Horse racing tips from the Sporting Life and Timeform team

The racing experts at Timeform and Sporting Life join forces to bring you the best bets for Saturday’s races.

TOWN HALL – 1.35 Newcastle (Ben Linfoot)

CITY HALL is worth a bet in the opening Jenningsbet 200 Shops Nationwide Handicap over six furlongs at Newcastle. There should be some very strong pace here and that is exactly what City House needs, especially over this distance as he is bred for further and has run over seven furlongs for half his career. However, he clearly looks better over six furlongs at this stage and he also looks much better on an all-weather surface as the two best efforts of his career both came at Kempton.

One was last time out when he was taken off his feet early, but he came home really well and it was a performance that suggested he can strike quickly. Weighing in at just 2lb, I’m not surprised that James Fanshawe has identified Newcastle as the next step for him as it certainly seems to be a fit and the Newmarket handler has an excellent 20% strike rate here.

GORDON BENNETT – 1.45 Curragh (Billy Nash)

A big eye-catcher on this circuit during its most recent start, GORDON BENNETT looks to have a lot in his favor as he looks to end a run of defeats dating back to September 2022. After performing well in his re-appearance at Naas in May, he was beaten by just over three lengths last time out by Red Letter Bray, but he actually ended up on the reins after being stuck behind a wall of horses two furlongs away.

He has won twice at this track and while he will probably always be a hostage to fortune due to his racing style, an abundance of frontrunners/prominent racers in this field means it should be set up well for someone who likes to come from the pace.

CALIFORNIA DREAMER – 2.20 Curragh (James Cooper)

There is good action at the Curragh on Saturday, with the Group 2 Airlie Stud Stakes leading the way and it looks like a good race for betting. Truly Enchanting is crying out for 6f and couldn’t be in better hands but she looks a vulnerable favorite on what she has achieved on the track, her effort in the Queen Mary being a bit disappointing to be honest.

On the other hand, CALIFORNIA DREAMER ran a great performance at the Royal Meeting, fifth at Albany and perhaps a little better than the result. He came out with a lot of honour, after racing to the other side.

That shape is probably the best available and although young fish with good performance can improve quickly, California Dreamer is currently in fourth place and seems overpriced.

ZIMMERMAN – 2.35 Newcastle (Andrew Asquith)

Everything of ZIMMERMAN‘s victories have been achieved on the field, although his only run on the ground in all weathers was on this course over an inadequate mile as a two-year-old, and he should be well suited to the galloping nature of this circuit. Stamina seems to be his strong point, and he probably arrives with a better heart than his recent form figures suggest, and shows better form than the bald result at Chester last time, where he lost his position on the second circuit and at the same time as the race was taking place. He is beginning to develop.

Zimmerman is now back in cheek pads, a headgear he has worn for three of his four career victories, which should help him maintain his focus. The demands of this race should bring out the best in him and he remains at a reasonable level.

JUNGLE MAC – 3.35 Chester (David Johnson)

Although his slightly awkward head position is a bit off-putting, the power of JUNGLE MACHis form means he should be given another chance here. He finished third behind Britannia winner Mickley at Doncaster and simply found Treasure Time too good at Newmarket last week, with the pair staying well clear. A rise of just £3 for that seems mild, while he’s ideally situated for his usual front-running tactics, calling on Franny Norton.

LOCAL HERO – 3.40 Newcastle (David Ord)

He was impressive at Kempton on his last start and LOCAL HERO could be a blow to the three-year-old generation.

Richard Hannon’s charge is up six pounds for the length-and-three-quarters defeat of Rich Harry, but is upwardly mobile and impressed with the change of gear he showed to sort things out there. There’s more to come.

ELDRICKJONES – 3.40 Newcastle (Greg Spink)

ELDRICKJONES has an impressive record at Newcastle (form figures of 612151) and he looks a good bet to further improve that in the 3.40 at Gosforth Park. His efforts on artificial turf with handicaps on large pitches have not gone to plan the last two times, but he is clearly a better horse on a synthetic surface and with Cieren Fallon at the top of his game, he is worthy of a play either way for a double figure price at the time of writing.

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