Ben Linfoot free horse racing tips for ITV Racing for Cheltenham and Doncaster Saturday October 25
Our form expert has three selections for Saturday’s ITV Racing at Cheltenham and Doncaster.
The Verdict: Saturday October 25
1pt e.w Springs A Girl in 1.10 Cheltenham at 14/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4)
1pt win Vintage Clarets in 1.30 Doncaster at 14/1 (William Hill, 12/1 General)
1pt win The Short Go in 2.20 Cheltenham at 7/1 (General)
Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook | Free bets
Red-hot De Bromhead can Go in again
The final Group 1 of the British Flat season takes place on Saturday at Doncaster as five colts line up for the William Hill Futurity Trophy Stakes.
Aidan O’Brien is going for his 12th win in the contest and he has a strong hand, with Benvenuto Cellini, Hawk Mountain and Action making up more than half the field, and given they have the best form in the race the odds are stacked in his favour.
It’ll be interesting to see which O’Brien horse comes out on top but the best betting races are at Cheltenham where the jumps season cranks up a gear on the second day of the Showcase Meeting.
The Irish can’t let any Cheltenham meeting go without plundering the top prizes these days and Henry de Bromhead has had three winners from 12 runners at the Showcase Meeting the last two years.
Indeed, last year he had the one-two in the William Hill Best Odds Guaranteed Handicap Chase and last year’s runner-up, THE SHORT GO, can go one better this time around.
The eight-year-old obviously likes the track and trip and he goes well fresh, as well, while I reckon we’ll see a different horse on Saturday to the one we saw in the spring.
De Bromhead never really got going last season, but his team are firing on all cylinders now and that means we can expect the version of The Short Go that ran so well in this race last season.
12 months ago he was the only one to get involved from off the pace, but this renewal looks likely to be run to suit him even better thanks to a big field with plenty of prominent racers and Darragh O’Keeffe is a good man to have on your side in this scenario.
The Verdict: Back THE SHORT GO in the 2.20 Cheltenham
Springs into action for Keighley
Earlier on at Cheltenham Martin Keighley’s SPRINGS A GIRL looks a bet in the opening William Hill Each Way Extra Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase at 14/1.
Keighley also has an excellent record at this meeting and he has a fine record with his early-season novice handicap chasers, too, including winning this race with Found On back in 2022.
Springs A Girl shaped really nicely on her chasing debut last time, staying on well for a close-up second over an inadequate two miles at Worcester and it wasn’t a bad race with all three rivals running good races subsequently.
The way she finished there suggests she’ll love stepping up to 2m4f in this – indeed, she’s already won over hurdles twice over a bit further – and the good to soft ground is perfect.
Out of the weights last time, she effectively races off the same mark here and the in-form Sean Bowen, who has had a long and successful association with Keighley, is in the saddle again.
In short, there’s plenty to like and at the prices she looks underestimated.
The Verdict: Back SPRINGS A GIRL in the 1.10 Cheltenham
Vintage display expected at Donny
Finally, VINTAGE CLARETS looks a big price in the Skill Step Group Handicap over five furlongs at Doncaster.
There doesn’t look to be anything obviously well handicapped against the six-year-old here which gives Richard Fahey’s horse a chance of giving the weight away.
He’ll have to be right on his A-game to win off 97, but with the Fahey yard in decent nick and the ground very much in his favour he might just pull it off.
The son of Ardad really likes soft and heavy ground, travelling through it much better than most, and he has a super record at this time of year having won in this month the last two seasons.
He hasn’t had his ground this year but has performed well all season, winning off a 3lb lower mark at the Shergar Cup, and he has several bits of good form at Doncaster.
Both of his Catterick Dash wins came in testing ground off top weight or second top weight, so we know he can give the pounds away and win and he might just get a nice tow into this off Lexington Blitz.
The Verdict: Back VINTAGE CLARETS in the 1.30 Doncaster
Preview posted at 1555 BST on 24/10/25
Click here for full Ben Linfoot tipping record
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
