Horse Racing Tips: Best Betting Tips for Friday

Today's Horse Racing Tips

• 14:10 Doncaster – Golden Duke – 1pt e/w @ 18/1 (four places) with bet365
• 18:00 Newcastle – Korker – 2pts @ 12/1 with bet365
• 20:45 Newmarket – Regal Empire – 1pt @ 11/1 with Coral

For today's horse racing tips, our analyst James Boyle looks at the flat racing meetings at Doncaster, Newcastle and Newmarket, with three selections now online.

As always, you’ll find the most up-to-date odds at the best horse racing betting sites, but don’t sleep on our tipster’s predictions as those odds could soon be gobbled up by the betting public. Odds stated are correct at the time of publishing.

14:10 Doncaster – Golden Duke – 1pt e/w @ 18/1

Golden Duke ran a nothing race at Thirsk recently but two main things were against him. He was racing in a grade higher than he needed to be and, more importantly, he was unproven on testing ground. Based on how he got detached from the field, there’s no way on earth he was happy to be racing on that and even if you’re worried about his current well-being, it’s a run to strike out completely.

His previous start, also his seasonal return, wasn’t as bad as it looks on the book. He travelled along nicely until the two-pole and then didn’t have the match-sharpness needed to pick up the leaders, ultimately weakening afterwards. Hamilton wouldn’t exactly be his optimal track either so I’d see some positives in that outing up to a point and we may see a better version of him on show here.

The handicapper has eased him to 66 so it’s interesting to see Nigel Tinkler running him before that drop comes into play and I’m just wondering whether he feels this is the perfect race for the horse. He turns out after 10 days since the Thirsk flop and both of his career wins have come after breaks of less than a couple of weeks. With a strong pace and cover on a flat track, 18/1 seems very big to me.

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18:00 Newcastle – Korker – 2pts @ 12/1

Korker would break your heart at the best of times, as he’s supremely talented but always finds a way to get beaten in races he could win, albeit not always by choice. Two of this season’s outings have come in stakes races, the most recent being his latest start at Haydock where pace won out and he could never catch up. That’s not the scenario he’s needing – he wants a total collapse of the speed. 

Before that, he was wiped out at the start of a York handicap (sent off favourite) and we can ignore it altogether. It was three runs ago when he showed his true level, also at York, finishing second to the massively progressive Regional. Again, his racing position after a slow start was a problem and I thought it was an outstanding effort to get so close to the winner with a sub-optimal racing scenario.

Returning to handicap company will give him a chance of getting away with his main issue, which is at the stalls, and finishers can often thrive at this track. It’s his first run on the All-Weather so we have no idea how he’ll cope with the surface but his three siblings who have made it to the track have all won on an artificial surface and that does add some hope. If he copes with it, he’s not a 12/1 chance. 

20:45 Newmarket – Regal Empire – 1pt @ 11/1

Regal Empire has shortened since I started writing (very frustratingly!) but I still reckon any double-figured quote is overpriced. He arrives on the back of an effort that doesn’t look great in the book, finishing seventh of eight runners at Lingfield, but that was the Listed Derby Trial won by Military Order and Royal Ascot winner Waipiro was in second. Not being up to their level is far from a surprise.

He ran close to his peak figure both in terms of form and time, and actually was put up a pound by the assessors! Previous to that, in a handicap on the Rowley course, he finished second to the re-opposing Like A Tiger and that was a brilliant run when you take into account that he missed the kick and was put into the pace early enough on the side where none of the others could lead him.

That trip of 1m 2f – the same as today’s contest – is his bare minimum and I just wonder, based on how he shapes, whether getting him back on the speed over this trip could see an improved performance. He only made his debut in January so it’s unlikely he has maxed out yet and a freshen up after Lingfield will have done him no harm. 10/1+ about him winning is worth pinging a point on.

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