It’s the final weekend of July as we speed towards the end of summer. There’s plenty to look forward to in the coming weeks, however. Football fans enjoy the long-awaited return of the English Premier League in early August, there’s the ultra-competitive Hungarian Grand Prix and the Ashes Test between England and Australia has followers talking. Here are our July 27 horse racing betting tips.
As you would expect, the horse racing schedule doesn’t disappoint either and those with a soft spot for the flat season in the UK and Ireland are spoiled for choice. Saturday’s schedule brings us competitive action from a number of major courses, including Ascot, York, Newmarket, Chester Lingfield and Gowran Park. The schedule gives us an interest from, early afternoon through to evening and that will please sports bettors looking to profit from the occasion.
Ascot the Standout Meeting
There are a number of group races included on the fixture list, with the standout races being the Keeneland Stakes, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot and the York Stakes at, you guessed it, York racecourse. Bookmakers roll out the red carpet, offering a number of eye-catching betting markets, aimed at enticing punters into a bet on the outcome, increasing their enjoyment of the afternoon. There’s no lack of value around either.
The best of the day takes place at Ascot where a seven-race card gets started at 1.50pm with the fillies’ group 3 Keeneland Stakes, the show brought to a close at the conclusion of the Plymouth Fruit Cup Handicap due to post at 5.20pm. Bet on the winner of each-race, take the benefit of each-way singles or aim for a big pay-out by backing one of the popular multiple bets available, such as a Lucky 15 or Yankee. Small stakes for a bumper pay-out is the aim there.
Which races should you bet your stake on and where does the smart money go? Knowing the answer to those questions is the difference between pulling in a profit and dropping your betting balance on the busiest day of the week. Thankfully, as followers of this site have come to expect, our team of racing experts and professional tipsters are on hand to help you out. We preview the best the day has to offer and offer our betting tips and predictions. We’ve also done the research necessary to tell you which bookmakers are offering best price. Getting the most for your stake money is vital to those serious about making a consistent profit this season.
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes – 3.40pm Ascot
The best race of the day is the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes which goes to post at 3.40pm at Ascot. One mile and three furlongs lies ahead of the pack and, at the time of writing, the field is made up of 11 runners. That number will reduce following the declaration stages and what we will be left with is a competitive pack laying claim to a bumper prize pool, over £700,000 promised to the winner of this year’s race.
A Group 1 race, we are expecting perfect conditions and that should result in some fast times. The forecast tells us punters should target lovers of good ground and there hasn’t been an awful lot of rain in the area over the last week to suggest that will change approaching the off. This race was first run in 1951 when won by Supreme Court for Charlie Elliott and Evan Williams. It has provided us with a star-studded winner’s list since and this year’s champion will be added to a club that already includes the likes of Nijinsky, Shergar, Swain, Galileo, Nathaniel, Highlands Reel and Enable.
Last year’s race was won by Poet’s Word for James Doyle and Michael Stoute, the champion recording an impressive winning time of 2.25.84. That would’ve been enough to secure victory in most recent runnings of this race. Poet’s Word won’t be one of the few horses winning two-in-a-row, however, and 2019 will provide us with a new champion. Who will that be? A clue could be taken from the trends associated with this historic race.
Race Trends
Two horses have won this race twice, making them the event’s joint most successful runners. Dahlia scored in 1973 and again in 1974 and that was matched by Swain in 1997 and 1998. We have to go back a few years to find the most successful jockey ever to have challenged for this race and that was none other than Lester Piggot who rode a total of seven champions between 1965 and 1984. Sir Michael Stoute is the trainer worth following with a half dozen titles against his name. He got off the mark with Shergar in 1981 and was last seen in the winner’s enclosure with Poets Word last year.
Looking at recent runnings of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes we notice 11 of the last 15 winners have been aged four years old at the time of scoring and that is an incredibly strong trend. Keep an eye out for horses carrying that age. Three of the last 10 winners have been trained by Sir Michael Stoute, with John Gosden sending out two of the last four. That’s another stat that should feature in your thinking when placing your bets on this race.
The antepost betting has 2017 champion Enable as favourite with no more than the 4/6 being offered up by 10Bet available on another victory. She’s a five-year-old but is trained by Gosden and is a product of another former winner in Nathaniel. A few ticks there, but the price is short and may put a few off. Stoute trains Crystal Ocean who can be backed at 3/1 with 10Bet.
Our Tip: Crystal Ocean – 3.40pm Ascot at 3/1 with 10Bet
