Ascot, Saturday 9 May 2026 — Tips & Selections

Ascot, Saturday 9 May 2026 — Tips & Selections

Good ground at Ascot on a Saturday means a quality card and competitive fields across the board. The Victoria Cup is the headline act, a 29-runner Heritage Handicap that demands patience and a clear head. The fillies' handicap over a mile and the Italy Handicap over a mile and a half round out the three races we're focusing on today. Andrew Balding and William Haggas are both operating at strong conversion rates over the past fortnight, and that yard form is hard to ignore when the big Ascot prizes are on the table.

1:45 — Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% British EBF Fillies' Handicap (1m, Good)

Selection: Song N Dance — 10/1 Boyle Sports / Betfred, 17/2 LiveScore Bet

This is a race with several unexposed fillies capable of going well, but Song N Dance stands out as the one with the trajectory and the recent evidence to back it up. Stuart Woods' filly ended 2025 in genuinely progressive fashion: a comfortable novice win at Leicester on good ground was followed by a straightforward handicap debut success at Newcastle over a mile on the all-weather. She wasn't extended there, and that matters. The comeback run at Southwell in April, where she finished second, was exactly what you want to see: a sharpener that should have her spot-on for this.

The good ground at Ascot suits, the step back to turf is not an issue given she has already shown she handles it, and she comes into this on a mark that still looks workable. At double figures, this is the most appealing price in the field.

Zgharta at 4/1 is the market leader with Oisin Murphy booked, and Balding's yard is absolutely flying with 15 winners from 69 runners over the past fortnight. If Zgharta bounces back from her excuses-laden recent form, she will go close. But at those odds in a ten-runner handicap, Song N Dance at 10/1 with an improving profile is the better bet.

2:20 — Carey Group Victoria Cup Heritage Handicap (7f, Good)

Selection: The Wizard Of Eye Each-Way — 18/1 Boyle Sports / Betfred, 16/1 LiveScore Bet

Twenty-nine runners, six places paid at 1/5 odds, and a field that is genuinely wide open. This is exactly the race to look for a price in rather than follow the market blindly.

The Wizard Of Eye ticks a specific and meaningful box: he won this exact race, at this exact track, off this exact handicap mark, on good ground two years ago. That C&D form is not ancient history, it is directly relevant. His subsequent campaign with the new yard has been conducted largely on the all-weather, which makes his current handicap mark look potentially lenient for Ascot turf. Tom Clover's yard has been quiet over the past fortnight, so the fitness angle is the one question mark, but the Spotlight comment confirms he was at his best on reappearance here last time he contested this race.

Ten Pounds at 20/1 also merits a mention: better ground will suit and the Wokingham run at Royal Ascot last summer was excellent, but the concern about him racing freely here is legitimate and the new yard's recent figures are poor.

At 18/1 each-way with six places paid, The Wizard Of Eye is the value proposition in this cavalry charge.

2:55 — Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% Italy Handicap (1m4f, Good)

Selection: Opportunity Each-Way — 4/1 Boyle Sports / Betfred, 7/2 LiveScore Bet

William Haggas has been in exceptional form over the past two weeks, 12 winners from 43 runners is a yard firing on all cylinders, and Opportunity looks the most interesting handicap debutant on the entire Ascot card today.

The form behind this horse is legitimately strong. He beat what turned out to be a Haydock novice field that included St Leger runner-up Rahiebb, then faced a Listed race and the King Edward VII at Royal Ascot, both against Amiloc, who proved to be well above handicap standard. Both defeats are entirely forgivable in that context. He returns from a gelding operation on a mark that looks lenient given his best form, James Doyle takes the ride, and the step back to handicap company over this trip on good ground at Ascot is ideal.

The Spotlight note says the betting will be informative, and with Haggas in this vein of form, if this horse is sent off at or shorter than his current odds, he is the one to be on. At 4/1 in a 15-runner field with four places paid, there is each-way value here as well as win potential.

Al Wasl Storm at 12/1 is a secondary interest if you want to spread your stakes: progressive profile, handicap debut win at Newbury last August, and still lightly raced. Worth a small saver.

Today's NAP