Saturday Racing Tips: Chantilly to be cream of the crop at Newbury

Another busy day of racing awaits, with no fewer than eight meetings taking place across the UK and Ireland on Saturday. ITV coverage comes from Newbury and Newmarket and the big race of the day is the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes.

Newbury kicks us off and all three of my Saturday racing tips come from Newbury - including an Aidan O’Brien-trained handicapper that looks like a group horse in the making.

13:50 Newbury - Desert Hero @ 10/11

DESERT HERO won the King George V Stakes at Royal Ascot last year and he progressed into a solid group performer after that. Third behind an impressive winner in the St Leger, that was probably a career-best effort.

William Haggas’ four-year-old was beaten by a head at Sandown on his seasonal reappearance and improvement is expected here. The return to 1m4f is also likely to help and this looks like a cracking opportunity to return to winning ways.

What kind of level he’ll reach this season remains to be seen but the ratings suggest he’s the best horse in the race here and it will be disappointing if he doesn’t oblige.

Another Royal Ascot raid could be on the agenda next and the Hardwicke Stakes looks perfect for him.

15:00 Newbury - Chantilly @ 4/1

This £100,000 handicap for three-year-olds is often an intriguing affair and this year is no different. There’s a flood of last-time-out winners in the field and amongst them is Aidan O’Brien’s CHANTILLY.

The son of Galileo failed to get off the mark as a juvenile but he did come close over an extended mile at Gowran in October. This piece of form clearly indicated that middle distances would suit him as a three-year-old and that’s proving to be the case.

Utterly dominant when getting off the mark on handicap and seasonal debut at Leopardstown when last seen, he benefited massively from the step up to 1m2f.

What’s even more impressive about the four-and-a-quarter-length demolition job is the fact that most of O’Brien’s first-time-out runners were very disappointing at that time.

He made a mockery of his handicap mark that day and a 10lb rise may even look generous. It’s entirely possible that he’s a group horse running in a handicap here and he’ll prove very hard to beat if that is the case.

15:35 Newbury - Big Rock @ 2/1

French raider BIG ROCK had an excellent season last year and he progressed from winning a Chantilly handicap in February to a 127-rated Group 1 horse.

He showed fortitude to continue improving over the course of a long and busy season and that experience will stand him in good stead.

The son of Rock Of Gibraltar finished second to Ace Impact in the Prix Du Jockey Club and connections dropped him back in trip to a mile after that. This horse loves soft ground so any more rain that falls will definitely be in his favour.

It was an awesome performance in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Champions’ Day and he destroyed a classy field to win by six lengths, with four-time Group 1 winner Paddington 35 lengths behind him.

This is a good starting point for the season and it looks like a rematch between Big Rock and Inspiral but the former is expected to turn the tables this time around.