Tips for the nine ITV races on Saturday 9th September
Haydock, Ascot, Kempton and Leopardstown feature on Saturday's ITV coverage
Light Infantry, Star Of Orion and Perfect Play feature in our ITV tips
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Star Of Orion (second left) is beaten by Fresh (left) in The National Racehorse Week Handicap at Ascot last season. (Getty)
Three Group One races headline Saturday's ITV Racing schedule, with top-level action coming to us live from Haydock and Leopardstown. The September Stakes is one of two races being shown from Kempton Park, with Ascot also featuring during a non-stop afternoon of action.
Reigning Champion Stakes winner, Bay Bridge will drop back down to Group Three company today, as Sir Michael Stoute weighs up whether to give the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe a go. Despite his superiority at the ratings, Bay Bridge is only 5/4 to win this weekend, on what will be his first-ever start over 12 furlongs.
Given Bay Bridge's lack of proven stamina, and the poor recent form of Sir Michael's yard, I'd put my faith in ISRAR. Kieran Shoemark's mount will carry a five-pound penalty for that superb victory in the Princess Of Wales's Stakes, but I still feel that Israr will be able to outstay Bay Bridge and he should have the rest of his rivals covered.
On the back of three excellent placed efforts in Group One company, LIGHT INFANTRY should have the beating of what looks to be an inferior field.
David Simcock's charge was beaten just a short-neck by Anmaat in the Prix d'Ispahan, before going on to register third-place finishes in both the Queen Anne Stakes and the Jacques Le Marois. While Light Infantry is perfectly capable of winning this from the front, Point Lynas and Misty Grey will likely get forward quickly from wide draws, allowing Jamie Spencer to execute his customary waiting tactics on what's clearly the best horse in this race.
The betting for Saturday's final is currently very open, with most firms going 4/1 the field. The last three runnings of the London Mile series finale have been won by well-backed favourites, though, and I could see money coming for FIRST VIEW, who took a while to find his feet after a second disappointing winter out in Meydan.
Saeed bin Suroor's six-year-old was one of the final qualifiers for this final, finishing a close second behind Baltimore Boy here at Kempton 17 days ago. First View is only one pound higher for that effort and Christian Howarth's claimer leaves him carrying just 8-7 to post.
Four of the eight runners in this handicap clashed in the Melrose at York two weeks ago. The best finisher on that occasion was Aidan O'Brien's DENMARK, who kept on gamely to cross the line a fairly close second behind Middle Earth, who's since been supplemented for the St Leger.
The handicapper has thrust Denmark's rating up to 102 following that runner-up finish, but James Doyle's mount is the least experienced entrant in this contest and remains highly progressive. He could take another step forward on Saturday.
Denmark (purple) stays on to finish second behind Middle Earth at York. (Getty)
Course form is always vital here at Ascot and STAR OF ORION has plenty to fall back on. Ralph Beckett's five-year-old has suffered narrow defeats in two of the last three renewals of the International Stakes and crossed the line half-a-length behind Fresh off a similar mark in last year's renewal of this handicap.
Having ridden a treble for Beckett at Ffos Las last week and a Listed winner for him out in Germany, Laura Pearson has been given the opportunity to shine on Star Of Orion and stall eight is by no means a negative in a field as small as this.
The Ebor form will be well advertised in this year's Old Borough Cup, with Caius Chorister, Post Impressionist and Adjuvant sitting prominently in the market. Aztec Empire narrowly lost out to Forza Orta in the Stayers' Heritage Handicap on day one of the Ebor Festival, and both have to be respected.
In a very tricky race, I'm going to have a risky each-way punt on GET SHIRTY, following a decent effort in the Ebor. David O'Meara's seven-year-old has been caught between a rock and a hard place since an excellent run of form last summer, which included an excellent win in the Old Newton Cup off a mark of 105. The handicapper has dropped Get Shirty's mark down to a workable figure of 100 after his run in the Ebor and David Nolan's mount is a proven winner in handicaps off this sort of rating.
Victory Dance has to give stacks of weight to several potentially well-handicapped rivals and I'm going to bank on Hayley Turner's prowess around this track getting PERFECT PLAY home.
Having run well a number of times over ten furlongs this season, Charlie Johnston's three-year-old finished second on his first start at a mile-and-a-half last weekend, losing out to the well-backed Aimeric at Beverley. Turner knows this place like the back of her hand and she'll be pleased with her draw away from the rail in stall seven. Perfect Play has coped with similar turnarounds a couple of times and he represents plenty of each-way value at a double-figure price.
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