Horse Racing Tips: Give Hartswood some love on Mother’s Day

It’s a fantastic day of Flat and jumps action in Britain and Ireland on Sunday with three top courses hosting the action.

The pick of the British Flat racing comes at Doncaster, but they also race at Leopardstown on the level and over jumps at Ascot and Downpatrick. Among our Sunday fancies is one for trainer Richard Fahey, who will be hoping to get the new turf campaign off to a flyer.

13:55 Doncaster - Hartswood @ 9/1

Fitness will be the key to winning at Doncaster this weekend and there are no doubts on that score for HARTSWOOD, who has been in fantastic form on the all-weather over the winter.

The Richard Fahey-trained eight-year-old has won two of his last three starts and finished second on the other, but remains only 5lb higher than for the first of his pair of victories.

He therefore remains well handicapped and Hartswood is equally effective on turf.

He is a course-and-distance winner who has more wins on grass than sand, so this looks like a golden opportunity for him to add to his haul and outclass them from the top of the weights.

Hartswood stays a bit further than this, which might help because a strongly run mile will bring his stamina into play, and Lois Teal is on board claiming 5lb off the joint-topweight.

This is an Extra Place race, meaning that Betfred will be paying 5 Places (1/5 Odds) instead of 4.

15:40 Doncaster - Billyjoh @ 10/1

There is a lot to like about BILLYJOH, who comes into this race having been competing over further, but who is a course-and-distance winner and might appreciate dropping back to this trip.

The five-year-old has dropped in the weights, but appears to be steadily returning to form and there was clear evidence of that at Southwell last time.
Billyjoh was beaten only six-and-a-half lengths into fourth of 12 and the race has worked out well since then, throwing up five winners.

Billyjoh has been off the track for 164 days since and his fitness can’t be guaranteed, but he won on his debut at this track in 2023 and has generally been on the go since.

There is every chance that the break might have done him some good and that he can show his best.

This is an Extra Place race, meaning that Betfred will be paying 5 Places (1/5 Odds) instead of 4.

16:50 Doncaster - Circe @ 8/1

Richard Hannon sends a strong team to Doncaster this weekend and one of his best chances is CIRCE, who was successful on her sole start over course and distance.

That was in September 2023, but she continued to progress last season and won a fillies’ handicap over a mile at Newbury in July last year. She is only 3lb higher on this occasion.

Circe is evidently capable of running well off this mark and we saw that on the all-weather at Kempton last time, when she was beaten only a length-and-a-half into second of five.

That was over 6f, which would have been an inadequate test and returning to 7f should be ideal.

Hollie Doyle rode Circe to her last victory at the track and is back on board, having been replaced by Joe Leavy for the selection’s last two starts, and Doyle’s presence is a positive.

This is an Extra Place race, meaning that Betfred will be paying 4 Places (1/5 Odds) instead of 3.

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