ITV Racing Tips: Will the Eclipse be coming home for Gosden’s Lion?

A busy afternoon of action on ITV this Saturday sees no fewer than three Group contests on a seven-race card which culminates in the Coral-Eclipse.

We’re all set for a humdinger in the feature, where Roaring Lion, Saxon Warrior and Epsom Derby hero Masar are all set to battle it out over the 1m 2f distance. You can read our runner-by-runner breakdown of the race here.

There’s also the Coral Distaff, Charge and Challenge to enjoy from Sandown, while the Lancashire Oaks is the highlight from Haydock.

Strap yourselves in for an exciting couple of hours with the help of our ITV Racing Tips…

NAP – Roaring Lion – 2:10, Sandown 

Where better to start than the feature race of the day? Despite the presence of two of this season’s Classic winners, it’s Roaring Lion who gets the nod from the Ladbrokes News Team.

John Gosden’s hopeful has been found wanting twice this season against her two main rivals. But both of those defeats came at a distance not best suited to the Kitten’s Joy colt.

In his one run over a similar distance to today’s trip, the three-year-old bolted up to land the Dante Stakes at York by over 4l. A return to a similar trip at Sandown is sure to help the raider.

Rival Masar has shown more of a liking to 1m and 1m4f, while Saxon Warrior is facing his third run in as many weeks. We think the Eclipse could well be coming home for Roaring Lion, as a result.

NB – Horseplay – 1:10, Haydock

Next up it’s the Lancashire Oaks, where Horseplay looks well placed to land the Group 2 contest for trainer Andrew Balding.

The four-year-old filly landed a Listed race last season before going close in the Prix de Malleret at Saint-Cloud. She returned to the track in May with a close second behind Coronet in the Middleton Stakes at York.

And it’s that form which makes us so interested in her at Haydock.

Her conqueror at York finished fifth behind the likes of Capri, Crystal Ocean and Stradivarius in the St Leger before narrowly missing out in a Group 1 contest in France last month.

Those form lines stack up pretty well for the daughter of Cape Cross, who should prove to be a class above her rivals at Haydock.

Lively Longshot – Rum Runner – 12:55, Sandown 

We round things off back where we began with Rum Runner tipped to continue her impressive form at Sandown.

Richard Hannon’s runner is two from two at the Surrey course after twice doing the business over 7f.

This represents a step-up in class and a step-up in trip for the three-year-old as he tackles 1m for just the second time.

He wasn’t disgraced on his last run over the distance, and with an 8lb+ advantage over his competitors, we think the son of Havana Gold can put in a bold bid on each-way terms.

ITV Racing Tips:

12:20 Sandown – Muthmir

12:35 Haydock – Making Miracles

12:55 Sandown – Rum Runner (Lively Longshot)

1:10 Haydock – Horseplay (NB)

1:30 Sandown – Awesometank

1:45 Haydock – Sofia’s Rock  

2:10 Sandown – Roaring Lion (NAP)

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing