Saturday’s Racing Tips
Endorsement (Newmarket, 13.50) – 1pt win @ 3/1 (Unibet)Zavateri (Newmarket, 15.00) – 1pt win @ 10/3 (William Hill)Dawn Rising (Newmarket, 15.40) – 0.5pts each-way @ 14/1 (bet365)Korker (York, 15.15) – 0.5pts each-way @ 28/1 (Ladbrokes)
The stars of the juvenile world descend on Newmarket’s Rowley Mile on Saturday, with the Dewhurst Stakes taking centre stage. Horse racing correspondent Jonathan Doidge has a selection to follow in the Dewhurst as part of his Saturday racing tips, which focus on Newmarket and York.
Darley Dewhurst Stakes Tips (Newmarket, 15.00)
This has the potential to be a very good renewal and given their respective records in the race, anything trained by Aidan O’Brien (five of the last ten winners) and Charlie Appleby (three of the last six winners) has to be given due consideration.
Market leaders also have a good record, with seven of the last decade’s outright favourites on betting sites obliging, plus a joint favourite.
Those stats alone mark out both this year’s ‘jolly’ Distant Storm (Appleby) and second favourite Gstaad (O’Brien) as serious contenders. That they are is in no doubt. Gstaad was mightily impressive when landing the Group 2 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot and has since been a close second in two Group 1 events.
Distant Storm made an impressive debut on the July course (7f, good to firm). He then pulled away his chance when too keen in the Group 3 Acomb at York behind the reopposing Gewan. His most recent effort was over this C&D, when he settled much better under hold-up tactics and ran out an impressive winner.
He fits the ‘could be anything’ tag at this moment and is arguably a worthy favourite on horse racing betting sites. However, the value at the prices surely has to be ZAVATERI.
Eve Johnson Houghton may not have trained the winner of this race previously but she is of winning stock in that her late father Fulke, who died in February, trained the 2002 winner Tout Seul. It would be an emotional triumph if she can pull it off, and Zaveteri looks well-equipped to do so.
Unbeaten in four starts, the son of Without Parole didn’t see a racecourse until June but by the end of July, he’d won back-to-back Group 2 races, the Bahrain Stakes on Newmarket’s July course and the Vintage Stakes at Glorious Goodwood. Proving neither was a fluke, he then came from the rear to get the better of a protracted battle with Gstaad to win the Group 1 National Stakes.
Proven at this level and with no obvious reason why that form would be overturned, he’s the one for me.
Saturday racing tip 1: Zavateri (Newmarket, 15.00) – 1pt win @ 10/3 (William Hill)
Night Of Thunder Zetland Stakes (Newmarket, 13.50)
Earlier on the card, the Group 3 Zetland Stakes pits the gelded Look To The Stars against Ballydoyle representatives ENDORSEMENT and Pierre Bonard.
Look To The Stars took a couple of starts to fully get the hang of things and has been good since then, with wins at Kempton (7f, AW) and Newbury (1m, good to soft). He has potential for further improvement within this step up to 1m1f.
The same can be said of a few of these, not least the selection Endorsement, who has been green on both starts. He showed ability first time out when runner-up at Killarney (1m, yielding to soft) and improved on that when scoring at Tipperary (1m1f, good to yielding) in August.
I like the fact that he’s been given a bit of time before heading here and stepping up in grade. He had to go the long way around in that Tipperary victory and was doing his best work at the finish, winning going away. For me, he looks to have more potential upside than the favourite on betting apps, and I’m happy to back him.
Saturday racing tip 2: Endorsement (Newmarket, 13.50) – 1pt win @ 3/1 (Unibet)
Club Godolphin Cesarewitch Handicap (Newmarket, 15.40)
Ireland has farmed this second half of the traditional ‘Autumn Double’ in recent season, winning six of the last seven renewals and the Emerald Isle is again mob-handed.
Last year’s winner Alphonse Le Grande is back for more and is towards the head of the market, though has to shoulder 6lb more than last season. At the time of writing, four of the first five in the betting will carry Irish hopes but I’m going to side with another of their representatives.
DAWN RISING sports the green and gold hoops of J P McManus and is very well treated on his best form. As a Queen Alexandra Stakes winner, he’ll get every yard of this 2m2f, he acts on a sound surface and with Oisin Murphy booked for the ride, he looks worth backing each-way (to as many places as your bookmaker will allow) to get us a return.
Recent form hasn’t been much to write home about but that’s factored into his price and he did come good this time last year.
Saturday racing tip 3: Dawn Rising (Newmarket, 15.40) – 0.5pts each-way @ 14/1 (bet365)
Coral Sprint Trophy Handicap (York, 15.15)
On the final day of York’s 2025 season, there’s probably more than just a hint of madness in taking on this 22-runner sprint handicap but, in the words of ‘Del Boy’, “He who dares wins!”
In our case, he who dares returns a profit would suffice and, in that regard, we’ll cut to the chase here and suggest KORKER.
Yes, yes, I know that he hasn’t won for two years but he does still have a few things on his side. Firstly, he goes well at this venue, where he rarely runs a bad race, finishing in the first four in 11 of his 15 starts on the Knavesmire.
He’s still got plenty of pace and acts on any going, so whatever the weather, he won’t mind, while he’s also got a very handy low draw (all but one of the last ten winners of this race have been drawn in single figures).
With 5lb claimed by Jack Nicholls, he gets to race off what is, effectively, the lowest mark he’s had since winning on his handicap debut in 2021. Yes, you can certainly question the fact that all his wins have been over shorter than 6f but he has been placed over C&D, so he does just about see it out and the forecast good ground will help on that score. I think, at 28/1 at the time of writing, he’ll be thereabouts and can be backed each-way.
Saturday racing tip 4: Korker (York, 15.15) – 0.5pts each-way @ 28/1 (Ladbrokes)
Saturday racing free bets
Each Saturday, LiveScore Bet have a money back special race where punters can get their stake back in free bets if their selection finishes 2nd, 3rd or 4th.
This week’s race is the 15.15 at York, for which Jonathan has put up Korker.
Bettors can back Jonathan’s racing tip to win outright, safe in the knowledge they’ll get their money back if he places, or they can back him each-way and if he does place, they’ll get a free bet refund on the win part of their stake.
The maximum free bet refund available is £10 and all bettors have to do to qualify is bet on the 15.15 at York, with any free bets credited 24 hours after the race.
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