Nottingham, Saturday 18 July 2026: Tips & Selections

Nottingham, Saturday 18 July 2026: Tips & Selections

A six-race card at Nottingham on good to firm ground, and while the fields are small across the board, there are angles worth exploiting. The straight track rewards horses that travel well and handle quick going, and with Glorious Goodwood just ten days away, trainers with festival ambitions will be sending their sharpest ammunition out under instructions to win. Owen Burrows and Edward Bethell are both showing strong course form here, and that context shapes the thinking below.

7:00 — Watch Race Replays At Racingtv.com Fillies’ Handicap Stakes (5f, Good To Firm)

Selection: Control Room Each-Way at 11/4 (Betfred)

Jack Gilligan rides, and that matters here. He hits at 25% at Nottingham and carries an A/E of 1.24 at this track, meaning his rides genuinely outperform their market prices. This is not a jockey name to ignore on a Saturday card.

Control Room, trained by Grace Harris, has posted a sequence that reads 921-23. Strip out that stray ninth five starts back and what you have is a filly who has been placed in four of her last five, won three starts ago, and has clearly found her level in this grade. She has today’s five furlongs and good to firm ground already covered, returning 21 days on from her last run with no fitness questions to ask. The third last time out, sandwiched between that win and a placed effort, is the form of a horse doing things right without quite getting the job done. In a seven-runner sprint handicap where the pace scenario could suit a forward-travelling filly, she gets the nod. Best available 11/4 at Betfred, two places at 1/4 odds.

7:33 — Steve Yarborough Memorial Handicap Stakes (1m2f, Good To Firm)

Selection: Crimson Rambler at 5/2 (Boyle Sports / LiveScore Bet)

Del Corso tops the figures at 75 and will likely go off favourite, but at odds-on there is precious little value in nailing your colours to the mast on a horse still searching for a first win in five starts. Crimson Rambler at 5/2 is the better bet in a four-runner race.

The form reads 142393. A win six starts back, a runner-up four starts back, a third last time out. That ninth two starts ago is the blemish, but look at the overall arc: this is a horse who has placed consistently when conditions have suited. Today’s trip and going are both covered, and he returns 29 days on from his last outing, which is a routine freshener rather than a concern. Matt Crawley’s yard may not have much Nottingham course form to shout about, but the horse’s profile alone justifies the price. Del Corso at 11/10 needs to win to make the bet work. Crimson Rambler at 5/2 can edge a small field on a track where pace and class tend to assert over the final quarter mile.

8:08 — Every Race Live On Racing TV Fillies’ Novice Stakes (1m½f, Good To Firm)

Selection: Stellar at 2/1 (Boyle Sports / Betfred)

Thursday Girl is the jolly at 5/4 and the form reads 5-222, which means she has never won. Three second places suggest a filly that runs well but finds one too good. Punters backing a horse who has gone three places without winning on a flat track with no traffic excuses deserve scrutiny.

Roger Varian sends two runners here and Stellar gets the vote. Varian’s Nottingham record of 20% wins is solid in raw terms, and in a five-runner novice with no RPR data to separate them, the market is doing most of the heavy lifting. Stellar at 2/1 represents the value against a favourite whose form is built entirely on placed efforts. On a track that can find winners from horses with less obvious profiles, backing the one with a fresh chance and a respected trainer at a double-up price makes more appeal than laying Thursday Girl on trust.

Today’s NAP

Control Room — Watch Race Replays At Racingtv.com Fillies’ Handicap Stakes (7:00, Nottingham)
Odds: 11/4 — Betfred (others: 5/2 Boyle Sports, 5/2 LiveScore Bet)

The combination of Jack Gilligan’s outstanding Nottingham record, a filly who has been placed in four of her last five starts, and a consistent five-furlong handler on good to firm ground is too compelling to ignore. Control Room is not flashy and she is not short, but at 11/4 in a seven-runner sprint handicap where her course-form jockey gives her a genuine edge, this is the bet of the day. Each-way punters should note the two places on offer.

Each-Way Recommended 2 places at 1/4 odds