Saturday Racing Tips: 5/1 Nap tops Owen’s best bets

It's a busy, if not vintage, Saturday on the racing front with meetings from Bangor, Navan, Newbury, Newcastle, Kelso and Southwell.

I've studied the cards and landed on five Saturday racing tips - including a 5/1 Nap in Ireland.

13:07 Bangor - Mossy Fen Coolio @ 6/4

The opener at Bangor on Saturday looks a good opportunity for MOSSY FEN COOLIO to get off the mark under rules.

The six-year-old son of Kayf Tara fetched €80k after bolting up by 25 lengths in an Irish point-to-point 13 months ago, and there was encouragement in his debut over hurdles at Wincanton in the last few days of January.

He finished fourth of 17 in Somerset, behind the 120-rated Pourquoi Pas Papa, who was in receipt of almost a stone. He was fourth in the Fred Winter at last week's Cheltenham Festival.

Runner-up Aquellid (118) and the third-placed Galashiels (113) add further depth to the form, as does the 115-rated Bright Legend who was four lengths behind the selection in fifth.

On that evidence, it won't take much improvement at all for Jonjo & A J O'Neill's youngster to see off his main market rivals in this 2m3½f maiden hurdle - namely Tommy Pickles and Double Indemnity.

I'm quite hopeful about him doing exactly that.

13:50 Newbury - Grand Vendetta @ 4/1

At Newbury just over 40 minutes later, I'm putting my faith in another lightly-raced individual with plenty of scope.

GRAND VENDETTA, trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Harry Cobden, was a €140k purchase as a store in June 2023 and the six-year-old son of Flemensfirth made his debut under rules a year-and-a-half later at Chepstow last December.

He was a distant second to Emma Lavelle's 127-rated Modern Man in Wales, showing plenty of ability in spite of greenness.

A couple of months later, he went to Taunton and beat Olly Murphy's Wandering Ego (124) who did the business for Nap of the Day followers on Wednesday.

His opening mark of 120 looks very fair and as long as his inexperience doesn't get the better of him, he ought to make a bold bid on handicap debut in Berkshire.

14:10 Kelso - Khrisma @ 5/4

Although it's a mares' novices' handicap, worth £51k to the winner, with 16 runners set to go to post, I wouldn't be surprised to see KHRISMA sent off odds-on for the Herring Queen Series Final at Kelso.

Nicky Henderson and JP McManus' six-year-old was right near the top of my list of horses to follow this season after her run at the 2025 Punchestown Festival in May.

On just her second start for current connections, the daughter of German derby winner Pastorius was under a length adrift of Gordon Elliott's Casheldale Lad, rated 148 today, in a novice hurdle over the minimum trip. The pair were 16 lengths clear of the 135-rated Naturally Nimble in third.

That marked her as a seriously well-handicapped mare - and clearly Henderson and JP were of the same opinion, as she's been campaigned very lightly this term.

The plan was to run in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham last week, but she didn't make the cut, so instead she lines up in Scotland on Saturday with an enormous chance of finally taking advantage of her mark. I'll be gobsmacked if she's not a 135+ horse. At least.

With a clear round, I expect her to prove exceptionally hard to beat.

15:00 Newbury - Betty's Daisy each-way @ 12/1

Back at Newbury, there's another mares-only contest that's piqued my interest. Another novices' handicap, over 2m4½f, and it's BETTY'S DAISY who gets my vote.

Ben Pauling's six-year-old was an emphatic winner of a Warwick bumper just over 12 months ago on rules debut, before finding the Grade 2 at Aintree's Grand National Festival all too much.

Put away for the summer, she made her hurdling debut back at Warwick in November and was bitterly-disappointing, finishing eighth of 10, over 21 lengths off the pace.

She left that a long way behind when taking a novice event at Ludlow just before Christmas - and then her latest effort, when runner-up to Jackie Hobbs on return to Warwick, was the best of the lot.

The winner, who was only a length in front of the selection, was an eye-catching fifth in the Mares' Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival last Thursday and has been raised six pounds to a mark of 131.

That suggests there's scope in Betty's Daisy's mark of 123 and I'm willing to chance her each-way in this ultra-competitive field.

16:17 Navan - Magic McColgan @ 5/1

Finally, I suggest a wager on MAGIC MCCOLGAN in this Listed novices' handicap chase at Navan.

Willie Mullins' seven-year-old daughter of Flemensfirth, in the Kenny Alexander silks of Honeysuckle and Kargese fame, is Paul Townend's only ride on the card. A tip in itself?

That's not the extent of the case for the full-sister to 2021 King George hero Tornado Flyer. She was runner-up to Goraibhmaithagat (try and say that out loud) in this grade at Naas in February - form that was franked by the winner finishing a narrow second to The Lovely Man in the Leinster National off seven pounds higher. The pair were 20 lengths clear of the rest of the field.

The selection remains open to significant improvement on what is her first try over three miles, so a six-pound rise might yet underestimate her.

She appears to have a very bright chance of making it a worthwhile journey for her Gold Cup-winning jockey.

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