Huntingdon, Tuesday 19 May 2026: Tips & Selections

Huntingdon, Tuesday 19 May 2026: Tips & Selections

A quiet midweek card at Huntingdon but there are angles worth playing across all three hurdle races. The Good To Firm ground is the key variable today: horses who have shown their best on a sound surface move to the top of the shortlist, while anything reliant on cut in the ground can be swerved. Dan Skelton’s yard is the form stable of the day with 11 winners from 36 runners over the past fortnight, and his two runners both make sense at the prices. Let’s go through the card.

7:30 — Tattersalls Online Handicap Hurdle (3m1f)

Selection: Ballintubber Boy (9/2, Boyle Sports/Betfred)

The course-and-distance angle is as strong as you will find in a handicap hurdle. Ballintubber Boy has won three of his seven hurdle victories over this exact trip at Huntingdon, including the 2024 edition of this very race. He has been absent since two placed efforts in October, which raises a fitness question, but the form over 2m5f and 2m7f on those returns showed he was keeping himself ticking over nicely. The Twiston-Davies yard is returning 2/10 over the past fortnight so the stable is not on fire, but this horse does not need the yard to be in a hot streak, he wins at Huntingdon on ability alone. Sam Twiston-Davies knows him inside out. Good To Firm suits and the 9/2 available at Boyle Sports and Betfred looks workable given the course profile.

A word on Thank You Ma’am: the switch to blinkers has sharpened this mare up considerably and that nose defeat at Warwick over C&D last time shows she is in form. She is not to be dismissed at 9/2. But Ballintubber Boy’s record at this specific venue is simply too compelling to ignore.

Gasmani at 8/1 with Betfred also catches the eye. He won by five lengths at Taunton last month and followed up with a close second over C&D a fortnight later. He is clearly in good heart right now and the each-way terms across eight runners at three places could make him worth covering.

6:00 — Tattersalls Ireland May Hit & P2P Sale Maiden Hurdle (2m)

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

Sometimes the favourite is just the right call and this is one of those races. Edelak is a class above the field on his best Flat form, a 1m4f winner in Ireland showing useful ability, and his most recent hurdle run at Market Rasen told a clear story: he found one too good as a 2/7 favourite but was well clear of the rest of the field. The breathing issue that derailed his seasonal debut in a Listed juvenile hurdle is evidently being managed and the cheekpieces fitted at Market Rasen helped him focus. Harry Skelton’s booking underlines the confidence from the Skelton yard, which is the in-form operation on the card today. This field is weak and Edelak should not need to reproduce his very best to win. Short price, yes. But a banker-type in a weak maiden.

Crackalackin Each-Way at 9/2 with LiveScore Bet is the each-way play in behind. Richard Newland and Jamie Insole’s yard is admittedly cold at 1/22 over 14 days but the horse himself has run with credit on both hurdle starts, including a decent third at Fakenham on debut. If Edelak blows up or is taken on, Crackalackin is the most likely to mop up at a price worth having.

8:00 — Tattersalls Ireland May Hit & P2P Sale Handicap Hurdle (2m4½f)

Selection: Ice Jet (2/5, Boyle Sports/Betfred)

Another short-priced Skelton runner and, again, the case is difficult to argue against. Ice Jet looked desperately unlucky on his handicap hurdle debut at Wetherby in March, making a bad jumping error that cost him the race on a day he was clearly going well enough to win. He then went to Hereford seven days later and demolished a Good To Firm field by 21 lengths. That is not fluky, that is a horse who has found his feet in handicaps and is on a steep upward curve. The 7lb penalty he carries here is a fair reflection of that Hereford win but it does not wipe out the form advantage he holds over these rivals. Harry Skelton rides, the yard is firing on all cylinders, and Good To Firm is exactly what he wanted. At 2/5 you are not getting rich but this is the race’s banker.

American Trio at 11/4 is the main market alternative. A 32-length Exeter seller win in a first-time visor last month is hard to assess properly, and Fergal O’Brien’s 3/26 14-day record is uninspiring. Ice Jet is the safer route.

Today’s NAP