Ben Linfoot has five selections for Saturday’s itv racing across Goodwood, Haydock and York, with Richie’s Rocket, Golden Story, Astrazar, Squealer and Five Ways all put up at prices that could shape the betting markets before the first race even goes off. The picks range from an each-way punt at Goodwood to a double-figure value play at Haydock, with Linfoot again looking for horses who may be better than their current odds suggest.
Richie’s Rocket is Linfoot’s first call, taken each-way in the 13:25 at Goodwood at 22/1 for 2pts win. Golden Story follows in the 14:00 at Goodwood at 7/2 for 1pt win, while Astrazar is the value angle in the 14:20 at Haydock at 10/1 for 0.5pts e.w. Squealer is the each-way pick in the 14:40 at York at 28/1, and Five Ways completes the five in the 14:58 at Haydock at 11/1.
Five Ways is the more eye-catching of the late afternoon selections because he is aimed at the Group 2 William Hill Sandy Lane Stakes for three-year-olds over six furlongs, one of the key supporting races on Haydock’s card behind the William Hill Temple Stakes, the day’s headlining sprint. Linfoot’s case is built on the sense that the horse may have more to offer than he has shown so far, with the suggestion that he should have learned plenty after racing too keen in last year’s Middle Park and then tackling older horses earlier this season in the Palace House behind Night Raider.
Astrazar is the other selection with a clear form argument attached to him. Linfoot said he offered value at double-figure prices after a luckless return at Newbury last time, when he got no run up the stands’ rail. The view is that the gelding was better than the bare result, and that a clearer passage at Haydock could make a big difference.
That is the shape of the weekend for punters following itv racing: a spread of bets, a handful of prices, and a card that asks whether the market has underestimated a few horses in different ways. Haydock’s sprint programme and the wider Saturday pattern, with Irish Guineas action at the Curragh also in the mix, mean there is no shortage of moving parts. Linfoot has gone looking for value in them rather than certainty, and on this kind of day that is usually the more honest way to play it.
One last note hangs over the Haydock selections. Princling was described as probably much better than his mark of 87, a reminder that the race card is full of runners with something to prove and something to offer. If one of these prices lands, it will likely be because the race unfolded the way the bettor hoped rather than the way the market expected.
