Horse Racing Tips: Nicholls to unleash expensive French recruit

Jump racing holds sway across the UK and Ireland on Friday, with five meetings taking place across the afternoon and into the evening. 

Among our horse racing tips for Friday is one for trainer Paul Nicholls who has an exciting French recruit in the opener at Sandown.

Sports Welcome Offer

New customers only. Deposit via Debit Card & place first bet £10+ (1/1+) on Sports in 7 days. £30 Sports & £20 Acca Free Bets within 10 hrs of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility, payment excl. & T&Cs Apply.

Sports Welcome Offer

New customers only. Deposit via Debit Card & place first bet £10+ (1/1+) on Sports in 7 days. £30 Sports & £20 Acca Free Bets within 10 hrs of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility, payment excl. & T&Cs Apply.

12:35 Sandown - Pourquoi Pas Papa @ 3/1

This opening contest of the two day Tingle Creek meeting presents a significant challenge for punters, featuring several debutants and others with unproven track records.

However, Paul Nicholls' POURQUOI PAS PAPA is one who stands out.

This French juvenile was a €200,000 purchase and showed serious promise across the Channel, finishing second in a National Hunt flat race at Clairefontaine.

The winner of that race, Parchment, was sent over to David Pipe and was unable to justify short-priced favouritism when he made his debut at Kempton.

Nevertheless, Nicholls seems to be a big fan of his French raider and expects him to make a winning impression on his debut.

13:58 Exeter - Donnacha @ 3/1

The most valuable race on the cards at Exeter is the JCB Handicap Chase over 2m 3f and features a host of talented competitors.

One horse who holds a good record at the West Country course is DONNACHA for Nigel Hawke.

The seven-year-old has two wins from three runs here, with a second-place finish being the only blemish on an almost perfect course record.

Hawke's gelding is a consistent type who kept that trend going last time out. On paper his performance may not seem like much, having finished 20 lengths back in third place at Ffos Las.

However, he travelled well for the most part and looked to be the main danger to the eventual winner.

A bad mistake two from home ultimately scuppered any chance he had. He should come along for that performance and should have a good chance to make amends here.

14:20 Sandown - Salver @ 2/1

This Grade 2 Novice Chase is typically more quality over quantity and this year is no different with only four runners expected.

Yet, the small field guarantees competitiveness, and the bookmakers agree, pricing up an extremely tight contest where any runner could win.

With this in mind, SALVER gets the vote here for the Gary and Josh Moore team. While The Doyen Quest impressed with a strong win over Quebecois at Exeter last time and both horses meet again with claims, Salver is the one to be on.

He was slightly unlucky on his chase debut when finding the smart prospect Lulamba too strong an opponent.

His hurdle rating is much better than the two aforementioned horses and connections will be hoping that he will be able to show good improvement after his recent outing.

Horse Racing - Extra Place Races

Selected race(s). Applies to Each Way, Single & Multiple bets only. Antepost bets don’t apply. Min. runner rules apply. T&Cs Apply.

Sports Welcome Offer

New customers only. Deposit via Debit Card & place first bet £10+ (1/1+) on Sports in 7 days. £30 Sports & £20 Acca Free Bets within 10 hrs of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility, payment excl. & T&Cs Apply.

Click the links for the latest Horse Racing Odds and Fast Racing Results

Find more Horse Racing Tips here at Betfred Insights