Saturday ITV Racing Tips: Best bets for Ascot, Haydock and Wincanton
Imperial Aura at Ascot
The ITV cameras are rolling at three meetings on Saturday, February 18 and the Planet Sport tipsters have a red-hot selection for each of the seven races on offer.
The Grade 1 Ascot Chase (1535) is the feature race on Saturday, but there's also three Grade 2s to get stuck into across all three racecourses.
Let's start with a quick canter through our top tips, you can get more detail on why we've picked them further down the page.
Don't forget to check out the racecards, results and live odds in the Planet Sport racing live centre.
Selections:
13:50 (Ascot) Bold Endeavour
14:05 (Haydock) Erne River
14:25 (Ascot) Cap Du Nord
14:40 (Haydock) Notachance
15:00 (Ascot) Irish Hill
15:12 (Wincanton) Knappers Hill
15:35 (Ascot) Shishkin
13:50 (Ascot) Bold Endeavour
Nicky Henderson should be on the mark with Bold Endeavour in the Bateaux London Reynoldstown Novices' Chase.
This does not appear to be the strongest renewal of this Grade Two and Bold Endeavour has 10lb or more in hand on the official ratings.
14:05 (Haydock) Erne River
Erne River returns to Grade Two company in the Betfred Rendlesham Hurdle after an admirable handicap effort at Doncaster.
After proving no match for Hitman over fences here in November, Nick Kent pitched him into a class three event on Town Moor and he only went down by three-quarters of a length, conceding 18lb to the winner.
Clearly this represents a different kind of test, but Erne River can rise to the occasion,
Of the rest, Green Book and Itchy Feet would be the pick. The latter won nicely at Huntingdon last time as he returned back to this sphere.
14:25 (Ascot) Cap Du Nord
Cap Du Nord showed signs of a renaissance last time and can build on that in the LK Bennett Swinley Handicap Chase.
He was a game winner of the Coral Trophy in 2022 but struggled off his revised mark and is now back on the same perch as when he triumphed at Kempton.
14:40 (Haydock) Notachance
Notachance can snap a two-year barren spell in the Betfred Grand National Trial Handicap Chase at Haydock.
Winner of the 2021 Classic Chase at Warwick, he finished a fair third behind Iwilldoit in that race on his most recent start and is still 7lb lower than his last winning mark.
Others to note are Fontaine Collonges, The Two Amigos and Bristol De Mai.
15:12 (Wincanton) Knappers Hill
Knappers Hill should find the Wincanton Jennings Bet Kingwell Hurdle more his speed after an unsuccessful trip to Cheltenham.
He landed the Elite Hurdle over this course and distance back in November, but a combination of a longer trip and testing ground saw him well beaten at Prestbury Park on New Year's Day.
With decent conditions on offer in Somerset, Knappers Hill can bounce back.
Greatwood winner I Like To Move It and First Street are not to be underestimated either.
15:35 (Ascot) Shishkin
Shishkin can justify Henderson's decision to switch up in trip by landing the Betfair Ascot Chase at the Berkshire track.
Henderson opted not to enter his star chaser in the Champion Chase at Cheltenham, instead plumping for Ryanair and Gold Cup engagements - and victory here would surely see his odds for the Ryanair come crashing.
A year is a long time in racing and at this point in 2022 it would have been unimaginable that Shishkin would be moving up to two miles and five furlongs as well as engaging in something of a retrieval mission.
However, after his seven-race unbeaten streak ended when pulled up at last year's Festival, with a rare bone condition subsequently diagnosed, Shishkin could finish only a distant third to Edwardstone in the Tingle Creek.
A flipped palate scuppered a planned run at Kempton last month, but Henderson thinks Shishkin is back on form now and the distance would certainly appear to be well within his remit, judged both on his racing style and the fact he triumphed over three miles in the point to point field.
Fakir D'oudairies and Pic D'Orhy will provide a stern test, but if Shishkin is the champion he previously appeared, he should be good enough.
