Key Points
- Experienced juvenile has some great form ahead of the Ascendant Stakes
- Two-time course and distance winner can land the London Mile Series Final
- Two horses look massively overpriced in the Group 1 Sprint Cup Stakes
Group 1 action is at the forefront of this weekend’s UK horse racing schedule, as the ITV Racing cameras turn to
Haydock, Kempton, and
Ascot
for some competitive contests.
Just a couple of weeks on from picking the Ebor Handicap winner, Ethical Diamond, at 8/1 ante-post, I have five ITV Racing Tips to consider for Saturday’s cards, including two for the Group 1 Sprint Cup Stakes at Haydock.
So, let’s get stuck into this weekend’s
horse racing betting tips.
BETMGM HAS A GREAT SIGN-UP OFFER FOR NEW CUSTOMERS
There are nine ITV Racing contests that
horse racing bookmakers
are offering odds on this Saturday, and if you want to bag yourself a few free bets, BetMGM has a
great offer for new customers. If you
bet £10, you will be credited with £40 in free bets, which looks like great value.
As for existing customers, they are offering a very handy five places for the 15:00 at Haydock, as well as four places for the Group 1 Sprint Cup Stakes at 15:35 and four places for the 14:05 at Kempton, a race I have a strong selection in.
Bet £10 on the World Cup Get £40 in Free Bets
BetMGM UK Highlights
- Many favourable odds
- Wide range of sporting events and matches
- Quite extensive sports betting markets
New customers: Deposit £10+ within 7 days and place a sports bet. Get 4 x £10 Free Bets (2 x £10 Bet Builders & 2 x £10 Sports Bet). Valid 7 days. Min odds apply. Excludes virtual sports, esports and non-UK/IE horse racing. 18+. T&Cs apply.
18+. T&Cs Apply.
GambleAware.org.
BETTING ADVICE – ITV RACING – SATURDAY 5TH SEPTEMBER 2025
13:15 Haydock –
Ice Max
@ 9/2 with
BetMGM
– 1pt Win
13:50 Haydock –
Midnight Tango
@ 11/1 with
Betway
(3 places) – 0.5pt each-way
14:05 Kempton –
Local Hero
@ 11/2 with
BetMGM
– 1pt Win
15:35 Haydock –
Inisherin
@ 16/1 with
Betway
&
Beauvatier
@ 18/1 with
Betway
(4 places) – 0.5pt each-way
CONDITIONS SHOULD FAVOUR UNLUCKY ICE MAX
The first of my ITV Racing Tips runs in the Haydock opener, as I think Ice Max can make up for a luckless run in the Group 2 Celebration Mile Stakes last month.
He was sent off 5/1 for that warm contest, and he was the last off the bridle, but there was no room at the inn, and he just couldn’t find a gap to make his challenge. Ultimately, Sam James had to take a pull with a furlong to go, and once he had clear air, it was too little too late.
The form of that race with Jonquil (French 2000 Guineas runner-up) and Saqqara Sands (Group 3 Oak Tree Stakes joint-winner) is pretty fair, and previous performances that Ice Max has in the book give him a right chance in this Group 3 contest.
For starters, he finished ahead of Docklands in the Group 3 Diomed Stakes at Epsom just 10 days before he won the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, and he beat Poker Face in the Group 2 Celebration Mile Stakes last year. Poker Face went on to win a Group 2 in Meydan before his second to Romantic Warrior in the Group 1 Jebel Hatta at the same track.
Ice Max seems to like softer conditions, so the ground at Haydock (soft side of good) should be to his liking, and he has the ability to take this.
STEP UP IN TRIP MAKES MIDNIGHT TANGO INTERESTING
All the hype in the Listed Ascendant Stakes at Haydock will be for Publish, the favourite, and he is certainly an unexposed contender who can take this. However, Midnight Tango has to be of interest at a double-figure price due to the ability she has already shown.
Firstly, she is stepping up in trip, and that wouldn’t be a given based on her pedigree. She is out of a six-furlong winner, and her dam is a half-sister to the Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye winner Makarova. That being said, she settled into a nice rhythm over seven furlongs in the Group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes last month, and she was staying on through the line. If you didn’t know her pedigree, she looked like a horse that could handle a mile with no issues.
As for her form, she was narrowly beaten by Argentine Tango at Newmarket in June, and she went on to finish third to Venetian Sun and Royal Fixation in the Group 2 Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes and second to Lady Iman in the Group 3 Molecomb Stakes. Midnight Tango also finished fourth in the Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes behind Staya (third), who looked like an eye-catcher behind Royal Fixation in the Group 2 Lowther Stakes subsequently.
To my eye, Midnight Tango should really hit the places in the Listed Ascendant Stakes at a minimum, and based on some of her previous performances this season, she could well win.
COURSE SPECIALIST LOCAL HERO LOOKS WELL-HANDICAPPED TO WIN
My next selection for this weekend’s ITV Racing Tips comes in the 14:05 at Haydock, as I think Local Hero has a sterling chance in the London Mile Series Final Handicap.
This is undoubtedly a competitive handicap, but the reasons to like Local Hero are extensive. Firstly, from five visits to Kempton, he has won three, come second once, and finished a fine fourth on the final run. Of his three wins, one of which was a novice success, but the other two came off handicap marks of 85 and 88, and when he placed over this course and distance in March, he had a rating of 91. The Phoenix Of Spain gelding is now rated 86, so he looks well-handicapped on that evidence.
Furthermore, this rating of 86 is his second-lowest career mark. When was he rated lower? Well, it was that Kempton run off 85 when he ran on through the line to win by one-and-three-quarter lengths.
I imagine that this has been a long-term plan by Richard Hannon and connections, ever since he won a qualifier for this series in December. They have given him a nice 72-day freshen-up, and while this break is a small concern, I can’t imagine they have left him ‘undercooked’ for this series final.
Bet £10 on the World Cup Get £40 in Free Bets
BetMGM UK Highlights
- Many favourable odds
- Wide range of sporting events and matches
- Quite extensive sports betting markets
New customers: Deposit £10+ within 7 days and place a sports bet. Get 4 x £10 Free Bets (2 x £10 Bet Builders & 2 x £10 Sports Bet). Valid 7 days. Min odds apply. Excludes virtual sports, esports and non-UK/IE horse racing. 18+. T&Cs apply.
18+. T&Cs Apply.
GambleAware.org.
DRAW GIVES INISHERIN & BEAUVATIER AN EDGE IN THE SPRINT CUP
This season’s premier sprinting division has been a bit of a minefield, and the Group 1 Sprint Cup looks equally as trappy as other Group 1 sprints have looked this year. Still, I’m using the draw as a bit of an angle, and that’s why I want to keep Inisherin and Beauvaitier on side.
In previous years, a performance of roughly 120 on RPRs has been required to win this, and the lowest RPR recorded in the last 10 years is 118. With this in mind, who is likely good enough to run to this number? Lazzat, No Half Measures, Kind Of Blue, Beauvatier, Big Mojo, and Inisherin are the candidates.
Furthermore, the winning stalls of the last 10 years, and yesterday’s results over the sprint course, suggest middle-to-low draw is the place you want to be. Only two of the horses above are drawn in a single-figure box, and that’s Inisherin and Beauvatier.
Finally, at the time of writing, Haydock is Good, Good to Soft (in places). While no rain is scheduled this weekend, I imagine the course will be fine, but not overly quick. Both Beauvatier and Inisherin are ground versatile, and the latter won the 2024 Group 2 Sandy Lane Stakes on soft ground over this course and distance.
They both have Group 1-level form in the book, so I’ll back them both at nice prices.
