Saturday racing tips for Newbury and Newcastle: Victtorino worth his weight in gold

The exciting races just keep on coming. Fresh on the heels of Royal Pagaille stunning Grey Dawning to claim victory in last weekend’s Betfair Chase, horse racing punters have another Saturday of top-class racing to look forward to.

Top of the list watch list are the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury and the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle. The former takes place over three miles and two furlongs, including 21 fences to be cleared, while the latter is a shorter affair across two miles and half a furlong with nine jumps included.

Both races have attracted decent fields with 14 going to post in the Coral Gold Cup and nine declared for the Fighting Fifth, and betting sites are struggling to come to a consensus on the favourite for the feature race at Newbury.

It seems somewhat unwise to bet against any Venetia Williams-trained horse at the moment. Last weekend’s unbelievable 77-1 treble, headlined by Royal Pagaille retaining the Betfair Chase, has placed a lot of focus on a stable that feels like it could run with three legs and still win at the moment.

Victtorino is well-placed to make an impact at Newbury at a price on betting apps that should attract plenty of attention. This doesn’t appear to be the most competitive renewal and we know the six-year old has plenty of staying power from last year’s season double at Ascot.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Victtorino line up, with him last stretching his legs at Cheltenham in March. This will likely split punters on his potential; we’ve seen him stroll to victory upon return in the past, but this race is historically dominated by those that have worked towards it.

The Williams factor, though. There’s an omen that’s hard to battle against, even if the likes of Senior Chief, Broadway Boy and Midnight River have shown themselves to be more than capable on their day.

Saturday racing tip 1: Victtorino to win Coral Gold Cup - 7/1 William Hill

The Grade One at Newcastle is looking extremely tasty, despite the news that Constitution Hill won’t be running after pulling up lame. Nicky Henderson will instead rely on favourite Sir Gino, a juvenile superstar that is garnering the bulk of the attention on horse racing betting sites.

As such, a window of opportunity might arise for punters who fancy Sir Gino to be there for the taking. Mystical Power has only gotten better, highlighted by wins at Aintree and Punchestown last season, and is trained by the formidable Willie Mullins, who will be keen to land a rare winner for the Irish in this event.

Brentford Hope is arguably the best of the rest and will be a popular pick for those who fancy an upset. Owned by England cricketer Craig Overton, the outside shot ran a standout race on ground that didn’t suit him at Wincanton at the beginning of the month and has the opportunity to lay down a marker against two world-class rivals.

That said, it feels like the front two will show they are a level above, and perhaps Brentford Hope’s time is still to come. With so much expectation upon Sir Gino, the quiet prep and quality of Mystical Power is difficult to overlook.

Saturday racing tip 2: Mystical Power to win Fighting Fifth Hurdle - 13/8 bet365

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