Kevin Blake's Saturday Racing Tips: Two each-way plays in the big ITV races

Kevin Blake
01 July 2022
3:00 min read

Kevin Blake has two tips at Haydock and Sandown on Saturday afternoon

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There is some fantastic action on ITV Racing on Saturday including the ultra-competitive Old Newton Cup and the top class Grade 1 Coral Eclipse. Kevin Blake has a tip in each...

"He showed in the Tattersalls Gold Cup that he is one of the very best horses around and if he gets the run of the race, he could be a very tough horse to get past."

Back Alenquer each-way @ 8/1 in 15:35 Sandown

The ITV cameras roll into Sandown and Haydock on Saturday, but let there be no mistake about it, the eyes of the racing world will be tuning in to see the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.

It promises to be a tip-top contest, but before getting stuck into it, we have some business to attend to at Haydock.

Old Stager has a chance in Old Newton Cup

The first race of interest is the Old Newton Cup Handicap at Haydock (15:15). The William Haggas-trained Gaassee is a prohibitively short price and while the case for him is obvious, I'm going to take a swing at one at a much bigger price in the shape of the Andrew Balding-trained Morando.

The nine-year-old has been around the block, but was a very smart horse in his prime, winning three times at Group 3 level. He has come right down the ratings in more recent times and is now 17lb lower than his career-high mark.

There was some encouragement in his seasonal reappearance at Goodwood last time and he seems sure to come on from that.

This will be just the second handicap he has contested since 2016 and the key to his chance is the ground. He has always been particularly good on testing ground and he might just be able to out-grind some of his younger rivals in this contest. He is sure to be a very big price and warrants consideration.

Tom's tactics the key to Alenquer success

The main event of the weekend and indeed one of the highlights of the European Flat season is the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown (15:35).

It has attracted six runners, but don't let me hear anyone complain about the field size, as there are literally only a handful of horses anywhere in Europe that would add to the depth of it as a contest.

This is a collection of some of the very best horses in the world and it promises to be a belter.

However, as has been the case in many tip-top races in the last year or so, the lack of an established front runner and/or pace maker has the potential to turn this into a messy affair.

Having run multiple scenarios in my head and trying to figure out how this race is likely to pan out, I've concluded that Tom Marquand could well be the one to take the bull by the horns and look to lead on Alenquer.

The four-year-old stays further than this and was almost caught out by a steadier-than-ideal pace in the Tattersalls Gold Cup last time. He is drawn widest in stall six which will allow Tom to survey what his rivals inside him are doing before committing to a position.

If something inside him decides to change tactics and go forward, he'll be able to cross to a prominent position on the outside of the leader. If nothing else wants to go on, he can allow Alenquer to roll into what is likely to be an uncontested lead.

In either scenario, he is likely to be better positioned than most of his rivals and that could well be a key factor in his performance. He showed in the Tattersalls Gold Cup that he is one of the very best horses around and if he gets the run of the race, he could be a very tough horse to get past.