Saturday Racing Tips: Four to consider on scorching Saturday

It's truly a super Saturday - featuring EIGHT meetings across the UK & Ireland - in store, and the weather's going to be glorious too. What a time...

I've studied the various cards and formed my Saturday racing tips, including an 11/8 Nap.

13:45 Ascot - Anashhad @ 11/8

There's several promising debutants set to contest the opener at Ascot on Saturday - a two-year-old novice event over seven furlongs - but I expect the once-raced ANASHHAD to prove hard to beat.

Roger Varian's son of Mohaather made his first appearance on a racecourse at York back in May, finishing three lengths off the pace in third behind a couple of classy rivals.

Those are Tadej (rated 100) and Do Or Do Not (105), who finished sixth and second respectively in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot last month. Do Or Do Not also finished runner-up in the G2 July Stakes at Newmarket on Thursday - while the fourth-placed Champion Island has since bolted up at Chelmsford.

That's a red-hot piece of form and Anashhad, who's open to any amount of improvement for a yard in flying form (31% strike rate), can do even better over a more suitable trip.

He's the Nap of the Day for me.

14:12 Newmarket - Miss Nightfall @ 9/4

One of the big eye-catchers from Royal Ascot was MISS NIGHTFALL, the subject of a major gamble in the Sandringham Stakes.

James Fanshawe's three-year-old filly was backed in from double-figure prices to 16/5f, but could 'only' manage sixth, three-and-a-half lengths off the pace.

Emphasis on the single quotation marks there, for it was a highly-respectable effort given how the race panned out. She ducked left out of the gates (from the widest stall) and soon found herself taking a pull at the rear of the 25-strong field. She travelled strongly throughout the middle parts of the contest but it wasn't until just before the two-furlong pole that a gap was found, and it was a case of too little too late for the daughter of Sands Of Mali.

She's been raised just a pound by the handicapper, which is very fair as I believe she'd have gone extremely close with more luck in running, and this is a less-competitive affair she's taking on.

Under the excellent Saffie Osborne, Miss Nightfall can make amends here.

14:22 Ascot - Prague @ 8/1

It's a shame Royal Hunt Cup hero My Cloud misses the Summer Mile Stakes, but it remains a fascinating renewal of the mile-long Group 2.

New market leaders Never So Brave and Haatem were also in the winners' enclosure at Royal Ascot - taking the Buckingham Palace and Wolferton respectively - but it's PRAGUE who appeals to me at current prices.

The son of Galileo wasn't seen on a racecourse until last June, at four years old, and he wasted no time in showing what he's about, bolting up on debut at Sandown before three fine efforts in defeat - including a narrow one in the G3 Superior Mile Stakes at Haydock in September.

His subsequent victory in the G2 Joel Stakes at Newmarket, beating the late Poker Face (rated 112) by nearly four lengths, put him on the map, but he disappointed at Ascot on Champions Day in October. That's easily excused, mind you, as it was his sixth run in five months and many underperform at that meeting.

Fast forward 252 days and Prague finished a respectable fifth in the G3 Criterion Stakes at York. His trainer has since said he needed the run a fortnight ago, and that significant improvement is expected.

If he can perform to anywhere near his best (his 115 rating is on par with the aforementioned Never So Brave at the head of the betting), he ought to be a lot more competitive in this company than his odds suggest.

16:35 Newmarket - Big Mojo each-way @ 14/1

Finally, it's another who caught the eye in defeat at the Royal meeting - BIG MOJO in the feature race of the afternoon, the July Cup at HQ.

Michael Appleby's three-year-old was a top juvenile, despite his victory in the G3 Molecomb at Glorious Goodwood being his only win in five starts. Solid efforts in defeat to the likes of Aesterius in the G2 Flying Childers Stakes at the Betfred St Leger meeting and Magnum Force in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint are nothing to be sniffed at.

He underwent wind surgery during the 180 days he spent on the sidelines and obliged on reappearance in the G3 Commonwealth Cup Trial at Ascot in April, before an eye-catching fourth in the G2 Betfred Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock.

It's hard not to think he'd have troubled the judge on Merseyside if not being denied a run at a crucial stage - and his effort in Berskhire can be marked up too.

The son of Mohaather was seventh of 21 in the Commonwealth Cup, suffering a messy start and once again finding himself stuck behind a wall of horses at the business end of the race. Once some space appeared, he finished very strongly.

What price would he be if both races had gone differently? Single figures, surely.

With regular pilot Tom Marquand back in the driving seat, he looks a great each-way bet in this Extra Place Race, with Betfred paying four places instead of three.

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