Lucky 15 Tips: Kingman colt eyes Listed prize – Cosmic!

The Betfred Guineas Festival starts with a bang - a terrific seven-race card that kicks in at 13:10, and is an absolutely natural source for Friday's Lucky 15 tips. I'm covering the other three heats on the programme in a companion piece, so all bases are nicely covered. Saturday sees the Betfred 2000 Guineas, and on Sunday it's the 1000, as the fillies take centre stage.

Your Classic bookmaker sponsors all five of the generational tests for three-year-olds, so in addition to the two Guineas showdowns this weekend we've got the Oaks, Derby (both June), and finally the St Leger (September). Fred's put up a £2m bonus for any horse that wins racing's coveted Triple Crown - can it be achieved (2000 Guineas, Derby, Leger) for the first time since 1970? Stay tuned - it's sure to be spectacular!

Horse Racing Odds

Today's Horse Races

14:20 - Cosmic Year @ Evens

So many promising, regally-bred horses are on show this afternoon. It's got all the excitement of exactly what it is - the opening day of a very important staging post meeting in the racing calendar. The first Classics are at hand - and we've got a curtain-raiser to savour on Friday.

Three-year-olds go 7f in our first, a Listed affair, and there's a likely very warm 'jolly' in the shape of Cosmic Year. Harry Charlton's son of Kingman, out of a Dansili mare, is a Juddmonte Farms colt clad in those legendary colours carried to big-race victory here by some of the very, VERY best. Dancing Brave, or Frankel, anyone? Yes please.

The selection is unbeaten in two - both little novice stakes contests, but taken in extremely impressive fashion. He steps up this afternoon in class but gets Ryan Moore (could be a big day for the brilliant former champion), and is very unlikely to be out of place.

He's in the Irish 2000 at the end of the month and the St James's Palace at the Royal meeting, so lofty hopes are attached to this one. We're about to find out if such notions are realistic - my feeling is that they are.

14:55 - Best Rate @ 7/1

It's that man RL Moore once again, and for Richard Hannon - I'm all over one of theirs in my tipping piece, too.

Best Rate looks to go a mile in a decent £20k Class 3 handicap for three-year-olds, aiming to improve upon a career record of one win in four starts. That success was in a Wolverhampton novice last Christmas Eve, and when seen on seasonal reappearance he finished a promising, running-on third on handicap debut at Kempton on the Polytrack 37 days ago, failing by 3l off a mark of 83.

That 83 spot remains the same today, and not only did he finish well last time but he was slowly away too, so it's perhaps not too fanciful to mark up the performance a touch. Ryan and Richard are a potent combo - let's hope for some of that habitual magic this afternoon.

15:30 - Fifty Nifty @ 13/8

Well; even if I didn't fancy this one, the temptation to put him up would be considerable. The four-year-old gelded son of July Cup winner Ten Sovereigns competes in the Betfred Nifty 50 handicap!

Fifty Nifty reappeared for the season here at HQ 16 days ago and was beaten just a neck in a very similar affair, off a mark of 93. He was squeezed for room late on in the piece and was arguably a little unfortunate.

All this was not lost on the naughty old assessor - he's been raised 2lb for his trouble but still appeals as a horse in form, one who acts on the track, and has an upwardly-mobile profile.

Exciting for trainer Tom Clover to have such a horse in the yard with which to go to war at the bigger meetings, and the evergreen Neil Callan, his only mount on the card, has the riding assignment.

16:05 - Silver Knott @ 5/4

Messrs Appleby and Buick have caught my eye in our accompanying tipping piece, and it's very hard to avoid their representative in this one, too.

Four-year-olds and upwards go a mile-and-a-half for the Jockey Club Stakes, a G2 worth around £70k to the winner. Silver Knott is a five-year-old Lope De Vega gelding who's won here before and is one of Godolphin's typical, globe-trotting older campaigners.

Hugely successful, too - seven wins from 18 career starts including six at Group level. On official ratings he appears to have Ambiente Friendly to beat, but I'm far from convinced by that colt.

Since finishing a brilliant second to City Of Troy in the Epsom Derby and a close-up third in the Irish equivalent, when a warm favourite, he's been decidedly underwhelming in my eyes in three emphatic defeats.

In early April he was moved from James Fanshawe's to his current base with James Owen, but 17 days ago in his first spin for the new yard was readily beaten here (6.25l) in a G3 - admittedly over a good deal shorter than this (1m 1f).

I believe Silver Knott's talent and consistency puts him in pole position to take this and though only four line up it's an absolutely fascinating clash.

**If you'd like to view the tipping piece with Newmarket's remaining three races previewed, it's right HERE

This is an example of a Lucky 15. If you can improve upon my selections (of course you can), then go for it!

The odds can fluctuate between publishing our pieces and race-time. As a guide, a £0.50p win Lucky 15 on today's selections, at the prices, and assuming all four won, would return around £150 for your total £7.50 stake.

Fred, 'The Bonus King,' invented the 'Lucky' series of bets and their bonuses. My colleague Adam has set out all you need to know with this handy guide - take a look by clicking here.

Horse Racing & Greyhound bets only. Excludes Virtual Racing. 5x odds on Lucky 63. 4x Odds Lucky 31. 3x Odds Lucky 15. All selections must run. Paid in cash if only 1 winner. T&Cs Apply.

Lucky 15 tips from Betfred Insights.