Box Office Frankie Can Send Sandown Punters Home Happy
Royal Ascot is just days away, meaning the horses in action this weekend are not of the highest calibre. But seven meetings across the length and breadth of the UK on Saturday present punters with a buffet of betting opportunities.
Everything from a five-furlong novice stake to a three-mile chase is scheduled for the day. And while equine stars may be thin on the ground, the name Frankie Dettori is ‘box office’ material. The retiring jockey will draw a healthy crowd to Sandown Park.
Frankie Dettori and John Gosden can successfully team up on Saturday. ©GettyImages
The first horse the 52-year-old was booked to ride on Saturday was A Dublin Lad in the 4.00 pm race, a ten-furlong Class-2 maiden. One of four original entries in this contest for the Gosden stable (which now runs two), this youngster has raced just once, finishing a respectable third in a Newmarket maiden eight months ago. He may have improved bundles since.
Dettori Is Way Ahead on Points
Dettori is clearly picking his mounts carefully. The Italian has taken just 43 rides in the UK this season. They have yielded an impressive 13 winners and given his supporters a £14.84 profit to level £1 stakes.
A Dublin Lad is expected to improve these figures further, and who knows what Royal Ascot will bring for the eternally popular Italian. Successfully landing the Epsom Oaks, Dettori remains a live candidate for the 2023 Sports Personality of the Year award, which he is now priced 7/2 by the top UK bookmakers.
No Limit to Franny the Chester King
Another veteran jockey and close friend of Dettori, Franny Norton has a love affair with Chester, and he looks likely to visit the winner’s enclosure of that course during the afternoon. The scouser has four booked rides on Saturday, three are for Charlie Johnson, and this pair have teamed up to produce three winners during the past seven days.
Norton – who has partnered over 140 winners at the famously tight and turning course – should have little difficulty claiming a good position on the grey juvenile, There’s No Limit, in the opening 1.35 pm race.
Our selection lost a shoe when finishing third in a hot Newbury contest ten days ago. Without the incident, maybe he could have fared better. Nevertheless, this youngster showed plenty of early speed, and early zip is a vital ingredient for Chester success.
Hog Can Roast Rivals at Hexham
At Hexham, Hoganville can defy topweight in the 4.00 pm contest, a two-mile seven-furlong handicap hurdle. Only six, this former Irish-trained gelding has been transformed since joining George Bewley nine months ago.
Cumbria trainer George Bewley spoke to @scotracing_gb after Hoganville struck at @KelsoRacecourse 👇 pic.twitter.com/flLiPojf7s
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 10, 2023
For the most part, his rivals are currently out-of-sorts. An exception is Hasty Parisian, who makes the long journey to the Northumberland course for Wiltshire-based Milton Harris. But this is a horse that often flatters to deceive, and a long string of placed efforts suggest he is trip-less and not the most honest.
Regularly starting at treble-digit odds in the Emerald Isle, Hoganville started his British career with a hattrick in the autumn and won again at Kelso five weeks ago. He has risen almost 20 pounds in the official handicap, but his winning ways are surely not over.
Best Bets for Saturday’s Races
- A Dublin Lad 4.00 pm Sandown
- There’s No Limit 1.35 pm Chester
- Hoganville 4.00 pm Hexham
