Saturdays Horseracing Tips, 23 January

By Carl Harris

The big race of the day is at Ascot and it is fantastic to have top class racing back on the agenda on a Saturday. Haydock also stages a quality card and as long as the weather plays its part we should have a great day of National Hunt racing.

This is what we were waiting for whilst sat at home watching DVD’s during the big freeze. Let’s see if we can make some money today. Here are my best bets for Saturday 23 January.

2:20 Haydock, Diamond Harry- Win. A very decent hurdler Diamond Harry will put his jumping to the test over fences. Timmy Murphy has been routed to Ascot for the ride on Well Chief so he will now be ridden by Barry Geraghty. He will not be a great price but should win and enter the Cheltenham Festival Picture.

Diamond Harry debuts over fences on Saturday

It will not be a walk-over for Diamond Harry. Knockara Beau is a decent sort who has jumping experience in his favour but Diamond Harry has bags of class and could be top class in my view.

2:40 Ascot (VC Chase), Twist Magic- Win. Though this is an eight runner contest it really only concerns the bottom three, Petit Robin, Well Chief and Twist Magic. Paul Nicholls won this last season with Master Minded but could do it again with able deputy Twist Magic. At Sandown last time out he made a nonsense of a grade one field in the Tingle Creek. With a rating of 173 he is the best horse in the race but if he is in the sort of form we saw at Sandown he will take some stopping. The danger is the Nicky Henderson trained and now Tony McCoy ridden Petit Robin who won the Dessert Orchid Chase at Kempton last time out. The winner will come from these two and it looks a very good reverse forecast but I think Twist magic has got better, is clearly right and can justify top rating under Ruby Walsh. McCoy v Walsh, Henderson v Nicholls, it doesn’t get much better than this. Twist Magic for me.

Here is what Paul Nicholls has to say ahead of the VC Chase on Saturday;

“Twist Magic is fine and I am very happy with him. He was beaten in the race two years ago, which is a slight concern. He looked a certainty and got beat, but he also ran a shocker in the Champion Chase that year. He seems in good form and I think he put in a personal best when he was third at Exeter (in the Haldon Gold Cup under top weight on his seasonal reappearance). He also won well the last day, but Ascot and Sandown are different tracks. You can freewheel around Sandown, but it is a stiff climb from Swinley Bottom to the line at Ascot. He appears in good form and looked a lot happier at Sandown. I hope he has turned a corner and he does seem happier in himself these days.”

2:55 Haydock, Punjabi, Win. I am not advocating backing Punjabi if you do not like short prices but this is important in the context of the Champion Hurdle. Of course he is the current Champion Hurdler and seemed to blow up last time out but did travel well. He will need to put in a better performance today and should win this easily if he is at full fitness. Anything but a win here would be a major shock.