Episode 3 - Irish Derby | Chipchase Stakes | Northumberland Plate Festival, 2022
Exclusive Expert Betting Tips From Six-Time Champion Jockey, Kieren Fallon
All of Fallon's Fancies for this week's races
| RACE | HEAD | HEART | HUNCH |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish Derby | Westover | Tuesday | Nature Strip |
| Chipchase Stakes | Spycatcher | Sense of Duty | Happy Power |
| Northumberland Plate | Onesmoothoperator | Trueshan | Valley Forge |
Irish Derby
Our first race comes in the form of the Irish Derby, a race that Fallon knows very well as a two-time winner. In the podcast, he goes through both of his wins and explains exactly how good the horses he rode were, claiming one of his rides was one of the best horses he's ridden. You'll be able to hear about all that and more by watching the podcast but for now, we've got Fallon's Fancies for the Derby below in the traditional Bet UK format of Head, Heart, Hunch!
Head: Westover
Fallon's choice that he thinks is going to win this race is Westover. Ralph Beckett's horse faced very tough opposition at Epsom and looked incredible. Unfortunately, controversy ruled in that event and Fallon believes that if Rob Hornby had a clear run, Westover would have won the race, which at 25/1, could have provided brilliant payouts for backers! As for upcoming races, Fallon states that Westover will be "very hard to beat" and in his mind, "he'll be first and the filly will be second"
Heart: Tuesday
Opposing Westover is Fallon's pick for the heart, who he claims he would love to see win the Irish Derby. However, he does admit that he wishes she ran a different race.
"She deserves to be there, although I would have preferred to see her go for the Irish Oaks... She has a good chance of winning this race, but it's a tough race for her, while I think the Oaks would have been a much easier win for her."
Are you backing Tuesday? Or perhaps Fallon's Fancy for this race could be the 1-2 finish between Westover and Tuesday. That's something for you to decide! For now, Fallon's heart says Tuesday at 6/4.
Hunch: Lionel
Fallon's confidence in the two horses mentioned above knows no bounds as when asked about his 'Hunch' he claimed there wasn't one! In his mind, no other horses stand a chance unless something goes wrong for both horses! However, podcast host George Elek, let us know his hunch for the race which came in the form of Lionel who had an excellent race last time out at Goodwood defeating the likes of Aldous Huxley. If anyone can cause an upset here, Elek believes that at 8/1, Lionel is a great price to do exactly that! Especially as David Menuisier is quoted as saying that he's very much the best horse he's ever trained!
Chipchase Stakes
With all-weather tracks becoming more and more popular, it can really cause an upset when it comes to betting odds as there are varying factors to take into consideration when picking a horse. Fallon claims that as Newcastle's track has a beautiful, slick surface, it is a track where horses can come and still perform at their best.
Head: Spycatcher
As the podcast was recorded on Wednesday, the odds for the Chipchase stakes may be a little different on the podcast that what you currently see on Bet UK. However, that doesn't change the head, heart and hunch picks for this week. Fallon's head goes with Spycatcher, stating: "the horse likes newcastle and is in great form. It'll be really hard to get away from Spycatcher"
Last time out at Newcastle, Spycatcher finished third in the race but was only beaten by a head, on another day, it was clear that the horse would have won the race but when it comes down to all-weather conditions, racing is a little more unpredictable. This time around, Fallon thinks it'll be Spycatcher that is on the right side of second place and the horses odds imply so do many others.
Heart: Sense of Duty
Of course there was only going to be one horse that Fallon picks as the choice for his heart as he picks Sense of Duty, the horse ridden by his son Cieren Fallon. However, stats suggest that perhaps Fallon's heart may be a better bet than his head on this occasion as his son has only finished outside of the top three horses in two of his last 11 races. The young jockey is in fantastic form and so is Sense of Duty. With Fallon stating that his son: 'really likes the filly, he rode a very confident race at Haydock and they're telling me she's improving as well!'
If Haydock is anything to go by, Fallon and Sense of Duty are going to be a force to be reckoned with at Newcastle.
Hunch: Happy Power
As the racecards for Newcastle are still unconfirmed at the time of writting, Fallon and Elek weren't 100% sure on who to go for when it comes down to the hunch. However, Elek mentions that there was one horse that stood out to him and that was Happy Power. Claiming the horse wasn't at it's best at Haydock last time out but is typically a very strong horse.
As it stands Happy Power is currently set to either appear in the Chipchase Stakes at Newcastle or the Citerion Stakes at Newmarket on the 25th June. However, if the horse does run at Newcastle, it could be a very good bet at high odds.
Northumberland Plate
The highlight of Newcastle's beautiful all-weather Racecourse is the Northumberland Plate.
Head: Onesmoothoperator
Fallon's head for the main race of the weekend comes in the form of Onesmoothoperator. He's performed reasonably well at Newcastle racecourse in the past but at significantly higher odds and conditions that on some occasions, weren't in his favour. When looking ahead to this event, Fallon believes that Onesmoothoperator has an excellent chance of picking up its second victory at Newcastle in the Plate.
Heart: Trueshan
Kieren Fallon is very fond of Trueshan as a horse but believes that the Northumberland Plate will be a very difficult race for Trueshan to win for one reason - weight. "It'd be great to see him win with that sort of weight"
There are no doubts that Trueshan has a lot of weight on the rest of the horses in the race but if he can pull it out of the bag, it would definitely be one of Trueshan's more impressive victories but if there is anyone that would suit the horse, it's Hollie Doyle, the excellent rider who won a grade 1 in her last race.
Hunch: Valley Forge
Once again, as it stands, there are 60 horses that could be included in the Northumberland Plate but Fallon has one horse that catches his eye. "I have to say Valley Forge, very good price at 7/1"
Valley Forge is also only entered into this race this weekend meaning it is one of the safest bets at this stage where the odds are extrodinarily high. After a win at Haydock last time out, Andrew Balding will look at Newcastle as an excellent chance to bring this horse into all-weather racing.
Bet on Fallon's Fancies at Bet UK
Head over to the Bet UK sportsbooks while listening to the Fallon's Fancies podcast and browse our online betting markets to follow his online horse racing tips, then simply make your selections and place your bets! New to Bet UK, sign up for our welcome offer and receive £30 in free bets by betting £10 on our horse racing markets.
Free Live Streaming of UK and Irish Horse Racing
Players at Bet UK can bet and watch all of Fallon's Fancies betting tips right here at Bet UK through our live streaming platform. Simply head over to our online horse betting markets and click on the race in question and activate the live stream to watch.
Odds correct at the time of writing, and are subject to change
View Latest Episode
