Best Bets for Friday at Fairyhouse and Ascot Friday’s racing at Fairyhouse and Ascot has thrown up some intriguing contests with high quality horses in action at both courses. Willie Mullins sends two very interesting horses to Fairyhouse. In the opening Maiden Hurdle at 11.50am he saddles the mare Hashtag Be Kind which was purchased shortly after making a promising debut for Jamie Osbourne in a Bumper at Warwick in November 2021. Two years on the sidelines is obviously a concern for the flat bred daughter of Camelot, but Jessica Harrington’s Jetara looks the only conceivable danger. Jetara is a dual bumper winner that was highly tried over hurdles last season, but ran very poorly on her recent reappearance where she raced keenly and made several jumping errors in a Graded contest at Down Royal. The second interesting runner for Willie Mullins is Mister Policeman in the Beginners Steeplechase at 12.55pm. The champion trainer runs three in this race, but all eyes will be on the once-raced Mister Policeman who will be partnered by stable jockey Paul Townend. Mister Policeman beat some fair yardsticks on his racecourse debut in a hurdle race at Cork back in April and has been the subject of good reports from his trainer in recent weeks and is expected to attain a high level over fences. Online Sportsbook company SBK with their motto “best odds, no gimmicks” are offering new Irish and UK customers a sign up bonus of bet 10 get 30 in free bets when they make an initial deposit of 10 and place a bet to the same stake at odds of 1/2 or better on any sport including horse racing. Click on the link below for more information. Gordon Elliott has been clocking up the winners at an extraordinary rate in recent weeks and it will be something of a shock if his Better Days Ahead doesn’t get the job done over hurdles at the second attempt. This point-to-point and bumper winner looked all set for a winning debut over hurdles at Down Royal two weeks ago, but took a tumble three hurdles from home. He has to give weight away to his rivals in the 12.20pm race today, but should be up to the task. The remaining four races at Fairyhouse are confined to amateur riders and a suggested horse to keep on the right side of Croi Corcra in the Lorna Brooke memorial handicap chase at 1.30pm. Croi Corcra is a prolific winner of point-to-points and also recorded a victory in this discipline at Tramore on her penultimate start. Her disappointing recent effort at Clonmel can be easily forgiven as it came over an inadequate distance and she must have strong claims here. Over at Ascot six ex-Irish point-to-pointers are involved in the opening Maiden Hurdle at 12.15pm and it may pay to side with impressive Borris House winner Welcom To Catries as he makes his debut for Paul Nicholls. The market will likely prove the best guide to his chances, but it will be no surprise if the Donnchadh Doyle graduate makes an immediate impact for his new connections. Nicky Henderson has won the ‘Introductory’ Hurdle at Ascot for the last two seasons and has another very interesting candidate this time in the shape of Doddiethegreat. The Kenny Alexander-owned 7-y-o has been off the track for two years, but boasts solid credentials. He won his first two starts in bumpers before running out a wide margin winner on debut over hurdles at Kempton in November 2021. That hurdle victory was gained over two miles and five furlongs so dropping back to the minimum trip on return is a definite concern, but a bigger danger is Paul Nicholls’ Inthewaterside. This 5-y-o has an identical unblemished record with two bumper victories and a hurdle win from three starts, but crucially his fitness is assured as it was less than a month ago that he got off the mark over hurdles at Aintree. Venetia Williams has her string in outstanding form and boasts a 40% strike rate over the last 21 days. She has also landed the S.A.F.E. Handicap Chase on this Ascot card twice in the last three years and has a likely contender again with bottom weight Fire Dancer. This expensive French import, owned by Rich Ricci, won on stable debut at Ludlow in January, but disappointed on two subsequent occasions. Fire Dancer has had trouble with his wind in the past and a better value alternative is Your Darling trained by Ben Pauling. Your Darling landed a gamble when running out a very easy winner of this race twelve months ago and can repeat the dose. Your Darling ran better than his finishing position would suggest at Galway during the summer in the Galway Blazers handicap Chase and considering he tends to run best with a gap between his races should be primed for a strong defence of his title. Existing customers of SBK also have the opportunity to purchase 3 x £5 Horse Racing Multiple Tokens for just £10 begambleaware.org
