Ripon, Monday 27 July 2026: Tips & Best Bets

Ripon, Monday 27 July 2026: Tips & Best Bets

Ripon on a Monday before Glorious Goodwood kicks off tomorrow is exactly the kind of card where the market drifts on autopilot and the shrewd punter can find real value. Good ground, three featured races worth your attention, and a handful of trainer and jockey angles that make this card more interesting than it looks on paper. The Crisford yard’s 39% strike rate at this track is the standout number all day. Keep that in mind throughout.

8:10 — City Of Ripon Handicap Stakes (1m, Good, £7,731)

Selection: Command The Stars Each-Way at 8/1 (BoyleSports/LiveScore Bet)

Six runners, 1m on Good ground, and the form figures point squarely at a horse the market is ignoring at a very fair price. Command The Stars won five starts back and the sequence since, 7-7-4, shows a horse gradually finding his way back to form rather than one in terminal decline. That fourth last time out is a significant uptick, and critically, he tops the form figures according to the comment data. George Scott has a 25% win rate at Ripon from 32 runners, and Darragh Keenan is the most lethal jockey at this track in the data we have: 31% wins, an A/E of 2.13. That combination for a horse topping the figures at 8/1 is not something you walk past.

The 65-day absence is the only caveat, but the form trajectory is pointing the right way. Masked Warrior is the likely favourite at 11/8 and is rarely far away, while Noelan Star at 3/1 is respected but Edward Bethell’s yard has sent out just 2 winners from 22 runners in the last fortnight. At 8/1 with Keenan in the saddle and Scott knowing this track, Command The Stars represents exactly the kind of each-way play this card demands.

Each-way: 2 places at 1/4 odds

6:30 — British Stallion Studs EBF Novice Stakes (6f, Good, £5,757)

Selection: Pure Mint at 11/8 (BoyleSports)

Seven runners in a juvenile novice, and the angle here is as straightforward as it gets. Pure Mint is trained by Simon and Ed Crisford, whose 39% win rate at Ripon from 28 runners is comfortably the best trainer figure on the card today. An A/E of 1.37 confirms these runners are returning genuine profit to the pound. Harry Davies takes the ride, and his 33% win rate at this track with an A/E of 1.31 pairs very neatly with the Crisford operation.

The price of 11/8 into 5/4 with LiveScore Bet is not generous for a juvenile novice, and Reflect On Glory at 5/2 for K.R. Burke deserves respect given Burke’s hot streak (8 winners from 25 in the last fortnight). Towelontheterrace at 15/8 for Jennie Candlish has a placed run on the board and Candlish is a 19% winner at Ripon. But the trainer-jockey data for Pure Mint is simply the strongest combination on show. With no exposed form to worry about in a first or second start context, back the yard and jockey numbers here.

7:05 — Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate Fillies’ Novice Stakes (1m, Good, £5,234)

Selection: Prosperity at 7/4 (BoyleSports/LiveScore Bet)

Five runners, no exposed form for Prosperity herself, but the K.R. Burke yard is the form angle that tilts this. Eight winners from 25 runners in the last 14 days is a 32% strike rate, a yard very much in business. Clifford Lee takes the mount, and while Lee’s overall Ripon figures are modest at 16%, the yard backing carries real weight here.

Fractional is the 4/5 favourite for William Haggas and Harry Davies, and the Haggas/Davies combination at Ripon is respectable on paper. But Fractional’s form reading of 53-523 across multiple starts is that of a horse who keeps promising and keeps finishing in the places without winning. Haggas’s overall Ripon A/E of 0.99 is essentially flat to level-stakes money. At 7/4, Prosperity represents the lively market rival at a price that reflects uncertainty rather than weakness. Burke’s fillies when fresh can be sharp, and a clean run at 1m on Good ground sets this up well.

Princess Honey Bee at 7/1 for Craig Lidster warrants a small look if you want a saver. A 334-2 form line is honest and the latest second is a solid prep. But Prosperity is the call.

Today’s NAP

Command The Stars — City Of Ripon Handicap Stakes (8:10, Ripon)
Odds: 8/1 — BoyleSports (others: 8/1 LiveScore Bet)

The Keenan and Scott combination at a track where both have exceptional numbers, a horse topping the form figures at a price the market has drifted on without good reason. The form trajectory is improving, Good ground suits, and 8/1 in a six-runner handicap where the data points here is simply too big to ignore. Each-way is the play.

Each-Way Recommended — 2 places at 1/4 odds