ITV Horse Racing Antepost Tips: Three bets for Friday and Saturday up to 20/1

• Aintree, Exeter and Doncaster priced up on Betfair Sportsbook

• Alan picks Haldon Gold Cup tip for Friday at a big price

• Plus two more for Aintree and Doncaster on Saturday 

Rain to provide balm for soft ground horses at Exeter?

Exeter these days is more akin to the Oval in its heyday - a pitch of great bounce and pace - but the good news for trainers bemoaning the lack of winter ground is that rain is at least forecast for the week in the west country. The ITV4 cameras are rolling in for Friday to cover the Haldon Gold Cup card.

At Aintree, where racing will take place on Saturday Saturday, the ground is already at the good to soft stage as I write and rain is forecast for today. I wouldn't want to be deviating too much from that. Doncaster stages the November Handicap - again there are showers there at the time of writing - with a more settled forecast towards Saturday. The going is already soft in places at the south Yorkshire track.

Haldon Gold Cup Handicap Chase Exeter, Friday 14:25: Back Soul Icon E/W @ 14/115.00

Sixteen at the entries stage on Tuesday morning will look fanciful, although Betfair Ambassador Paul Nicholls holds three aces in his hand with Kalif Du Berlais 9/43.25, Rubaud 8/19.00 and Sas Bruit 8/19.00. Nicholls knows what it takes to win it with eights victors since 1998.

I doubt there is any mileage in backing Kalif Du Berlais, the favourite at this stage, as I cannot see the field size holding up with guessing games about the ground.

The going is good and, if it stays that way and the rain isn't impactful, Saint Segal might have half a chance with his game and bold front-running style. A 4lb rise for a super win at Chepstow means he is fit, but perhaps not quite the class of the others if the going eases. I really love his up and at 'em style, though.

Martator was a non-runner at the weekend and bypassed Ascot, so keep on eye on him as a 6/17.00 poke. Thistle Ask bolted up at Wetherby last week and, while a 14/115.00 shot here, I doubt he'll be turned out seven days after winning.

As an each-way dart here, the 14/115.00 appeals on Soul Icon. He is doubly-entered, however, with an entry for the Badger Beers at Wincanton the following day and is 12/113.00 for that on the Sportsbook, so the clues are not conclusive in terms of where he'll run.

With some cut he'd be dangerous as he landed the Grade 2 Ladbrokes Desert Orchid Handicap Chase over Christmas last year in beating Edwardstone and he was rated 143 then. He's just 1lb higher.

With the Kempton trip in mind at 2m, the Badger Beers over a lot further wouldn't look the ideal spot to me and he runs well off a break. Indeed, 12 months ago his first run of the season was in the Rising Star's at Wincanton over 2m4f - a race he finished second in to Boombawn.

A front-runner, the race can cut up, and this looks a more suitable race than the Badger one.

Grand Sefton Handicap Chase Aintee, Saturday 14:40: Back Bleu D'Enfer E/W @ 20/121.00

The Aintree Grand Sefton includes a fair number of veterans in the 21 decs - in fact, those 10 years and above count for a third of the field. But surely there has to be something away from the veterans?

It will be interesting to see how Bleu D'Enfer copes with a stern test, both in terms of class of opposition and Aintree fences for Donald McCain.

For a start, he isn't double-entered, which seems half the battle these days on a Tuesday, but he will cope with the rain. I revisited his winning performance as a novice last season at Carlisle in the first-time headgear. His jumping certainly warmed up as the race developed, and down the back straight he winged fences nine, 10 and 11.

He wandered around a bit in the end and has finished placed many times in his career to date with a previous trainer which is probably why he was wearing headgear. But owner Jimmy Fyffe has spent a few quid for Donald McCain and it's good to see a trainer like Don getting the support of some good owners.

Whether he is a Saturday horse we will find out but, with so many old-stagers in that race, I want to get with something with a bit more upsides and progression.

November Handicap, Doncaster 15:45: Back Hot Fuss E/W four places @ 16/117.00

The last throw of the Flat dice comes on Saturday with the November Handicap, and for once I am not going to back Master Builder who has the services of young master Toby Moore and his gold-dust like claim.

The rain this week should keep it soft for Hot Fuss, a 16/117.00 chance for Tom Dascombe, who has been off for 183 days and has had just two runs this season.

That's the sort of profile I want to be going with here. Chemistry also came under the microscope for Ivan Furtado.

Back to Hot Fuss, who was last seen bombing out in the Chester Cup back in the spring and hasn't been seen since. He was sent off 8/19.00 that day in a race won by East India Dock, and looked pretty good when sauntering home by over 3L at Southwell in February with the first-time visor.

In between, he took in the Fred Winter and Dascombe said post-Cheltenham: "The plan is that he needs to have soft ground and the other plan is that he has never had a break since he was broken in when we bought him at the breeze ups - he ran as a two-year-old, ran as a three-year-old and ran as a four-year-old."

"The plan is probably to go for the Chester Cup, then he will have the rest of May, June and July off, and then bring him back in September to go back over hurdles. He doesn't want summer Flat racing."

So plans, plans and plans. Soft ground is needed and Dascombe has often thought him a smart horse and off 93 on the level that could be an okay mark judged on his hurdles' exploits where he is 122.

2025 Antepost P and L:

January: +6.00
Feb: +2.80
March: -2.00
April: -20.00
May: -5.00
June: -6.80
July: +36.00
August: +20.60
Sept: +0.60
October: -7.75

Total for year to 1pt stake: +24.45pts

Now get Katie Midwinter's best bets for today's racing