Haydock Park & Ascot tips: Best bets and odds for Saturday’s racing

It’s looking like a pretty special Saturday ahead and I’ve got five best bets for the meetings at Ascot and Haydock Park, including a runner in the Peter Marsh Chase.

This looks quite an open contest on paper and it might be the opportunity IMPERIAL BEDE needs to get back to winning ways.

The Jackdaws Castle inmate has dropped a total of 6lb for two starts this season and is now fully 10lb lower than when we last saw him win. This is his optimum trip and conditions won’t be a problem for him. JP McManus has had to be patient with him and that can be rewarded this time.

Saturday racing tip 1: Imperial Bede – 1pt win @ 1pt win @ 9/1 (bet365)

At the risk of following this horse off cliffs and with the greatest respect to the improving Konfusion, MYRETOWN is taken on betting sites to get back to winning ways in this £100,000 premier handicap.

Regulars will know how keen I’ve been on the Lucinda Russell and Michael Scudamore-trained nine-year-old, since the early part of last season. What happened to him at Newbury was extraordinary. I’ve watched it back again and he was jumping superbly up front until taking off way too soon and crashing out towards the end of the first circuit.

I’m trusting in that very good team way up north of the border to have him back in the best of order and I think the 3lb he receives from Rehearsal Chase winner Konfusion could be key.

Having said that, the presence of Sue Smith and Joel Parkinson’s runner does certainly cause concern, as a stable that is not one for making bold statements is wondering whether or not they have a Gold Cup horse on their hands. He’ll need to win this if that’s the case.

Saturday racing tip 2: Myretown – 2pts win @ 2/1 (bet365)

Cases can be made for a number of runners in this field but I think the strongest of those is with the Dan Skelton-trained DALSTON LAD, who dotted up in novices’ company at Sedgefield last time (2m4f, good to soft), when first-time cheekpieces appeared to work.

That was a marked improvement from the six-year-old, who won two bumpers and a point, so stamina is clearly his forte. The step into handicap company is from a mark of 121 and, given the longer trip here looks bound to play to his strengths, he could look very well treated by 14.45 on Saturday. I like his chance.

Saturday racing tip 3: Dalston Lad – 3pts win @ 10/3 (Ladbrokes)

Another open-looking heat sees a field of 17 declared, and at the time of writing, horse racing betting sites are going 11/2 the field.

Within it, I’d like to give another chance to AKIMOS, who is inexperienced but began his handicapping career with a very close second at Sandown (2m4f, good to soft) in November.

I fancied he’d fare better than that next time but he didn’t find much at the business end. That could have been down to the more testing ground at Leicester and with it being so early the handicapper has reacted by dropping him just 1lb.

Based on his first effort and with likely improvement to come given he’s a Nicky Henderson inmate, the 10/1 on offer on some betting apps about him for this third handicap start looks tempting. I’d recommend an each-way play and we’ll get four places. If he’s back in the sort of form he showed at Sandown then he’ll be bang there at the finish.

Saturday racing tip 4: Akimos – 1pt each-way @ 10/1 (William Hill)

This looks a really good handicap on paper. We’ve sided with Vincenzo in both of his defeats this season, and he is again much respected here, but I’m not sure that at 9/4 on some horse racing betting apps he represents great value.

He may win but I’d rather look for an each-way price and I think I have found us one in the 10/1 available about C&D winner NEON MOON.

Admittedly, David Pipe’s yard hasn’t had the best back half of the week, with several of his string being pulled up but this ten-year-old doesn’t know that and I liked the way he jumped when winning here in November.

Either side of that, he’s just performed a couple of pounds below that level over 3m and I think the return to this stiff 2m5f, on ground that’s not too testing and with a nice racing weight of 10st 5lb, he can come back to form. As I say, he’s backable each-way at a double-figure price, from just 3lb higher than that C&D success.

Saturday racing tip 5: Neon Moon – 1pt each-way @ 10/1 (bet365)

Each Saturday, LiveScore Bet run a money-back offer relating to one of the races being shown on ITV Racing that day. This week, that race is the 14.53 at Ascot.

If you decide to have a wager on that race and your selection finishes second, third or fourth, you’ll receive your stake back in free bets.

There’s no need to opt in to the offer, just place a wager on the race and if your selection finishes in the top four but doesn’t win, you’ll receive a free bet refund, up to a maximum of £10.

Only the win part of any each-way bets will be credited back to LiveScore Bet punters.

If you plan to have a bet on Friday’s racing, make sure to gamble responsibly.

It’s vital that bettors take steps to remain in control of their time and budget when using gambling sites. The same applies whether you’re using the betting sites UK, slot sites, casino sites, casino apps, or any other gambling medium.

Even the most knowledgeable racing punter can lose a bet, so always stick to a budget and never chase your losses.

It’s particularly important not to get carried away by any free bets or casino bonuses you might receive, both of which are available in abundance on gambling sites, but must be approached with caution.

You can stay in control by making use of the responsible gambling tools offered, such as deposit limits, loss limits, self-exclusion and time-outs.

You may also want to visit the following free organisations to discuss any issues with gambling you might be having:

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