Ben Linfoot free horse racing tips for ITV Racing for Cheltenham and Doncaster Friday October 24

Our form expert has three selections for Friday’s ITV Racing at Cheltenham and Doncaster.

The Verdict: Friday October 24

1pt win Eye Of Dubai in 1.33 Doncaster at 5/1 (General)

1pt win Midnight Gun in 3.18 Doncaster at 9/2 (William Hill, 4/1 General)

1pt win Cavern Club in 2.25 Cheltenham at 8/1 (NON RUNNER)

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Gun to silence Doncaster rivals

The backend horses who like really testing ground have had to wait a while to get their conditions but they will at Doncaster on Friday where it’s ‘Heavy’ for the first day of the two-day Futurity meeting.

Quite a few who contest the William Hill Best Odds Guaranteed Handicap (3.18) over seven furlongs will like the ground but the one who could outclass them over this track and trip in the conditions is MIDNIGHT GUN.

Trainer Hamad Al Jehani is in red-hot form with his October stats now reading four wins from nine at 44% and this horse shaped with a good degree of promise on his return from six months off at Haydock in September.

Fancied that day and sent off favourite, he travelled well in a prominent position, trading shorter than his SP in-running, only for him to blow up late on where he was eased home once his chance had gone.

It wasn’t a bad run by any means and it looked a case of him simply needing it, so he should be spot on for his return to Doncaster where he has some excellent form.

Sixth in the Lincoln when not beaten far earlier in the campaign, his career-best run came at this meeting last year where he chased home the well-handicapped Harper’s Ferry over a mile in soft ground, laying it down to him and finishing well clear of the rest (see free video replay, below).

That sort of effort will likely see him home in front here and dropping back to seven from a mile looks a great shout in the conditions.

Cheekpieces are applied as well, probably with the trip in mind, but his proven stamina for further could be a defining factor here in what will likely be a testing seven in the circumstances.

The Verdict: Back MIDNIGHT GUN in the 3.18 Doncaster

Quinns Eye up sprint prize

Earlier on the card John & Sean Quinn could strike with their EYE OF DUBAI in the William Hill Each Way Extra Handicap over six furlongs.

This is a competitive race but a couple of things could separate Eye Of Dubai from the rest, namely his improvement with racing and his aptitude for running in heavy ground.

The four-year-old got better with experience as a three-year-old and he seems to be on the same trajectory this year, too, his win at Ripon last time a season’s best on his ninth start of the campaign.

That was on good ground and it boded really well for the rest of the season considering his ability to handle soft and heavy, as he showed this time last year.

Indeed, Timeform have him down for four heavy ground runs in his career and he won two of those, including at Doncaster in the November of last year where he travelled well in the conditions before getting the job done with a strong late run.

He likes to be ridden prominently and he could get a great tow into things off Sophia’s Starlight in this before pouncing late under Jason Hart.

The Verdict: Back EYE OF DUBAI in the 1.33 Doncaster

Cavern Club to be a smash hit (NON RUNNER)

Over at Cheltenham the doors are open at the famous racecourse for the first time this jumps season and after missing much of the forecast rain on Wednesday night the ground is ‘Good to Soft’.

It looks a trappy card but the conditional jockeys handicap hurdle over two miles at 2.25 looks sure to be run at a strong gallop with plenty of prominent racers in the field.

That’s exactly the scenario James Owen’s CAVERN CLUB (NON RUNNER) wants and with the bulk of the rain missing Cheltenham he’s got conditions he handles well.

Indeed, he won the Summer Handicap Hurdle at Market Rasen in July in a big field on good ground off an even tempo, doing really well to come from behind on a speed-favouring track, while he was just caught out at the same course last time when he would’ve appreciated a stronger gallop.

It showed he’s still in good nick and he comes from a stable in red-hot form with their jumpers, while jockey Alex Chadwick has an outstanding win strike-rate for Owen (27% from 167 rides).

Here he’s got a partner who seems to love coming through the field with a strong late run and that could be just what’s required in this contest.

The Verdict: Back CAVERN CLUB in the 2.25 Cheltenham

Preview posted at 1555 BST on 23/10/25

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