Brian Ellison’s five-year-old will appreciate the small field and was a winner at Southwell in March on his stable debut when facing just seven rivals. He’s run with credit in bigger fields since – finishing 9th of 19 at Doncaster and seventh of 16 at Lingfield, with the latest effort most eyecatching as he raced on the outside when the outside from stall 16 when the inside route was favoured (first three drawn 2, 3 and 4). He’s won four of his 18 starts in single-digit line-ups for a profit of £10.75 to a £1 level stake at SP, including form figures on good to firm going or Tapeta of 121281591 (4-9). I’ll save on the selection to finish second to IT’S TIM in a forecast.
1.35 Haydock – TAPLEY (1pt e/w – 12/1 Paddy Power, Betfair, bet365)
TAPLEY ran a cracker when we were on each-way at 100-1 for the conditional/amateur jockeys’ handicap hurdle at Aintree last month, finishing sixth of 17 at 50-1. Suzy Smith’s eight-year-old raced closer to the strong early pace than ideal that day – the first three home were described by the Racing Post as “towards rear”, “midfield” and “in rear” – and it was a run worthy of a serious upgrade. He didn’t build on that when fifth at Hereford next time, though was only beaten by a little under six lengths, and 7lb conditional Elizabath Gale, on board the last twice, makes way for Sean Bowen. There should be plenty of pace on from the lines of Our Champ and Givemefive and I expect Bowen will be happy to track the early gallop or even take a midfield sit before pouncing late.
2.40 Ascot – METAL MERCHANT (1pt e/w – 12/1 Paddy Power, Betfair, bet365, Betfred)
METAL MERCHANT didn’t enjoy the round mile at Newbury last time where he could only finish tenth of 14 in the Spring Cup as a well backed 13-2 shot. Jack Channon’s five-year-old, who looks well drawn in stall 15 of 19 today (all the pace is high) will appreciate the return to Ascot’s straight course where he has a useful record. He did third best of his flank when 14th of 19 to Docklands in the 2023 Britannia Stakes (1m) before scoring over the same distance in October of the same year and, last year, his two course outings produced a seventh of 29 in the Royal Hunt Cup (doing second best of his group) and a one-length fourth of 18 over 7f in the International Stakes when the race wasn’t run to suit his patient style. The Newbury form was boosted when fourth-placed Two Tempting won at Chester yesterday and he should encounter a decent gallop. I’ve saved on MYAL whose recent Haydock win (when tipped in this column) took his record in 7f handicaps to 11111 (5-5).
3.50 Ascot – CHARTWELL JOCK (1pt win – 3/1 bet365)
CHARTWELL JOCK was a big eyecatcher at Doncaster on his turf debut, finishing second to the gambled-on Many Men and doing clear best of the prominent racers. Forcing tactics were hard to pull off at that meeting because of the strong wind and it was a fine effort in the circumstances. Andrew Balding’s colt was a winner at Wolverhampton on his penultimate start and remains open to plenty of improvement.
Andrew Mount’s Best Bets
1.20 Nottingham – BULLDOG SPIRIT (1pt win – 7/1 bet365)
1.35 Haydock – TAPLEY (1pt e/w – 12/1 Paddy Power, Betfair, bet365)
2.40 Ascot – METAL MERCHANT (1pt e/w – 12/1 Paddy Power, Betfair, bet365, Betfred)
3.50 Ascot – CHARTWELL JOCK (1pt win – 3/1 bet365)
Bulldog Spirit
Andrew Mount’s Horse Racing Tips – Saturday, 10th May
Andrew’s Angles – Chasing Winners at Chester’s May Meeting
Chester’s three-day May meeting gets underway tomorrow (Wednesday, May 7th) so I thought I’d use this week’s column to look at some race trends as well as some general punting angles for this unique venue… WEDNESDAY The action gets underway with the Lily Agnes Stakes (1.30) over the 5f trip, a race that has been…
Tue 06 May 2025Looking For More Racing Info? Check Out Our Racecards & Top Tips Sections
Make sure you’re following us on all our social media platforms to keep up to date with all the latest horse racing news and the best tips.