Cartmel Tips: Saturday 23 May 2026

Cartmel Tips: Saturday 23 May 2026

Cartmel’s tight, undulating track makes it a specialist’s venue, and today’s three-race card on good to soft ground rewards horses that have proven they handle the quirks of this place. The clouds overhead should keep conditions consistent through the afternoon. Nothing spectacular on paper, but there are angles worth exploiting, particularly in the staying handicap chase where the market has arguably overlooked one or two live threats.

2:43 — PSR Marquees Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (3m1½f)

Selection: Musique De Fee (11/4, Boyle Sports/Betfred)

This is a race Mickey Bowen’s mare has served notice she can win. Cast your mind back to last year’s running and she finished third at Cartmel having made two late errors, then landed a Class 2 over the course and distance two days later off the same mark she carries today. That combination alone makes her extremely interesting. Her best effort for new connections came at Hereford on good ground over 3m2f, and the application of a visor at some point this season has helped sharpen her up. Good to soft is fine, she handles the distance, and she has a clear course record to point at. At 11/4 she is not screaming value, but the case is solid and she looks the most likely winner in a race where the favourite, Keep On Cobbling, has yet to prove anything beyond 2m5f.

Each-way note: Bittalemon Each-Way at 10/1 (Boyle Sports/Betfred) is worth a small saver. She won twice at this course in novice company last summer on similar going, and while the step up to 3m1f is uncharted territory, her trainer Henry Daly has been in superb form lately, going 4/6 over the past 14 days.

3:20 — William Hill Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase (2m1½f)

Selection: Tellherthename (4/7, Boyle Sports/Betfred)

With only three runners this is a case of assessing merit rather than hunting value, and the honest assessment is that Tellherthename should win comfortably. Dan Skelton is in fine form with 10 winners from 28 runners in the last fortnight, Harry Skelton rides, and the horse arrives fresh from a respectable effort in the Swinton Hurdle at Haydock against far better opposition than he faces here. His County Hurdle run at the Cheltenham Festival also showed he is a capable performer well above this level. The one blot is that he was turned over at odds-on in his only previous chase start, but that was last October and this step back to fences should play to his strengths rather than expose any weakness. Half A Chance posted a promising fourth on his fencing debut at Wexford and could be a future winner, but he is up against a serious rival on today’s evidence.

The 4/7 price is not for everyone, and this is not a bet to load up on, but if you need a banker leg in an accumulator, Tellherthename fits.

3:55 — RF Miller and Co Handicap Chase (3m1½f)

Selection: Loup De Maulde Each-Way (3/1, Boyle Sports/Betfred)

Eight runners, 3 places at 1/5 odds, and a field that has genuine depth. Loup De Maulde has been off the track for two years, but he came back looking in good order, finishing runner-up over 3m2f at Chepstow last month, and crucially he races off the same mark today. Harry Cobden taking over in the saddle is a significant upgrade in both profile and confidence from connections. He scored twice over around 3m over fences in March 2024, so the distance and the nature of the jumping is proven. Good to soft is workable.

The main danger is Stratagem at 11/2 (Boyle Sports), who has been rejuvenated since wind surgery for Mickey Bowen’s yard, winning at Sedgefield and running a fine fourth at Perth over extreme distance. He has the form in the book and is eased 1lb here. At the prices, though, Loup De Maulde at 3/1 each-way offers the cleaner angle with the course form set to be tested across a competitive field.

Puddlesinthepark Each-Way at 10/1 (Boyle Sports/Betfred) is also worth a small each-way interest. A course and distance winner last season, the mark has slipped to a potentially retrievable level, and a never-nearer fifth at Taunton last month suggests fitness is there. The 10/1 makes each-way terms attractive.

Today’s NAP