Ascot racing tips (1425): Blue D’Oroux and West Balboa ready for Long Walk tussle

14:25 Ascot: Howden Long Walk Hurdle (3 miles 97 yards)  

Among the ten scheduled starters, even rank outsider Goshen was once a strongly-fancied Cheltenham Festival favourite, while the evergreen Paisley Park has won this race three times before, and would not be lining up if Emma Lavelle did not believe her 11-year-old had a realistic chance of landing a fourth success.

Dashel Drasher is another who always seems to save his best for the big occasion, and after beginning this year with four straight runner-up spots, he was back on song earlier this month when getting the better of Paisley Park to land the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury.

Planet Sport Bet: Bet £20+ cash on any runner in the race and if West Balboa wins, get a £5 Free Bet

Nearer the top of the betting, Crambo and Champ are fancied to give a good account of themselves, but all of the above will need to be on top form to finish ahead of West Balboa, who has been beaten by just two of 60 rivals in her six outings to date, boasting figures of 122111 over two years of being sparingly raced. 

The seven-year-old mare rounded off last season with a cosy five-length win in a 20-runner handicap at Aintree and six weeks ago she returned to the same venue to pick up where she left off to win a smaller 3-runner affair after a seven-month break.

She benefits from her mare’s seven-pound allowance under Harry Skelton, who teamed up successfully with his trainer-father Dan to land an 8/1 winner in Ascot’s last race on Friday, so the yard is clearly producing horses in fine fettle.

 

• Suggested bet: West Balboa in the 14:25 at Ascot

• Tip advised by Cinzano Kid on Tipstrr

For those looking for more each-way value, then any horse trained by Paul Nicholls is a good place to start, and the the fact that his star jockey Harry Cobden has plumped for Blueking D’oroux above Red Risk (Bryony Frost gets that ride) offers a good indication of where the yard’s priority lies.

Since undergoing wind surgery last winter, he has only finished behind one of his 41 rivals in four outings, and that was a shock 40/1 outsider in a 20-runner conditional jockeys’ handicap at Aintree in April.

WATCH: Harry Cobden assesses his chances on Blueking D’oroux

Since then, Cobden has been on board to pilot Blueking D’oroux to two tidy wins on his return from a six-month summer break, including the Coral Hurdle over this course last time out four weeks ago.

Nicholls clearly holds his progressive four-year-old in high regard, possibly with an aim towards chasing in the future, and he is certainly of interest here, albeit with a question-mark over his stamina in this first tilt over three miles. 

 

• Best each-way bet: Blueking D’oroux in the 14:25 at Ascot

• Tip advised by Each Way Value Tips on Tipstrr

 

READ MORE: Saturday ITV racing tips: Best bets for Ascot and Haydock on December 23