ITV Races

Boxing Day ITV Racing Tips: Mark Milligan with three to back at up to 13/2

Kempton Racecourse
Mark Milligan has three bets on Boxing Day, including one at Kempton

Mark Milligan has cast his eye over the excellent Boxing Day cards on ITV and has three selections for us...


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Betfair ambassador Rachael Blackmore rides Envoi Allen in the 2024 King George VI Chase on Boxing Day. The horse has finished inside the top six in all of his last seven starts and today you can back him to finish in the top six again at the super-boosted price of 1/12.00 (from 8/131.61).

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12:45 Kempton - Back Fire Flyer

The post-Christmas glut of racing kicks off with three meetings on ITV on Boxing Day, with Kempton's King George card the highlight, though the channel is also covering a couple of good races from Aintree and Wetherby.

The opener at Kempton is a really interesting Novices' Handicap Chase and there's no shortage of potential from several of the nine-strong field.

Dan Skelton's Asta La Pasta is favourite on the Sportsbook at the time of writing, and he's made a solid start to his career over fences, winning once and finishing third on his other two starts.

He looks solid enough, though I'm not convinced his current mark of 130 gives him all that much in hand with a few of these.

I prefer the claims of Paul Nicholls' Fire Flyer, who made a good start to life over the bigger obstacles when finishing second at Exeter earlier in the month.

A useful novice hurdler, he looks the type to make an even better chaser and seemed to benefit from having had a breathing operation prior to his reappearance.

Of the rest, El Rio and Range are both respected, with the former coming here in search of a hat-trick, though whether he has as much potential as Fire Flyer is open to debate.


13:05 Aintree - Back Potters Charm

I'm heading to Aintree for the day's best bet, as the exciting Potters Charm looks to follow up his recent impressive Cheltenham success in this Grade 1 2m1f novices' hurdle.

Runner-up on his sole start in the Irish pointing field, Nigel Twiston-Davies' five-year-old is unbeaten under Rules, having taken a bumper in March before recording a hat-trick of novice hurdle successes, the latest of them coming when easily taking care of Valgrand in Grade 2 company last month.

His jumping had been a little iffy prior to Cheltenham, but he really put it all together in style there, jumping much more fluently and travelling in the manner of one who shouldn't be inconvenienced by dropping back in trip for this contest.

Potters Charm eased 11 lengths clear on the run-in and looks one of the most exciting British-trained novices we've seen this season.

This will be a good test for him, particularly with several potential improvers in the field, but such was the manner of his victory last time that I'm confident he can follow up as he steps up to the top level for the first time.


13:35 Wetherby - Back Tahmuras

Paul Nicholls has an excellent record at Wetherby (30% career S/R), and he can strike with his sole Boxing Day raider at the West Yorkshire venue as Tahmuras bids to take the 3m Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase.

While this race might not quite have the prestige it once had (Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Forgive 'n Forget and The Thinker were successful in the 80s), it's still a valuable contest in its own right.

It's also a race that the Ditcheat handler has yet to put on his storied CV, though he'd have had limited runners in it over the years.

Hopefully he can put that right with Tahmuras, who does have stamina to prove but has shaped as if he'll be suited by this sort of trip in the past.

The selection didn't appear to get home over an extended 2m 5f at Haydock on his reappearance, but I'd be inclined to put that more down to a lack of peak fitness than anything trip related.

I expect him to come on a bundle for that run having shown plenty of promise during his novice chase season in 2023/24.

A mark of 143 looks within range and Nick Scholfield is an interesting jockey booking, this one of only two rides he has at the meeting.


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