There is a top-quality six-race card coming up at Ascot on Friday, running from 14:20 through to 17:12, featuring the Pat Eddery Stakes at 14:55.
The Racing Post’s Robbie Wilders offers his three best bets for the action at Ascot on Friday.
Friday's Ascot Horse Racing Betting Tips
14:55 Ascot - Gymbaazy @ 7/1
16:05 Ascot - Merveilleux Lapin @ 15/2
16:40 Ascot - Walson's Law @ 11/1
14:55 Ascot - Gymbaazy @ 7/1
The Listed Pat Eddery Stakes has been landed by many good horses over the years and Gymbaazy can be the latest winner for Owen Burrows.
Gymbaazy showed he was well above average when winning at Sandown on his debut, doing well to reel in a better positioned Godolphin odds-on shot with Group 1 entries down the line.
That was a slowly run affair and my selection, who needed to wait for a run at a key stage, impressed with the turn of foot he showed to cruise to the front after being moved out for a run.
Burrows’ juveniles invariably improve for their first runs and considering Gymbaazy was an unfancied 22-1 chance for his debut, it is thought he may have needed that initial experience.
A stiff 7f at Ascot looks ideal for this son of Siyouni, whose impressive trainer’s horses are often underestimated by the market (+£24.87 level-stakes profit this term).
16:05 Ascot - Merveilleux Lapin @ 15/2
It could also pay to follow Burrows in the 1m4f handicap later at Ascot as his Merveilleux Lapin holds strong claims.
Three-year-old Al Azd is the obvious place to start as he ran a screamer when a close second in the Duke of Edinburgh at the royal meeting, but he’s gone up 8lb for that and 20lb since March.
It remains to be seen how much there is left under the bonnet, whereas the 96-rated Merveillux Lapin has shaped excellently on both starts for Burrows.
She went close to winning a Windsor handicap on her stable debut and was unlucky not to, given that was a steadily run contest and she made up her ground from the rear.
Her latest fourth in the Listed Pontefract Castle Stakes was also an encouraging effort and her stamina again came to the fore, while the second, fifth, sixth and seventh in that finished in the first five in a similar event at Newmarket next time.
It’s a surprise the handicapper has left this four-year-old’s mark unchanged and Ascot will suit her closing style.
16:40 Ascot - Walson's Law @ 11/1
The final Ascot wager is Walson’s Law in the 7f handicap for Eve Johnson Houghton.
This looks the ideal test for Walson’s Law, who was a promising third in a Class 3 handicap at this track three starts ago, giving the impression the 6f trip was sharper than he wanted.
It didn’t go to plan for Walson’s Law in a muddling Goodwood event next time after he encountered significant in-running trouble, while he wasn’t seen to best effect when ridden differently at Doncaster on his latest outing.
Walson’s Law was emphatically one to follow on his first few runs for this team in 2025, including when a dominant winner over Newbury’s straight 7f a year ago.
A return to Ascot’s 7f is just what the doctor ordered and another 2lb drop means he is edging towards his previous winning mark for a trainer whose horses are in superb shape (eight winners from 31 runners over the past fortnight).
Read more horse racing betting tips and predictions on site.
Read more Ascot horse racing news on site
Tipster's Recent Winners
Robbie Wilders tipped 9/4 Curragh winner Space Blues in his previous column last Sunday.
Horse Racing Betting Guides
What is an Each Way bet in Horse Racing?
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
