ITV Racing Tips - Thursday's selections at Clonmel and Taunton
We bring you our ITV Racing tips for Thursday 12th November
This is the first of four-straight days of televised action on ITV
Clonmel and Taunton are the two feature meetings on Thursday
Cilaos Emery and Bachasson will try to hand Willie Mullins another win in the Clonmel Oil Chase
We have all six of Thursday's races covered for you here
Cilaos Emery returns to chasing at Clonmel on Thursday. (Getty)
We take a look through Thursday's televised races at Clonmel and Taunton and provide readers with our ITV Racing tips.
Thursday kicks off a wonderful week of racing on ITV. The ITV Racing Team will pitch up at Cheltenham on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, to bring us the best of the action at the November Meeting. Before that, we have four races from Clonmel and two from Taunton to take in on Thursday. Let's jump straight into our betting tips.
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Westerner Point finished second off 114 in this race in 2017, and went one better off a mark two pounds higher 12 months ago. Eoghan O'Grady's eleven-year-old has run well on both his chase starts this term and has to be respected.
That being said, Westerner Point is nine-pounds higher in the handicap than he was last year, and he could be vulnerable to a dangerous younger rival like SWEET STING.
Michael Bowe's five-year-old won twice in October, including a five-length triumph on heavy ground. Brian Hayes mount could only finish fourth last time, but he still ran well under 11-10, clocking a career-best RPR of 130. Sweet Sting was only upped to an official mark of 120 for that performance, and is certainly capable of challenging again.
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There's no reason to bet against TOMORROW'S MYSTERY, who claimed a six-length victory at Newbury last week. Paul Nicholls' six-year-old is due to go up to 138, so he's effectively 14-pounds well in at the weights. At 8/15, there's little value siding with the favourite, but I can't see anyone being good enough to stop him.
As he does in any significant race for mares, Willie Mullins has an excellent record in this Listed contest. Cabaret Queen enters open company for the first time for Mullins here, but I think she could have her colour's lowered by defending champion SHATTERED LOVE.
Gordon Elliott's former Cheltenham Festival winner hacked up to win this by 34 lengths last year. Shattered Love may regularly come up short at the highest level, but she's much better than this level and loves heavy ground, as her narrow defeat to Chris's Dream in last year's Red Mills' Chase proves.
Shattered Love winning the Marsh Novices' Chase in 2018. (Getty)
Irish Prophey's recent form was boosted when El Presente won the Badger Beers Trophy last weekend. Emma Lavelle's seven-year-old is a worth favourite, I just feel LOOKSNOTLIKEBRIAN has been overlooked and offers greater value.
Tim Vaughan's charge hasn't been beaten far on both his appearance this season. Looksnowtlikebrian was beaten by just three lengths behind Young Wolf, despite a poor jumping display. Richard Johnson's mount then jumped much better at Carlisle, and only went down by two lengths.
Looksnowtlikebrian remains just a couple of pounds higher than his last winning mark, and has run up to RPRs around 140 twice this season. 13/2 looks a great price.
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Willie Mullins has won this race in four of the last six seasons. He didn't have a runner when Alpha Des Obeaux won in 2017, and Felix Yonger was in with an odds-on shot when he failed in 2015.
Bachasson was once deemed good enough to run in the Gold Cup, and scored over course-and-distance here in March. However, Mullins rarely gets it wrong when he steps horses up in distance, so I'm not prepared to side against CILAOS EMERY.
Despite winning three of his four starts over fences with ease, Mullins decided to drop Cilaos Emery back to hurdles for Cheltenham, and Paul Townend's mount ran well to place fourth in the Champion Hurdle. Stepping up in trip opens new doors for Cilaos Emery over fences, and I expect he'll resume where he left off last season.
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These low-level Irish handicaps are incredibly hard to predict, and the fact that a reserve currently heads the betting suggests few of the other runners in this race at well-handicapped. The only one who holds slight appeal at an each-way price is DONTDOODDSON, who's capable of challenging off his current chase mark and has won around this course before.
Sweet Sting1:50pm Clonmel Oil Service Station Handicap Hurdle 3mGET 6/1 HERE
Tomorrow's Mystery2:05pm Taunton Invest Southwest Handicap Hurdle (Class 3) 2m½fGET 8/15 HERE
Shattered Love2:25pm Clonmel T.A. Morris Memorial Irish EBF Mares Chase (Listed) 2m4fGET 2/1 HERE
Looksnowtlikebrian2:40pm Taunton Arthur & Peggy White Memorial Handicap Chase (Class 3) 2m7fGET 13/2 HERE
