Newbury Horse Racing Tips for Saturday

Saturday's card at Newbury is headlined by one of the season's biggest handicaps, the race historically known as the Hennessy Gold Cup. This race has been a launchpad for many Gold Cup and Grand National bids down the years.

The card is of high quality from start to finish and the Racing Post's Keith Melrose has picked out three bets on the card.

Saturday's Newbury Horse Racing Betting Tips and Odds

12:40 Newbury - Highstakesplayer @ 11/2
15:00 Newbury - Kandoo Kid @ 7/1
15:35 Newbury - Imperial Saint @ 5/2

12:40 Newbury - Highstakesplayer @ 11/2

Chianti Classico was set to be a leading challenger for Saturday afternoon's feature, before he was forced to miss the race, while Neon Moon is a contender for this afternoon's Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle. They were first and third at Ascot last time, and in between them was Highstakesplayer who has been given a much easier task today.

This horse had his issues as a young chaser, missing more than a year after he won his first two chases in late 2022, but he came back in fine fettle last season, winning twice at Kempton.

He starts this season thoroughly unexposed and his run at Ascot, when he shaped nearly as well as Chianti Classico, was another career-best effort.

This is not a weak race, but it is a degree removed from his most recent effort and the challenge many others from the same race have been asked to tackle since. It is a sensible bit of placement and Highstakesplayer can make it count.

15:00 Newbury - Kandoo Kid @ 7/1

This is a competitive running of the Hennessy, rather than one for the history books. Kandoo Kid looked like the sort that would have been aimed at, and run a creditable race in a good Hennessy without winning. Given the field that has turned up, he is a serious player.

Kandoo Kid progressed through his novice season over fences, with a win at this meeting among the highlights. Following one blip at Doncaster in January, he finished second in a Premier handicap here in March, then was third in the Topham over the Grand National fences in April.

Both of those races were around 2m4f. Kandoo Kid is surely a stayer in the making, he is half-brother to a horse who finished third in France's answer to the Cheltenham Gold Cup and in races like the Topham he was doing his best work at the finish.

He can win this race fresh, as Paul Nicholls has gone to the effort of giving him a racecourse gallop at the track to ensure he is as fit as can be for his first run of the season.

15:35 Newbury - Imperial Saint @ 5/2

Last year in this race, progressive novice Master Chewy was turned over at odds on in this race, by Elixir De Nutz who went on to win a Grade 1 at Cheltenham. With no potential top-notchers lurking in this field Imperial Saint, who to this point has followed Master Chewy's route over fences, can land a hat-trick in his first three starts as a chaser.

Aintree is a track that presents a serious jumping test, even when horses are going over the regulation fences of the Mildmay course rather than the more famous National fences. Imperial Saint has looked a natural over them, winning twice at the track.

Admittedly, the form of his more recent success is not all that strong and he has gone up 10lb in the weights for it. But really, Imperial Saint looks like a graded novice chaser waiting to happen and as such his new mark of 138 should not be enough to stop him making it three from three over fences.

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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.