ITV Racing Tips: Top yards chase big prize money at Uttoxeter

That's the Cheltenham Festival put to bed for another year - epic entertainment, as per, featuring some wonderful performances. Many of the leading players are in action again today in front of the ITV cameras at either Kempton or Uttoxeter, with excellent racing taking place for some impressive purses.

Coverage kicks in at 13:50, so here we go with our ITV Racing tips for Saturday, March 15.

Horse Racing Odds

Today's Horse Races

Full ITV Schedule;

13:50 Uttoxeter - JenningsBet Handicap Hurdle 2m 4f
14:25 Uttoxeter - JenningsBet Handicap Hurdle 2m 7 1/2f
15:00 Uttoxeter - Midlands Grand National Handicap Chase 4m 2f
15:35 Uttoxeter - JenningsBet Novices' Handicap Chase 3m

14:10 Kempton - Virgin Bet Novices' Handicap Chase 2m 2f
14:45 Kempton - Virgin Bet Handicap Hurdle 2m 5f
15:20 Kempton - Virgin Bet Handicap Chase 2m 4 1/2f

Rationale;

13:50 Uttoxeter - Wellington Arch @ 7/2

The big-field opener from the Midlands track looks very trappy, but the selection at the very least arrives here in fine form.

Wellington Arch represents the O'Neills, and scored with some authority at Market Rasen 11 days ago. It's interesting that the six-year-old gelding is turned out again so quickly to make his handicap debut off 120 after several fine efforts in novice ranks (four runs, two wins and two seconds).

This is now Class 3 handicap country but the yard must think it's a challenge he can rise to. Some understandably novicey jumping last time needs to be ironed out if possible, but the engine looks tidy. Cracking start to proceedings, small stakes for me, and the race will no doubt be very informative.

14:10 Kempton - First Street @ 3/1

The selection at this point is a better hurdler on official marks than chaser, but after a nice little break post-wind surgery in October he produced a chasing personal best last time on Boxing Day here, going down by 4l to Leader In The Park, who then defied a penalty at Warwick.

First Street is an eight-year-old beautifully-bred Golden Horn gelding housed at Nicky Henderson's, and races in the famous colours of Lady Bamford. It was the horse's fifth wind procedure since 2021 and quite obviously he's not been without his problems.

He looks temptingly well-handicapped right now if he can put it all together (128, down 2lb from the last day), and the trainer/jockey combo (Nico de Boinville is doing the steering) needs no introduction. He deserves a change of fortune.

14:25 Uttoxeter - Joyeux Machin @ 4/1

Path of least resistance time. Tricky, £52k-to-the-winner handicap hurdle. 17 of a possible maximum 18 runners are slated to face the starter. Who are you going to call?

For me the answer on this occasion is Team Skelton. Their Joyeux Machin was doing his best work at the finish in Altobelli's Ascot win 28 days ago and the yard are probably still finding out more about the horse as the eight-year-old Saddler Maker gelding only shipped in from Paul Nolan's County Wexford yard in December.

After four progressive runs for new connections he should be coming to the boil nicely, and this is a very substantial prize. Trainer Dan and brother Harry will be hoping it's a feasible notion, and he gets to stretch out to almost three miles here - a trip he tackled a few times in Ireland back in the day.

Another fascinating affair on an afternoon bursting with them.

14:45 Kempton - Aston Martini @ 5/1

I must confess to being quite sweet on this one, having run well in what looked a pretty warm contest at Ascot in this grade 56 days ago won by Altobelli, who went on to defy a 5lb penalty the following month.

Aston Martini is another who resides at Nicky Henderson's Upper Lambourn base and this six-year-old Getaway mare is an impressive three-from-seven since beginning her career in a June 2023 Southwell bumper.

Her form is nicely progressive too and though she's up 3lb for that last excellent spin this handy £20k prize could be nicely within her grasp off a decent-looking racing weight of 11st 4lb. Terrific heat.

15:00 Uttoxeter - Iron Bridge each-way @ 12/1

£90k to the winner, 4m 2f to negotiate, and 25 fences to devour. It's the Midlands Grand National.

My each-way tickle Iron Bridge is halfway there on colours alone, racing in the legendary Hemmings Racing livery evoking thoughts of Hedgehunter, Ballabriggs and Many Clouds among others.

This nine-year-old Milan gelding runs fairly sparingly and since an unsuccessful tilt at the Scottish National last April has run just twice (November and December), in races ironically won by one of his opponents today, Val Dancer.

The first of those spins was a fine third at Carlisle over 3m 2f, a very stiff test, beaten 4l. He started favourite for this race last term but was pulled up and subsequently found to be suffering from heat stress. Let's hope for temperate weather in Staffordshire on Saturday!

This is evidently his game, he's got an admittedly distant second in the Welsh National on his CV too, and in an absolutely wide-open affair appeals as an each-way proposition.

15:20 Kempton - Bad @ 10/3

Backing penalised winners to follow-up is not something I make a habit of , but every now and then a horse appeals who one thinks might just pull it off.

Such is the case with Ben Pauling's Bad, as the six-year-old French-bred gelding looks to score again after winning impressively over course-and-distance three weeks ago.

That was off 125, and he needs to defy a swingeing 9lb hike on Saturday afternoon. The last day was a resounding personal best though, and he seemed to really take to this circuit.

The Pauling yard have been a force to be reckoned with for some time now and precisely no-one would be shocked if further success was to come their way in Sunbury-on-Thames on Saturday afternoon.

11st 2lb isn't a bad racing weight to be carrying even if the overall rating of course makes life much trickier to follow-up. Fabulous contest; one of the day's best in my book.

15:35 Uttoxeter - Walk On Quest @ 7/2

Here we are with the last live ITV race, and they certainly haven't got any easier!

I'm siding with a Lucinda Russell conveyance now, a trainer who struck at Cheltenham in the week and is invariably a big threat in these staying chases. Walk On Quest is a six-year-old Walk In The Park gelding - what a National Hunt sire the Epsom Derby runner-up has proven to be - and has an admirable four-wins-from-eight career record.

He's two-from-two in 2025, with wins at Ayr and Kelso - rather impressively, too. He's now rated 124, and that's from an opening chase mark of 100 as recently as last October. Class 2 company beckons today, but he's earned his spot.

Lucinda really is a major force when it comes to horses of this type over fences, and at just six years of age Walk On Quest could be set fair for a very productive time of it over the next three or four seasons.

ITV Racing Tips from Betfred Insights.