TV Racing Tips: Best Bets for Saturday’s action from Newmarket and York

International weeks are always a little disappointing on the betting front, with the lack of Premier League action leaving a glaring hole in the weekend offering. Happily, the horse racing rarely lets us down, and this Saturday, the ITV gang heads to Newmarket and York for a sizzling afternoon of punting action.

Whether sprinters or stayers, handicappers or Group 1 stars who float your betting boat, you should find something to tickle your fancy on a TV card which includes four Group class contests, headlined by the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes, and the big field bonanza of the stamina-sapping Cesarewitch Handicap. We need no further excuse to book the sofa for the afternoon, and here, using data presented by NewBettingSites.uk, we pick out our best bets in each of the eight races on offer.

1:15 Newmarket – Space Blues Darley Stakes, 1m1f, Group 3

A cracking Group class event kicks off the action, with the John & Thady Gosden-trained Lead Artist sitting atop the market. Two lengths behind Kinross in a Group 2 last time, he boasts obvious claims on this slight drop in class but is yet to race over quite this far. The one to be on is Liberty Lane from the Karl Burke operation. This four-year-old wowed clock-watchers when storming to victory in the Cambridgeshire Handicap last time, looking every inch a Group horse in a handicap. Back over his favourite track and trip, he gets the chance to prove it here.

Recommended Bet - Liberty Lane to win @ 7/2 with BetMGM

1:30 York – Coral Rockingham Stakes, 6f, Listed

We move up to York for race 2, and what looks like a wide-open handicap affair, with the ability to handle soft ground likely to be a significant factor. Bolo Neighs, Shadow Army, and It Ain’t Two all merit respect, but the one we like is Tom Clover’s Invictus Gold. He has a bit to find on ratings with a couple of these, but we suspect we haven’t seen the best of him yet. Breaking his duck in a Southwell Maiden in July, he stepped on that to score in grand style on good to soft at Newmarket last time. His rounded action suggests he should relish these conditions, and he can take the next step up the ladder.

Recommended Bet - Invictus Gold to win @ 3/1 with LiveScoreBet

1:50 Newmarket – Palace Pier Zetland Stakes, 1m2f, Group 3

Aidan O’Brien is strongly represented in the day’s juvenile events at HQ and saddles a pair of nicely bred sorts in this Group 3 affair. The market and Ryan Moore suggest Shackleton is the one to be on, but, for better or worse, we will take him on with stablemate County Mayo. By Wootton Bassett and out of a Galileo half-sister to the Arc winner Danedream, this one took a huge step up to power away in his Maiden event at Gowran Park last time and can at least hit the frame on this step up in class.

Recommended Bet - County Mayo each way @ 15/2 with LiveScoreBet

2:05 York – Coral ‘Daily Rewards Shaker’ Handicap, 1m2½f, Class 2

15 go to post in this competitive handicap affair, but many firms are likely to offer 4+ places on the day, making an each-way bet an attractive proposition. With that in mind, the one to catch our eye at a double-figure price is the Kevin Philippart De Foy-trained four-year-old Bint Al Daar. Two previous efforts over this trip on soft ground have yielded a pair of runner-up finishes, and, with placed efforts in his past five starts, he arrives at the top of his game.

Recommended Bet - Bint Al Daar each way @ Best Morning Price

2:25 Newmarket – Emirates Autumn Stakes, 1m, Group 3

Landed by Ghaiyyath, Coroebus, and Best Solution in the past eight years, this juvenile contest is well worth watching with an eye to the future. If there is a horse to join that collection of Group 1 stars in 2024, the market suggests it will be Aidan O’Brien’s Delacroix or Silver Peak from the Charlie Appleby operation. However, the one who may be underestimated is Nightwalker from the yard of the soon-to-be-retired Sir Michael Stoute. By the mighty Frankel, we loved his effort last time out at Yarmouth when hitting the line ¾l clear and seemingly full of running. Stoute won that contest with subsequent Group race star Regal Reality in 2017, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see this imposing sort follow suit.

Recommended Bet - Nightwalker each way @ 9/1 with QuinnBet

2:40 York – Coral Sprint Trophy Handicap, 6f, Class 2

Big field handicapping action rounds off the TV action from the Knavesmire. You can make a case for a fair few of the 22 runners but our two for the shortlist are Room Service and Strike Red, with a narrow preference for the latter. Not beaten far on ground too quick in the Ayr Gold Cup last time, he won this off a mark of 92 in 2022 and is only 1lb higher here. That mark of 93 is 2lb lower than for his most recent success, which came in a 20-runner soft ground contest over this trip at the Curragh.

Recommended Bet - Strike Red each way @ 10/1 with QuinnBet

3:00 Newmarket – Darley Dewhurst Stakes, 7f, Group 1

The day’s big Group 1 comes in the shape of the hottest juvenile event of the season and has attracted a suitably stellar field. Having won seven of the past nine editions, Aidan O’Brien and Charlie Appleby have a stranglehold on the market once again. The unbeaten course winner Ancient Truth and Middle Park hero Shadow Of Light represent a potent two-pronged attack for the boys in blue, but we are in no rush to oppose the impressive The Lion In Winter. Arriving with a perfect two-from-two record, the latest Ballydoyle star comfortably dispatched subsequent Group 2 scorer Wimbledon Hawkeye last time and can confirm his status as the favourite for the 2025 2000 Guineas and Derby.

Recommended Bet - The Lion In Winter to win @ Evs with BetGoodwin

3:40 Newmarket – Club Godolphin Cesarewitch Handicap, 2m2f, Class 2

2m2f is the trip as 25 go to post in the second leg of the Autumn double. No shortage of contenders here, with Sea Of Sands, Jacovec Tavern, and defending champ The Shunter amongst a strong Irish challenge. It’s never wise to oppose the Irish here, but the one we like at an each-way price is Sir Mark Prescott’s Trooper Bisdee. The local handler has had numerous cracks at this but not many who arrived on the back of such a light campaign. Already a winner over the distance, this Australia gelding caught our eye when staying on into fourth in the trial for this event last month. Looking in need of the run to our eye that day, he can at least replicate that top-four finish on the big day.

Recommended Bet - Trooper Bisdee each way @ 25/1 with BetGoodwin

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