Horse Racing Betting Tips – 3.50pm JLT Lockinge Stakes at Newbury

May 16, 2014 Thatsbettingtips Staff

Horse racing betting tips for the 3.50 JLT Lockinge Stakes on Saturday at Newbury.

The highlight of the racing action taking place on Saturday is undoubtedly the JLT Lockinge Stakes. A Group 1 contest over 1m for horses aged 4 or older at Newbury. Part of the British Champion Series, this contest has an impressive history with the likes of Canford Cliffs, Frankel and Farhh claiming victory in recent years. This year’s renewal has attracted a good quality field of 8 runners with seemingly one stand-out horse.

Sign up HERE with Coral and bet £5 to receive a free £20 bet

That stand-out runner is the Richard Hannon first string – OLYMPIC GLORY (1/1 William Hill). After finishing runner-up in France to the likes of Maxios and Moonlight Cloud as a three year-old, he claimed an emphatic victory on soft ground in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on British Champions Day. In that race he beat a strong field of progressive milers with the likes of Dawn Approach, Soft Falling Rain and Top Notch Tonto (who re-opposes today) comfortably accounted for. Clearly seen to best effect with considerable give in the ground, it should also be noted that Olympic Glory has also run well on good ground and shouldn’t be overly inconvenienced by the drying conditions. Obviously this horse will be having his first start of the season, so is likely to improve for the run, but overall he has a good record when fresh (two victories from two) and his trainer should have him primed for this.

Top Notch Tonto (14/1 SkyBet) was a progressive and impressive runner for Brian Ellison last year, and performed admirably when beaten by Olympic Glory at Ascot. A winner of a Group 3 and a Listed contest, he consistently showed a good level of form last season but disappointed slightly on his seasonal reappearance. That came at Sandown in the bet365 Mile where he finished in behind Tullius (who re-opposes today) some seven lengths adrift of the winner. Ellison warned that the horse would need his first run, but nevertheless conditions seemed to be ideal and many were hoping for a slightly better run on his apparently favoured surface. Held on Champions Day by Olympic Glory this horse will need to come on a lot for his first run, will need to handle the drying conditions, and will need for the favourite to under perform to have a chance of victory.

A more interesting runner is Verrazano (5/1 William Hill), who will be having his first start for Aiden O’Brien since coming over from America. A consistent performer at the very highest level, this horse has won the Wood Memorial Stakes and Haskell Invitational Stakes amongst a variety of other Group contests. As you would imagine, Verrazano is seen to best effect on truly fast ground and has only ever contested slower conditions once before – finishing a well beaten 14th of 19 runners. A lot will depend on how he handles conditions and copes with the unique demands of British racing. He could well have a prosperous career on these shores but is definitely best watched today.

Tullius (7/1 Ladbrokes) beat both Top Notch Tonto and Montiridge (8/1 bet365) at Sandown on his second start of this season but conditions were ideal and he had the benefit of a recent run. The Hannon second-string, Montiridge, could well reverse that form now back on a sounder surface and with race fitness guaranteed. Tullius is an admirable performer but should fail to reach the required improvement to claim this victory. Montiridge on the other hand, finished last season with arguably the best performance of his career and could well prosper if the favourite falters.

Of the others, Chopin (10/1 William Hill) performed well, if not a little unspectacularly, last season in both the Derby and Tercentenary Stakes. He drops back down to 1m and will be looking to build upon his second place finish at Dusseldorf around a month ago. That race was a Group 3, and on officially ratings he looks to have it all to do to make up the 10lbs difference between himself and Olympic Glory.

Sign up HERE with bet365 to receive a deposit bonus up to £200

Despite the drying ground not ideally suiting OLYMPIC GLORY, the same can be said for the majority of the field and the aforementioned horse is the clear form pick. Richard Hannon Snr claimed this prize both in 2010 and 2011 and his son looks likely to continue the stable’s great record in the race. Olympic Glory is officially rated at least 7lbs better than today’s opposition and providing he is fit and well he should prove vey difficult to beat. The other horse of particular interest is Verrazano who could well be one to follow for the remainder of the season with some eye-catching entries.

JLT Lockinge Stakes Tip –

OLYMPIC GLORY (WIN)(NAP) (1/1 William Hill)

Sign up with William Hill today to receive a free matched bet up to £25

Simply follow these simple steps –

1. click on the above link

2. create an account and enter your details

3. your initial bet will be matched up to £25