Saturday ITV Racing Tips: Mark Milligan's best bets for Ascot and York

• Classy Calandagan the King George bet

• Jubilee can Walk the walk in big handicap at York

• Irish raider to land the Knavesmire's feature race

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16:10 Ascot - Back Calandagan @ 13/8

Ascot's King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes is one of the highlights of the summer and, although it rarely attracts a big field, it never fails to deliver quality and this year's renewal is no exception.

Of the five that go to post, four of them have every chance of success, with only Continuous (presumably in as a pacemaker for stable companion for Jan Brueghel) the only one that can be readily overlooked.

The aforementioned Jan Brueghel and Calandagan fought out a tremendous battle when finishing first and second in the Coronation Cup at Epsom in June, but I'm hopeful the French raider can overturn that form back on this more conventional track.

Calandagan was unfairly called a few names in the aftermath of that contest, where a few suspected he hadn't quite gone through with his effort, but I'm more of the opinion that he just didn't handle the undulations/camber all that well and he's much more effective on galloping tracks.

His record at Ascot is a good one, with a wide-margin win in the King Edward VII and a second in the Champion Stakes on his CV at the Berkshire venue in 2024, and his potent turn of foot is a big weapon in the relatively short straight.

He also finished a fine second to the top-class City Of Troy in the Juddmonte at York last term, which is just about the best piece of form on offer.

The selection proved as good as ever when readily accounting for Arc runner-up Aventure in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud last time and there didn't appear anything wrong with his attitude there. Calandagan is one of the best horses around on his day and I'm confident he'll prove it on the heat of battle at Ascot on Saturday afternoon.

Of the rest, Rebel's Romance and Kalpana are not easily ruled out.

The former is a multiple Group/Grade 1 winner all over the world and wasn't seen to best effect when third in this race last year, while the latter has posted two solid efforts in defeat this season, though I have my doubts as to whether she's quite classy enough to lay it down to the likes of Calandagan and Jan Brueghel if they turn up on the 'A' games.

14:00 York - Back Jubilee Walk E/W @ 7/1

Away from Ascot, York stages a cracking Saturday afternoon card and this competitive sprint handicap can go to Jubilee Walk, who shaped as if ready to get back to his best on the back of a second breathing operation when third at Chester last time.

James Ferguson's four-year-old is still relatively low mileage and looked a horse of some potential when notching at hat-trick in a run that spanned his final start of 2023 and his first two outings in 2024, the last of those wins at this track.

The wheels came off a little after that, but that second wind op coupled with a gelding operation seems to have got him back on the right track and there's still plenty of time for him to develop into the high-class handicapper he promised to be when stringing those victories together.

This won't be an easy task by any stretch, but Jubilee Walk's proven ability to handle this course (not always a given at York) and a handy low draw should see him give a very good account, while we also have the added bonus of five places on the Sportsbook from an each-way perspective.

14:40 York - Back Green Impact @ 8/1

On balance, Almaqam probably deserves to be a short-priced favourite for the Group 2 York Stakes given how well his beating of Ombudsman at Sandown reads based on that's one's subsequent exploits. However, he faces a trio of three-year-olds who maybe haven't shown all they're capable of just yet and does have to concede a lump of weight-for-age to them.

Green Impact and Stanhope Gardens are in the same ownership, albeit trained on different sides of the Irish Sea, while Bay City Roller is the other runner from that generation. Preference is for Jessica Harrington's Green Impact, who wasn't disgraced when sixth in the Irish Derby last time without shaping as if the step up from 1m 1f to 1m 4f really suited.

His pedigree is something of a mix, but on balance I'd suggest that this 1m 2f trip may well prove his optimum and there could be more to come from one who also ran a decent race when sixth in the 2000 Guineas on his seasonal return.

A winner at Leopardstown between those Classic runs, regular rider Shane Foley is over for the mount (as well as riding our selection in the previous race) and Green Impact looks a touch overpriced at 8/19.00.

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