Saturday ante-post tips: Royal Ascot winner is the Winter Derby play at 40/1

Liam Bramall

Published: February 18, 2025

Horse racing is in Liam's blood and his biggest passion is jumps racing. He can often be found at his favourite tracks; Chepstow and Cheltenham in the Autumn when the National Hunt action kicks off. In his own words: "I'm often referred to as a walking form book, a trait which comes in handy from time to time. My proudest tipping success to date was landing a whopping 682-1 accumulator at Epsom."

There’s loads of excellent racing to look forward to on Saturday and Kempton and Southwell provide the premier action. Kempton‘s National Hunt card looks particularly strong and the highlight is the Ladbrokes Trophy, for which we’ve picked out a 14/1 ante-post tip. Southwell hosts the Winter Derby too and we think a 40/1 shot could be overpriced. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.

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Winter Derby

Claymore (40/1, bet365) is more than capable of running a huge race here, if finding his best form. Jane Chapple-Hyam’s six-year-old won the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes in good style back in 2022 and if producing an effort anywhere near that level here, a return to winning ways can’t be ruled out. He probably hasn’t been suited by handicaps of late and it was a better performance when third over 1m3f here when last seen. This is his ideal trip and he can definitely outrun these odds.

Claymore

Analysis

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Ladbrokes Trophy

In d’Or (14/1, bet365) represents the Venetia Williams yard and there are few better trainers at getting staying handicap chasers to progress over a long period of time. Still lightly raced over fences, this seven-year-old was a cosy winner on good ground at Ascot on his penultimate start and it’s unlikely that the handicapper has him in their grasp.

In d'Or

Analysis

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Dark horse to watch

Indiana Dream could be one to watch if lining up in the Pertemps qualifier at Chepstow. Connections will probably be looking for a top four finish in order to qualify for the final at Cheltenham. This ex-Willie Mullins inmate was entitled to need the run at Windsor last time and he looked potentially very smart before his injury problems.

Indiana Dream

Analysis

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