It’s still early on in the recognised Jumps season so field sizes aren’t quite up to the usual levels for big Saturday meetings. That being said, there’s enough runners at Ascot on Saturday for some fascinating each way plays. We’ve selected three outsiders in ITV-televised races from the Royal track that can outrun their prices. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
Magistrato (14-1, Boylesports) wouldn’t be the first French import to suffer from acclimatisation issues in their first British season. Paul Nicholls’ gelding looked like the real deal when impressively winning at Chepstow on his UK debut last year. Things haven’t gone to plan since but there should be more to come from him this season. He’ll be a chaser in time but should be up to winning one or two more hurdle races in the meantime.
Gumball (10-1, bet365) hasn’t won a chase since October 2020 when trained by Phillip Hobbs. That has to change soon and he looks well handicapped on the best of his form. Finished second at Ludlow in December and was only beaten by half-a-length. His trainer then put him away for the Grand Annual at Cheltenham which ended up being an attritional affair after a deluge on the day. Now 4lb lower than when runner-up at Ludlow, he should be bang in there.
Up The Straight (22-1, William Hill) put in a career-best performance to win at Sandown on the final day of the season. He had Flic Ou Voyou (the race favourite) 23 lengths behind him and that rival scored easily at Chepstow a couple of weeks ago. A 5lb rise for that win seems fair and he should be sharper having had a prep run at Fontwell last month. Tries three miles for the first time since his point-to-point days and there could be more to come.
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