🏇 Silver Bowl Saturday: The Full Report

How’s it going?

If you’re wondering where last week’s Silver Bowl Handicap went…straight down a hole on Haydock’s home straight.

Take two this weekend 🎬 

Carlisle now host the Silver Bowl, along with Haydock’s cancelled card from this Saturday 👏

We’ll leave Haydock to repair the hole 🪏  

The big races just keep coming.

And, with football’s World Cup also kicking off on June 11, do check the batteries in your remote control.

Friday June 5, The Oaks, Epsom

Saturday June 6, The Derby, Epsom

Tuesday-Saturday 16-20, Royal Ascot

Saturday, Northumberland Plate, Newcastle

Sunday, Irish Derby, Curragh

It’s a big weekend for the ‘smaller’ tracks to shine…

👉 Carlisle stage their richest ever day’s racing on Saturday.

👉 Beverley host two valuable juvenile trials for Royal Ascot. 

👉 Cosmic Mystery aims to be only the third winner of Beverley’s Hilary Needler Trophy (2.15)  since 2007 to arrive unraced.  

👉 Constitution River runs in Sunday’s French Derby. 

👉 Constitution Hill has been entered in September's Irish St Leger. 

👉 Jockey Billy Loughnane rode a winner on Monday, a double on Tuesday, a treble on Wednesday, and a 3/1 winner on Thursday. 

👉 Brighton re-opened on Friday after losing its first six meetings of the season owing to insects.

👉 Commiserations to anyone who backed the 10/11 favourite Byzantine, who unseated after going clear at Yarmouth on Thursday. 🙈

You won’t find these anywhere else. Honest.

Trainer James Fanshawe has only sent four horses to Catterick since 1997, and two won. He has two runners there on Saturday (2.58 & 3.35).

Beaten favourites from a maiden last time out heading to Chester struck gold at 5-11 since 2022 (+£8), auguring well for Town Queen (1.15).

Winning distances – both of Beverley’s juvenile sprints on Saturday went to small margins in recent years: 

2.10 Beverley: neck, ½L, 1¼L, ¾L, ¾L, 2½L, head, ¾L, neck     

3.15 Beverley: 1½L, short-head, ¾L, neck, ¾L, ½L, ½L.

With June around the corner, we’re nominating trainer Michael Appleby as a name who could represent value during the next month. 

Appleby proved profitable in four of the last five years during June – a complete contrast to his record in May; this year has followed suit so far.

Here is a trainer whose runners are currently outperforming their odds…

George Boughey – May 26 to May 28

4 wins from 7 runs (+£6 to a £1 stake)
Winners’ odds included: 4/1, 3/1
Placed odds included: 9/2 (28/1, 4th of 13)

Here’s who The Purist is backing on Saturday…

2.20 Chester – Everatease

An uncomplicated bet. Everatease ran well the last twice over 5f, finishing strongly both times and shaping like another furlong would suit. He gets 6f at Chester and has a nice draw in stall 4.

3.10 Carlisle – Estrange

Won this race on her reappearance 12 months ago and is very favoured at the weights. After winning this last year she was then 1st, 2nd, 2nd in Group 1 & Group 2 races, so this drop back to Group 3 provides a nice opportunity.

3.45 Carlisle – Astrazar

Astrazar improved for the step up to 7f when winning his last two races in 2025. He never showed his true form when blocked at Newbury last time but finished full of running. The extra furlong should help.

4.00 Beverley – Frankies Dream

Trainer Jennie Candlish has her runners in rude health, and Frankies Dream recorded an encouraging third at Thirsk two weeks ago. He won five times last year and shot up the weights, but has slipped back down and could take advantage from a nice draw.

Here are two speedy sorts who may potentially get a freebie on their own up front.

5.17 Catterick – La Tosca 
5.28 Carlisle – Freddie Steady Go

The scene is already set for a top-class Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot next month following title holder Ombudsman‘s winning return at Sandown in midweek.

He now faces a big clash with the French Arc winner Daryz.

Ombudsman’s trainer told the Racing Post: "He's more professional now as he doesn't waste any energy – he's like an old boxer.

