Friday tips: Dave Nevison's best bets at Kelso
By Dave Nevison
Last Updated: Thu 12 Feb 2026
Top tipster Dave Nevison has three selections at Kelso on Friday, with every contest live on Racing TV.
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2.00 Kelso: Judicial Deference
This is a very tight staying handicap and it will take some getting in the desperately heavy ground. However, Ben Smith takes a very valuable 6lb off the back of one of the best handicapped runners in the field courtesy of his recent link-up with the Greenall/Guerriero partnership.
A move to a bigger yard than his father’s has long been on the cards and this is his best opportunity for his new bosses as yet. Judicial Deference is on a hat-trick and won a competitive 17-runner race in good style on his recent handicap debut.
He has been raised 7lb for that, but looks very progressive and the rider’s claim offsets all but 1lb of the raise. He ran well in a bumper on his only race on heavy ground.
2.30 Kelso: Lance Les Des
Nick Alexander’s stable is in good form and this horse has run well on both his starts this season. Those runs have both come at this track, so this is a good place for him to start his handicapping career with a mark of 105 looking lenient enough.
The form has yet to be thoroughly tested with few runners coming out of either of this season’s run, but I am happy to go with the impression created on similar ground conditions to this afternoon and a win on handicap debut wouldn’t surprise at all.
4.10 Kelso: Big Zouk
This gelding has obviously made an impression after moving to Nicky Richards from James Ewart as he was very well backed to win on his chasing debut for the yard.
He jumped well in that Ayr event and came with a well-timed run to take things up at the last and win cosily. The handicapper has raised him just 6lb, in keeping with a two and a half-length victory, but he looked very superior and could be significantly underrated.
Heavy ground is no issue and he clearly has plenty of stamina, so this three and a quarter-mile test looks set to suit him more than most of his rivals.
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