Horse Racing Betting Tips: Course form points to Coulis and Escobar in Balmoral
RACING purists are spoiled tomorrow with four Group Ones and a Group Two kicking off QIPCO British Champions Day, yet for many punters the most important race of the day is the closing Balmoral Handicap (4.40pm).
John Gosden is yet to win Europe’s richest mile handicap, but he has saddled the runner-up in four of the five renewals since it was introduced in 2014.
He could finally get his hands on the trophy this year with the three-year-old Lord North who was such an impressive winner of the Cambridgeshire last month.
This son of Dubawi looked a Group horse that day, but he is 12lbs higher now and it will take a monumental performance to win this off a mark of 110.
Interestingly, no three-year-old has managed to land the prize yet and I’m prepared to stick with the older, more battle-hardened horses who are more used to running on a testing surface like this.
First up is CLON COULIS for David Barron who was denied by the narrowest of margins in the Royal Hunt Cup here in June.
The ground was soft that day and she has finished first and second the only two times she has run at Ascot.
Jamie Spencer rides the straight course at Ascot brilliantly and this five-year-old looks better value to me at 12/1 with Coral than her stablemate Kynren at 8/1.
I also like David O’Meara’s ESCOBAR who was second in this race 12 months ago and has been placed in two valuable seven furlong handicaps at the track in the past six weeks.
He handles the ground, will appreciate the step back up to a mile and looks a solid each-way bet at 16/1 with Ladbrokes.
POINTERS SATURDAY
Clon Coulis e/w 4.40pm Ascot
Escobar e/w 4.40pm Ascot