"It should be a fabulous race with Daryz coming over from France. It's what the game is about: top-quality horses meeting in those events. It could just be the race of the meeting."

Daryz is 6/5 for the clash, Ombudsman is 5-2.

Some horses are simply suited to certain courses, whether it’s going right-handed, left-handed or on a straight track.

Chester’s tight left-handed track is one such course that can suit ‘specialists’, so it’s always worth checking for the ‘C’ or ‘CD’ next to a runner’s name on the racecard (‘course winner’ & ‘course and distance winner’).

An example can be found with Brighton Boy in Saturday’s 3.30 at Chester.

His collective win record around a right-handed track or a straight track is 1-10.

Yet, around a left-handed track it is 3-6, with two wins at Chester. He never had much chance at the big meeting here earlier in the month from a wide draw, but should enjoy this return visit from a kinder draw.

Featuring the latest big-race roll of honour alongside ten-year trends analysis, our ‘Super Trends’ reveal the key stats for all the big races.

Not a strong trends race as there were mixed profiles, although the market provides the most reliable clue. The official rating showed a 50/50 split, but the A/E heavily favoured classier runners.

⬥Starlust is the only runner rated 109+ but is returning after almost a year off.
⬥Redorange is rated 108 so only just misses the mark, but will be popular after an impressive win at Windsor.
⬥Rogue Lightning is 106 and could be considered if backed into the head of the betting beforehand.
⬥Washington Heights hasn’t had a solid form effort to his name for some time and is a 6yo.
⬥Celandine is one of three females in the race, and they won this three times since 2016 (16%) at a higher strike-rate than the males (10%).

It could pay to stick with the obvious, namely the highest-rated runners who are fancied at the top of the betting.

⬥Estrange ticks a lot of boxes and won this race on her reappearance 12 months ago.
⬥Waardah also makes her return to the track, having last run in October, but has yet to run on good to firm ground.
⬥Azaniya could lead them along and will be race-fit after a fair fifth at Sandown 29 days ago.
⬥Crepe Suzette is also race-fit but hasn’t won in her last five outings.

Winning form last time out proved key in this valuable handicap for three-year-olds. The latest roll of honour above also shows that three of the last five winners took a novice race last time.

⬥Princling won a novice at Wetherby on good to firm ground last month and is from a yard in good form this week.
⬥Langstone also won a novice at Kempton last month and has been well backed, but will need to prove he handles good to firm ground.
⬥Crest Of Fire scores points for winning last time out and is another who handles fast ground but won only 1 from 6 in his career to date.
⬥Laureate Crown is another last time out winner who scored on fast summer ground last July and is 3 from 6 overall.
⬥Astrazar misses some trends but was an eyecatcher at Newbury last time for the respected Walker/Shoemark combo.

Here are three more horses from our exclusive Paddock Report database.

This week’s trio are all impressive last time out winners who should be scoring again this summer.

Sea Venture (2yo)

Won impressively at Haydock last week. The previous year’s winner of the same race, Fitzella, was subsequently fourth of 14 at Royal Ascot before winning a Group 3. Sea Venture could be a fair price if heading for one of the juvenile sprints at Ascot.

Fighter’s Spirit (3yo)

Took his record to 2-2 when winning comfortably at Windsor a few weeks back. It will be interesting which route he goes now, but with a fair mark of 91 for that win, he could be dangerous in a valuable handicap like the Wolferton at Ascot.

Beagle Bay (4yo)

Took a while to get going when asked at Yarmouth two weeks ago (7f), but went more clear the further they went. His dam won over a mile and a return to that trip should see more improvement. The numbers on our Paddock Report database suggest a new mark of 89 looks very fair.

📌 A decision has yet to be made on whether last week’s highly-impressive Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Precise will step up half-a-mile for Friday’s Oaks at Epsom. 

If the owners do let her run, the bookies’ 11/4 could be long gone before race time.

► ITV (free): Beverley: 1.45, 2.15, 2.48; Carlisle: 1.30, 2.00, 2.33, 3.10, 3.45; Chester: 3.30

Next weekend is the ‘Big One’ - Derby Day at Epsom.

Rumour is we know the winner of that 😉

Until then…

..keep ‘em peeled 👀

The Paddock Report Team.

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