Friday ITV racing tips: Best bets for Chester and Ascot
- Planet Sport writer
- 11 May 2023
It's the final day of Chester's May Festival and the ITV cameras are on hand to catch more of the action, so the Planet Sport tipsters have their selections at the ready on Friday, May 12.
Another cracking card on offer at Chester, which includes the Group 2 Huxley Stakes (1440) and the Chester Cup (1515), the cameras also pop over to Ascot for an intriguing seven furlong handicap.
Let's start with a quick list of selections for Friday's meetings, you can get some more detail on why we've picked our highlighted horses further down the page.
Don't forget to check out the racecards, results and live odds in
Planet Sport's racing live centre.
Good luck and please gamble responsibly.
(Please be aware selections could become non-runners after article publication)
Friday's selections:
13:50 (Ascot) In These Shoes
14:05 (Chester) Groundbreaker
14:40 (Chester) Point Lonsdale
15:15 (Chester) Call My Bluff
15:45 (Chester) King Of The Plains
13:30 (Chester) Gweedore
Revich just faded late into third last time at Newbury over a mile and has to be considered running off the same mark for the Richard Spencer yard.
However, preference is still for Gweedore, who was only beaten a length and a half into second on his latest outing over 7f at Haydock, and the handicapper has been kind to leave his rating alone.
Therefore, he is fancied to attack from stall eight and make all. The booking of Ryan Moore on Croupier makes him an interesting contender.
14:05 (Chester) Groundbreaker
Grounbreaker was last seen in September when beaten just under three lengths in a warm handicap that has worked out well at Newbury.
The son of Oasis Dream has been gelded during his break which is likely to benefit him, especially given how keen he could be early on in some of his races last season.
The main danger looks to be Baryshnikov, who stayed on well last time when third at Pontefract and has Billy Loughnane claiming 3lb.
Savvy Victory completes the shortlist.
14:40 (Chester) Point Lonsdale
Point Lonsdale can kick on after a winning return and secure Group Two honours in the IRE-Incentive, It Pays To Buy Irish Huxley Stakes at Chester.
Aidan O'Brien's colt looked set for stardom during his juvenile campaign, winning each of his four starts and graduating from Listed glory to Group Two scorer before having to give best to Native Trail in the National Stakes.
Point Lonsdale went into the winter as a Classic contender and duly contested the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, where he came home a well-beaten 10th behind Coroebus in what transpired to be the only start of his 2022 campaign after he suffered an injury.
O'Brien's patience paid dividends when the son of Australia returned with a smart win in last month's Alleged Stakes at the Curragh, getting the better of a long duel with the race-fit Visualisation to eventually win by a length and a half.
Point Lonsdale proved his stamina at 10 furlongs, particularly on what was deep ground, and some improvement must be likely given he was returning from 351 days on the sidelines.
It is pretty tight on the ratings between him, Mujtaba, Foxes Tales and Royal Champion, but Point Lonsdale can just have the edge.
15:15 (Chester) Call My Bluff
Ante-post favourite Novel Legend missed out on a place in the tote Chester Cup by one and in his absence Call My Bluff might be the right call.
He finished six lengths behind that rival when they clashed at Newbury last month, with Dominic Ffrench Davis' charge the only one to put up any kind of challenge to that impressive winner.
While he was ultimately easily beaten, Call My Bluff was nine lengths clear of the third and is 2lb ahead of his revised mark after that effort.
Call My Bluff also has form on the tricky Roodee track, having been beaten a head by the reopposing Emiyn over the course and distance last September, conceding 1lb on that occasion but getting that same leverage this time around.
The Make Believe gelding has yet to finish out of the first three in as many starts at Chester and Ffrench Davis could have executed some fine placing in getting him in near the bottom of the weights, with his low draw adding further confidence.
15:45 (Chester) King Of The Plains
Banderas arguably sets the standard on form based on his close second in a decent maiden at Newbury last month.
He can be expected to cope with the longer trip and the signs are positive.
However, it's noteworthy that nicely-bred newcomer King Of The Plains is pitched at this level on debut and the son of Roaring Lion is dangerous to underestimate.
Kingsley Pride, a stablemate of the selection, also has the potential to improve in first-time blinkers.
