Saturday horse racing tips: five from Dave Nevison

As ever the Paddy’s Pick 5 is made up of some tough to solve races but here is my attempt at winning the free cash!

1.15 Haydock: Regional

Readers of this column will be familiar with him and it was tough keeping the faith last season despite some good runs, but he came good and in style in a good handicap at York on his return, having been backed from 9/1 into 9/2 joint-favourite.

Regional typifies trainer Ed Bethell’s contrasting seasons in that he hit the crossbar so many times last term, but those near-misses have been converted into victories this this time around and the yard is having a cracking season.

Regional was thought plenty good enough to run in Listed company when he was a two-year-old with Richard Fahey and, though he bombed out and was subsequently sold pretty cheaply, he now looks to be fully over what may have ailed him back then and he looks well worth this try outside of handicap company once more.

1.50 Haydock: All The King’s Men

The drop back down to six furlongs and the booking of Ryan Moore really takes the eye and I hope that trainer George Boughey might have rolled the dice well here.

There is no doubt that All The King’s Men was unlucky at Epsom last time out, and in my view he should have won instead of staying on well when beaten less than a length in third. That was over an extended mile, but I am very hopeful that he can lay up close enough in what will be a fiercely -run race and that his top jockey can steer a course through as some of the speedsters begin to tire.

All The King’s Men was generally campaigned over shorter distances in France so this shouldn’t come as too much of a shock.

2.25 Haydock: Forza Orta

He was another runner I tipped up last time at York and he ran a perfectly respectable race, although I needed him to finish in the first six but the sod’s law of each-way betting struck and he finished seventh!

Forza Orta has been dropped a further 1lb for that effort and is now just 1lb higher than his latest winning mark. That York event is one of the top 12-furlong handicaps of the season on the Knavesmire and this event doesn’t look quite as strong.

We should still get each way odds about Forza Orta, who’s turn is not that far away.

2.40 Beverley: United Front

He was a good third in a better race than this at Meydan earlier this year and Oisin Murphy returns for the ride for the first time since.

United Front has gradually run himself into winning form this spring and he looks well capable of finally obliging from his much lower turf mark. He ran really well last time at Yarmouth, even if he had the run of the race, but from stall 2 here he should be able to lay up with the pace and I think he could outclass his rivals under the three-time champion and with the Mick Appleby yard back in form.

3.20 Catterick: Fiftyshadesofred

William Pyle is a young jockey who is beginning to take the eye in the north having ridden winners for Iain Jardine and Craig Lidster recently and he takes a very valuable 7lb off Fiftyshadesofred here.

Kevin Frost’s five-year-old runs off a lower mark on turf than the all-weather but he is becoming unbelievably well-handicapped on grass and has signalled his turn is very near on recent runs. The hood was applied for the first time last time out and he ran a blinder to be third after making the running.

Fiftyshadesofred has not always been the most consistent, but if the hood works again and he backs this up he will go very close once more.