Your Guide To This Week’s Key Races

You’re never short of a few top quality races throughout the week and from now until Sunday it’s no exception.

Here’s our guide to the top races happening this week and across the weekend.

Tuesday 25^th July

Racing Hotspots: Chelmsford City, Nottingham

Key Races: Barentsz Gin Challenge Handicap, Nottingham (19:00) & UB40 Playing Here 12^th August Handicap, Chelmsford City (21:00)

This Class 3 handicap raced over a 6f was won last year by four-year-old bay gelding Under Seige – trained by Newmarket-based Stuart Williams. Udontdodou starts as the 4/1 favourite with two victories from three career starts on this surface, but he runs today from a career high mark. Dean Ivory’s runner Kadrizzi priced at 10/1 is now 5lbs lower than his last winning mark and his drop in grade could see the conditions play into his hands. Expect Sign of the Zodiac to push him close as James Given’s entry attempts to make it a hat-trick of victories over Course and Distance.

Odds

Udontdodou 4/1

Kadrizzi 10/1

Sign Of The Zodiac 16/1

See the full list of runners and back your horse with William Hill

UB40 Playing Here 12^th August Handicap, Chelmsford City (21:00)

Another handicap, but this time over 7f provides an enthralling finish to the card in Great Leighs. Etikaal at 9/2 is well suited for this ground, coming here on the back of a C&D triumph in May. He will be there or thereabouts. Like Etikaal, Al Reeh is another 3-year-old on strong terms with his older rivals and comes from a thriving yard currently boasting a 21% strike rate. Golden Goal will be another popular name in the betting circle for this one as he makes just his second career start this evening – his first saw him canter to victory on his maiden C&D outing here in May. Definitely one to look out for now and in the future.

Odds

Etikaal 9/2

Al Reeh 8/1

Golden Goal 13/8

Back your favourite for the big race here!

Saturday 29^th July

Racing Hotspots: Curragh, Salisbury, York

Key Race: King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Ascot (15:35)

There’s going to be some brilliant horse racing this weekend, and two generations of horses collide at the majesty of Ascot in the King George with a lucrative prize of £652,000 for the winner. ITV Racing will have live coverage of the contest and the race has an illustrious roll of honour – in more recent times, Hurricane Run, Dylan Thomas have graced the winners’ enclosure while last year it was Aidan-O’Brien-trained Highland Reel, who took the honours.

Enable (13/8) was in imperious form last time out at the Irish Oaks and also tasted success in the Oaks at Epsom. Despite never racing on ground this soft, she will be a very strong candidate.

Such is the record of five year old horses in this race over recent years; it is difficult to be optimistic for Highland Reel’s defence Daylami was the last five year old winner of this contest back in 1999 despite the age group represented by close to 22% of the total runners since (31/143 total runners).

The never-say-die attitude of Permian was evident when he scored over this C&D in the King Edward VII Stakes after a poor run at Derby previously. He will be competing for the eighth time in 2017, but like Jack Hobbs (a winner in the Sheema Classic at Meydan in March), he lacks consistency.

Odds

Highland Reel 5/2

Jack Hobbs 6/1

Enable 13/8

Permian 20/1

Back a winner and discover all the odds for the King George with William Hill.