Andrew Mount looks to end the week on a positive note and here are his best bets for racing taking place on Sunday 18th May, 2025.
Back his selections with Sky Bet’s new customer offer of Bet 5p Get £30 In Free Bets.
Posted: 7.10am, Sunday, May 18th
3.20 Stratford – BASKERVILLE (1.5pt win – 4/1 bet365, 3/1 generally)
The tempting conclusion when first glancing at this 2m6.5f handicap chase is to side with Charlie Longsdon’s ALMAZAHAR GARDE, who made all to score at Ludlow last time. The reason given by connections for the perceived improvement that day was that he “benefitted from an easy lead on this occasion” and today’s pace map suggests that another soft time of things up front could be on the cards. However, his record immediately following a win reads F5P62 (0-5) and the ten-year-old is far from certain to back up his Ludlow performance. Of greater interest is the four years younger BASKERVILLE, trained by Alan King. The son of Sandmason has just a Uttoxeter novice hurdle win to his name from ten career starts but clocked a good time when an eight-length fifth in handicap hurdle company at Warwick last time and the switch to fences is likely to bring about improvement. Since the beginning of 2010, King is 30 from 139 with chase debutants going straight into handicap company (21.6% strike-rate, +£16.98 to a £1 level stake at SP), including Stratford figures of 1113 (3-4).
4.45 Newmarket – FLAG OF ST GEORGE (0.5pt e/w – 7/1 generally) & LUNARIO (0.5pt e/w – 14/1 bet365, 12/1 generally)
FLAG OF ST GEORGE hasn’t perhaps won as often as he should, but he has caught the eye against the pace bias at Chelmsford the last twice, emerging best of those to race up with the strong early pace when fourth in a 1m Class 4 handicap on March 27th (the prominently-ridden fourth and sixth have both won since) and doing so again when a neck second in a 7f Class 5 handicap on April 24th. Jane Chapple-Hyam’s four-year-old returns to the scene of his sole win today, is fitted with blinkers for the first time and looks to be one of only a couple in this 13-runner line-up who like to race up with the pace.
The other one who is likely to be on the pace throughout is the Luke Dace-trained LUNARIO, who shaped well on his stable debut at Lingfield last month when a 33-1 fifth of eight in a 1m handicap on the Polytrack. He caught the eye when fourth to My Cloud (winner here yesterday) in a 1m apprentice handicap at Ascot last time, doing best of those to press the early gallop in a race set up for the closers. Fast ground suits and the return to 7f is an interesting move.
Andrew Mount’s Best Bets
3.20 Stratford – BASKERVILLE (1.5pt win – 4/1 bet365, 3/1 generally)
4.45 Newmarket – FLAG OF ST GEORGE (0.5pt e/w – 7/1 generally) & LUNARIO (0.5pt e/w – 14/1 bet365, 12/1 generally)
Andrew Mount’s Horse Racing Tips – Sunday, 18th May
Andrew’s Angles – How to Make the Best of Racing in May
One recurring theme in the hugely entertaining Barstewards Enquiry podcast concerns trainer Charles Hills and how his runners tend to go off the boil from the end of June. I thought I’d used this week’s column to check this out and to look for other trainers whose runners typically perform well in the first half…
Tue 29 Apr 2025Looking For More Racing Info? Check Out Our Racecards & Top Tips Sections
Make sure you’re following us on all our social media platforms to keep up to date with all the latest horse racing news and the best tips.