Ripon, Thursday 18 June 2026 — Ladies’ Day Card Tips

Ripon, Thursday 18 June 2026 — Ladies’ Day Card Tips

A seven-race card at Ripon on a sunny afternoon, good ground, and a Ladies’ Day atmosphere that tends to bring out the punters. The track suits handy, prominent-racing types over the sprint distances, and the mile novice is a genuine puzzle. Three races worth dissecting today, with the handicap throwing up a standout angle despite a short field.

2:15 — Live For Today Best Dressed Gentleman EBF Restricted Novice Stakes (6f, 11 runners)

Eleven juvenile runners, a field that pays three places, and a race where market confidence matters given the inexperience across the board. Super Alpha is the 9/4 favourite for Charlie Johnston, whose yard is operating at a strong clip right now, 7 from 50 runners over the last fortnight. The form shows a 3 and a 5, which reads as respectable for a horse at this stage.

But the value sits elsewhere. Wong Fei Hong Each-Way at 5/1 with BoyleSports and Betfred is the selection. David O’Meara has been red-hot at this meeting historically, 16% strike rate from 774 runs is a volume-backed number that means something, and his yard has gone 9 from 49 in the last 14 days. Mark Winn takes the ride, a competent claim at this level. Wong Fei Hong is a newcomer and has no form to pick apart, but O’Meara regularly debuts juveniles with intent at northern tracks and the 6f trip on good ground here suits a horse likely to show natural pace. Three places at 1/5 odds makes the each-way case compelling at this price in a big-enough field.

Printing Money for Dylan Cunha with Kevin Stott aboard is harder to ignore at 4/1, Stott knows this track (15% strike rate from 159 rides), but the yard’s form is lukewarm and Cunha does not have O’Meara’s firepower behind him.

3:25 — Ripon Races Ladies’ Day Handicap (6f, 7 runners)

Only seven runners, so each-way terms shrink to two places, which limits scope for speculative bets. This race belongs to Wild Clary, trained by Richard Hannon and ridden by Kevin Stott. The odds-on price of 8/11 (BoyleSports and LiveScore Bet) reflects a horse that the market has firmly identified, but the case is solid.

Hannon’s course record at Ripon reads 22% wins from 72 runners with an A/E of 1.11, meaning his runners here actually outperform their starting prices. That is a meaningful edge. Wild Clary’s recent form of 2-4231 shows consistent involvement at the business end, and Kevin Stott on his favoured track at 15% rounds this off neatly. The good ground is exactly what you want for a Hannon sprinter over six furlongs.

Miraculous at 4/1 for Tim Easterby is the obvious alternative, and Easterby fields two runners here. But the form string of -65593 suggests a horse finding its level rather than threatening to win, and the Hannon operation simply looks stronger on the data available.

No each-way flag here. The field is too small at seven runners and two-place terms at 8/11 is not a bet worth constructing.

4:00 — Masons Gin Novice Stakes (1m, 7 runners)

The mile novice splits the market right down the middle between Eklleem (William Haggas) and Ervani (K R Burke), both available at evens. Haggas wins at 29% at Ripon from 267 runs, the best strike rate of any trainer active at this course, and that record simply cannot be dismissed. Jason Hart takes the ride on Eklleem, and the form of 62-4 shows a horse that has been mixing it in better company than a Ripon novice.

Eklleem is the selection at evens with BoyleSports or Betfred. Haggas firing at 11 from 49 in the last 14 days, a trainer who wins at nearly 30% at this specific course, and a horse with experience against stronger rivals. The good ground suits a Haggas mile horse, and the seven-runner field means there is nowhere to hide if your horse is not up to it. Eklleem has been there and back, Ervani has only two runs showing 2 and 4, and the Burke yard does not carry the same Ripon weighting in the numbers.

Ceinture d’Orion at 8/1 for O’Meara is worth a small each-way flutter given three-place terms, the trainer’s course pedigree, and the fact that a filly stepping up to a mile could find this easier than her sprint starts suggested.

Today’s NAP

Eklleem — Masons Gin Novice Stakes (4:00, Ripon)
Odds: Evens — BoyleSports (others: Evens Betfred, SP LiveScore Bet)

William Haggas winning at 29% at Ripon is the standout trainer angle on the card, and the yard has been in brilliant form over the past fortnight with 11 wins from 49 runners. Eklleem brings more race experience than most in this novice, the mile on good ground suits the profile, and Jason Hart is a reliable partner. Evens is not a generous price but the case is strong enough to justify a win-only bet on the NAP of the day.