We are set for an excellent summer of Flat racing this year, with Glorious Goodwood, York’s Ebor Festival, and the St Leger being just some of the highlights on the calendar.
Here is a look at the best tips for the action this summer, with ante-post betting open already on these leading races.
Native Trail to Win Eclipse – 10/1
2,000 Guineas runner-up Native Trail went one place better in the Irish equivalent of the race to follow stablemates Coroebus and Modern Games to win a Classic.
The son of Oasis Dream has an entry in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown in July. That suggests his next assignment may come over the distance of 1m2f. This horse has a lot of class, as we saw last season when he was crowned the champion two-year-old.
Native Trail is 10/1 in the horse racing odds for UK racing for the event at Sandown. Given there are question marks about Baaeed and Adayar’s participation, he looks like excellent value to add another major prize to his name.
Vauban to Win Ebor Handicap – 10/1
Vauban had an excellent campaign in the 2021/22 National Hunt season. He prevailed three times at Grade One level over hurdles, including at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival in the Triumph Hurdle.
Connections of the talented four-year-old have confirmed they are looking to target the Ebor Handicap this year. Willie Mullins’ gelding has an excellent engine, so he is going to be a big player in the lucrative Flat race.
The Irish trainer won the Ebor with Sesenta in 2009. He has a great chance of lifting the trophy again with Vauban, who is a 10/1 shot for the race.
Baaeed to Win Juddmonte International – 2/1
Last season’s champion miler Baaeed made his seasonal reappearance in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury where once again he was very impressive. William Haggas’ runner looks to be taking a similar path to Frankel, a horse he is looking to emulate in a number of ways.
Baaeed remains unbeaten, and although he has produced some breath-taking performances already on the track, we may not have seen the best of him yet. His biggest challenge is likely to come when he steps up to 1m2f in the Juddmonte International at York.
The son of Sea the Stars settles very well into his races. An extra 2f is unlikely to be enough to stop this horse from producing his electrifying turn of foot in the closing stages of his contests. He is 2/1 to win the York feature and it is hard to look past him.
Luxembourg to Win St Leger – 6/1
The Derby was going to be the target for Luxembourg this season, however, unfortunately for his connections, he was ruled out of the race at Epsom due to a setback. What that means is,that his main target could now be the oldest British Classic, the St Leger.
Aidan O’Brien’s colt finished third in the 2,000 Guineas earlier this season. He should improve as he steps up in distance, with the St Leger trip at Doncaster likely to be well within his reach.
O’Brien has won the St Leger six times. Luxembourg is 6/1 to give him a seventh success this year.
Good luck with all your bets this summer on the Flat. Hopefully it will be a season to remember for you.