Lucky 15 Tips: Kelso’s crackerjack Saturday on ITV

It's arguably Kelso's big day of the year on Saturday, with the £61k-to-the-winner Morebattle Hurdle the shimmering centrepiece. ITV are covering the first FIVE races LIVE on the channel, sol it's the perfect vehicle for our Lucky 15 tips.

The first race of eight all told on the card is at 13:10, and we've got the likes of Sean Bowen, Gavin Sheehan, Harry Skelton, Brian Hughes, and rising star Ben Jones doing their thing in the Scottish Borders. Should be absolutely brilliant.

Horse Racing odds

13:10 - Torneo @ 9/4

Saturday big-hitter 'Gorgeous' Gavin Sheehan is on board this progressive six-year-old chaser who's been in fine form since reappearing for the season in October.

Trainer Jamie Snowden's Torneo is by Toronado, who ran Kingman to a length in the Sussex Stakes over a decade ago, and is out of a Teofilo mare. Beautifully bred then, and taking a small class drop here after contesting a '2' handicap last time 41 days ago at Windsor, going down by just a head.

Unsurprisingly the selection is up 4lb for that fine effort to a mark of 129, but after encouraging, close-up runs at Wetherby, Cheltenham and Newbury that preceded Windsor, it's not remotely fanciful to think he's about to add to his two chase wins from 11 starts over the larger obstacles at any moment.

He's invariably help up and will look to challenge late in this 2m 1f Class 3 handicap chase. Was he in front a bit too soon last time, from the second-last, before giving best in the shadow of the post?

A fascinating puzzle to kick-start the day, and fingers crossed that Gav can judge the fractions beautifully.

14:15 - Le Beau Madrik @ 10/3

A G2 novices' hurdle now over 2m 2f, and a selection making the approximately 285-mile trip up from Warwickshire.

Our pick is a French-bred five-year-old gelding that's unbeaten in two spins over hurdles, and is housed at Alcester in the mighty yard of Dan Skelton. Le Beau Madrik is a very promising type with four runs to date yielding not only those two successes, but a couple of close seconds in quality bumpers at Plumpton and Cheltenham, too.

He's got a couple of early-closing entries at the Festival (Supreme Novices,' and Turners Novices'), and steps up here after a career-best jaunt at Newcastle 32 days ago in a run-of-the-mill novice, readily scoring by 6l.

Starmount representing Ben Pauling and Ben Jones looks a potent danger, and it's a cracking race for a superb winner's purse of some £45k. We'll find out a great deal about these promising youngsters and one or two will put their hands up and show their class.

No better yard to target such a contest than that of Dan Skelton.

14:55 - Hamlet's Night @ 5/1

On a really tricky day this £60k+ red-hot Morebattle Hurdle has to be one of the most open-looking heats, and it's priced-up accordingly.

As I write we're looking at around 5s the field, and if taken in isolation outside of a possible Lucky 15 an each-way tickle could be a plan, especially as we're paying five places.

Doesn't take any great leap of faith to support anything ridden by the majestic double-centurion Sean Bowen (28% strike-rate in the last fortnight), especially if it's trained by dual-threat James Owen at HQ.

His Hamlet's Night is a five-year-old Invincible Spirit gelding out of a Dubawi mare rated 80 on the flat, and 134 over timber. The selection warmed up for this with a win on the all-weather over 1m 3f at Kempton 10 days ago, and was last seen over hurdles at Wincanton back in November - just a neck behind Rubaud in a G2.

That P Nicholls-trained rival went very close in the Kingwell at the same venue a couple of weeks ago and this is a serious racehorse, with a couple of early-closing entries for Cheltenham to boot.

He's got his fair share of weight, 11st 11lb, but I'd say he's earned it - and of course Sean, in the process of rewriting the record books. Hamlet's Night has won at Warwick and been beaten a neck at Cheltenham, proper tip-top left-hand tracks, and stayed really well at Carlisle, such a stiff pull to the line up there.

He's tough, versatile, talented, and I wouldn't swap him for anything in the field. James has had him since last July, after previous spells with first the great Andre Fabre in France, then Daniel & Claire Kubler in Lambourn.

He's another with potential early-closing Cheltenham entries and I'd say he's got a very promising future.

15:30 - Good To Be Alive @ 3/1

Just so happens that we're with the 28-year-old force of nature Sean Bowen once again, this time for a 2m 5f Class 2 handicap hurdle.

Our selection is the upliftingly-named Good To Be Alive, a five-year-old Shirocco gelding trained by Bowen's great patron Olly Murphy. The horse has two hurdle successes from six attempts all told, is progressive, and arrived off the back of a narrow victory at Plumpton in a good race for the track (£13k-to-the-winner).

That was achieved with Sean up top, off a mark of 126. He needs to defy 130 this afternoon but after racing in rear and then running wide last time he appeared fairly late on the scene with a well-timed burst to take the spoils, and there could be plenty more in the locker.

There will no doubt need to be, as it's another that looks super-competitive even if 'only' eight are slated to face the stater.

If all four of our selections won, today's notional 50p win Lucky 15, at the prices indicated (they can of course fluctuate), would return around £390 for a £7.50 total stake. If you can improve upon our selections (of course you can) - then go for it!

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Lucky 15 tips with Betfred Insights.