Saturday Racing Tips: Owen’s best bets includes two from Sandown

On a Saturday centred around the Eclipse at Sandown, I've got five tips - two from the Surrey venue plus one from Beverley, Leicester and Newmarket.

Check out my Saturday Racing Tips below.

13:50 Sandown - Asfoora @ 2/1

It was a slow start to the season for Australia's superstar sprinter ASFOORA, after no-shows at Newmarket and Haydock at the start of the season, but her seventh in the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot was a return to something like and the seven-year-old mare is fancied to get back to winning ways at Sandown on Saturday.

She drops in grade to contest the Charge - a Group 3 over the minimum trip of five furlongs - and the majority of her rivals are out of sorts.

Words Of Truth is the exception, but this is a significant step up and if Asfoora is anywhere near her brilliant best, she ought to take all the beating.

14:17 Beverley - Nightbloom @ 2/1

Unless Viking Barbie is a late non-runner on Friday, expect the market for this 5f maiden stakes to be all change.

In the absence of her, this modest maiden looks wide-open for one of the newcomers - namely Palm Reader, Nightbloom, Inca Warrior and Battle Fever.

For me, it concerns Battle Fever and NIGHTBLOOM, with marginal preference for the latter.

The two-year-old daughter of Invincible Spirit is trained by Kevin Philippart De Foy, who's 6-32 with juveniles this season, and owned by the big-spending Amo Racing, who splashed €400k on this half-sister to Group 3 winner Rogue Lightning. She's entered in the Two Year Old Trophy at Redcar in October.

She makes slightly more appeal than Battle Fever, who can give her something to think about.

14:46 Leicester - Anyasi @ SP

I was impressed by ANYASI on return from a 305-day layoff at Yarmouth last time out, and Roger Varian's three-year-old New Bay colt looks open to any amount of improvement.

A big, strapping type, he appeared to be carrying plenty of condition on the East Coast, yet he made easy work of a decent novice event involving the likes of Nevasca Cinza (rated 80). The selection ran out a three-length winner.

His seven-pound penalty as a result looks manageable, given his main rivals - Two Commanders and Bucklow Hill for Edward Bethell and Charles Hills respectively - share the same burden.

The rest of the field, albeit in receipt of a lot of weight, are hard to advise on all known form.

Anyasi is another that looks very hard to beat. I do think he's opened extremely short, however, so I suggest backing him at SP and hoping he drifts out a bit.

15:00 Sandown - Act Of Kindness @ 4/1

The warm-up for the Eclipse at Sandown on Saturday is the Distaff - a mile-long Listed race for three-year-old fillies.

Pacific Mission heads the betting for last year's winning connections of Andrew Balding, Colin Keane and Juddmonte, and I think she's vulnerable.

The daughter of Lope De Vega has been disappointing this term, and her rating of 107 still looks inflated. Quite a bit, too.

I've got reservations about Sacred Ground, too, so it's ACT OF KINDNESS who gets my vote.

The Siyouni filly was half-a-length in front of the favourite in a similar event at York in May, at a time trainer Charlie Appleby was in dire form. That's no longer the case.

There was lots to like about her third in the Nell Gwyn Stakes at Newmarket on seasonal reappearance a month earlier and if able to improve on it, which she's more than entitled to, she ought to be there or thereabouts in this company.

17:00 Newmarket - I'll Be Back @ 5/6

My final interest on Saturday comes in the lucky last at Newmarket. Another short-priced favourite, I expect.

I'LL BE BACK is a three-year-old son of Lope De Vega trained by the brilliant Karl Burke, who's 2-2 in his career to date.

His victory last time out in a novice event at Leicester, beating James Tate's King's Cavalry who's been handed a rating of 85 after winning his next two starts, is particularly smart form.

An opening mark of 92 is fair more than generous, but in this field of somewhat exposed types as far as three-year-olds go, he's of serious interest.