Key Points
- This gelding should be perfectly suited by the drop back in trip
- He’s only 1lb above his last winning mark, which is well within his scope
- His yard are in flying form and he can add to their impressive record
After an educational article yesterday, we’re back to betting tips today. I have found one I like in the finale at Newmarket at a double figure price, and I feel he’s well worth an each way bet!
If you’re new to my articles, I’m RacingGav and I’m the resident horse racing tipster here at Betting.co.uk. I write five articles per week and whilst they are predominantly betting tips (either daily or antepost), I also produce other types of content such as guides and big race trends.
If you’re interested in antepost betting, make sure you check out my existing articles, where you will find selections for the Cesarewitch Handicap and
King George VI Chase
this year, plus some very early selections for the 2026 Cheltenham Festival and the 2026 Aintree Grand National.
Betting advice
- 16:45 Newmarket -
Classic Encounter
@ 10/1 (4 places) -
0.75pt each way
bet365 are offering exceptional value on Classic Encounter
At the time of writing this article, Classic Encounter is generally available around 15/2 to 17/2 with three or four places on offer. But bet365 stands out from the crowd with better odds of 10/1 and four places. If you don’t already have an account with bet365, I’d highly recommend that you take advantage of their sign up deal. If you
bet £10, you’ll get £30 of free bets. A fantastic boost as we head towards the weekend.
Looking at a number of factors, I believe Classic Encounter will thrive in today’s race. If he can return to his best, he has a huge chance of winning, and certainly a far better one than his price of 10/1 suggests. I’m quietly confident that he can do exactly that.
This gelding should be perfectly suited by the drop back in trip
Classic Encounter won for my Discord members over 1m at Redcar back in April. He subsequently backed that up with a strong second at Newmarket, over the same 1m trip, before being third there on his next outing.
On the fourth start of his campaign, he went up to 1m 1f at York on Good to Firm ground, and he found more improvement to win again. What was particularly impressive that day is the fact that he was denied a clear run, but still managed to get up late and win by a nose.
Classic Encounter backed that form up over a stiff 1m trip at Sandown, but could only finish fourth that day. His next two runs were disappointing, as he has finished sixth and eleventh, beaten around six to seven lengths both times. However, both runs were over 1m 2.5f and he clearly didn’t enjoy it. In those slower-paced races, he simply refuses to settle and doesn’t show his best at the business end.
After his two failed attempts over 1m 2.5f, he has been dropped back down to 1m 1f, the same trip as his last win. This should be perfect for him, especially at Newmarket with the stiff finish there. I’m very hopeful that this drop in trip will see him return to form.
Classic Encounter is only 1lb above his last winning mark, which is well within his scope
The season started for Classic Encounter on a mark of 77. However, after winning his opening race of the season, that was quickly pushed up to 81. Following the second at Newmarket this was pushed up to 83, which is where it stayed for both his next start at Newmarket and the win over at York.
As a result of that further win, he was then pushed up another 4lb to 87. He stayed on that mark after his Sandown run but following the first disappointment at York upped in trip, that was dropped 1lb to 86. After another underwhelming performance, he was dropped a further 2lb.
As a result, he is now only 1lb above his last winning mark, and the revised mark of 84 is well within his scope. When winning at York over this trip, he was denied a clear run, so he did remarkably well to win. The RPR of 94 recorded that day reflects the magnitude of the performance, and if he can replicate it, he’d have around 10lb in hand. That should be more than sufficient to win this Handicap.
Classic Encounter is trained by George Boughey and the yard is in great form at the moment. In the last 14 days, George has a record of 10 wins from 43 runs, which is a very healthy strike rate of 23%. Over the same period, he has achieved a 60% RTF (run to form) figure for his runners, which is also rather impressive.
If you look at September as a whole, rather than just the last 14 days, his record is 16 from 66 (24%), which is even stronger. If you had backed all of his runners in September at a £1 level stake, you would see a profit of +£21.03.
Dropped in trip, and off his current mark of 84, I feel Classic Encounter can add to George Boughey’s impressive record and keep the stable firing. Hopefully that will prove to be the case later today!
Can Classic Encounter land his third win in this campaign?
I won’t be surprised if Classic Encounter goes off significantly shorter than 10/1 today, but before deciding to bet, you first need to weigh up the positives and negatives. For me, there’s an abundance of positives for Classic Encounter. The drop back in trip, his fallen mark, the ground in his favour, and the strong stable form. I even feel that Newmarket’s stiff finish will play to his strengths, and he has shown good form here before.
In terms of the negatives, there isn’t anything too drastic. He appears to be out of form on paper, but he has had the trip to blame the last twice. You could say that he is above his last winning mark but it is only by 1lb and an extra 1lb wouldn’t have stopped him when he last won if he had a clear run. I feel he was value for plenty more.
With the positives far outweighing the negatives here, he certainly interests me from the betting perspective. I think 10/1 is far too big for him, but I’m trimming the bet down to 0.75pt each way to reflect that he does need to bounce back to form, despite returning to this shorter trip ,and he is still just above his last winning mark.
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While I typically produce five articles each week for Betting.co.uk with free access to my betting tips, the majority of my selections are exclusively for my Discord members.
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