Sunday horse racing betting tips: Arc Day

It’s the biggest race in Europe, and Quigley aka ‘Longshot Ted’ serves up his best bets for what should be a cracker – it’s Arc Day!

Ted’s bets for Sunday, October 1

Find the best picks for Sunday’s races provided by the best horse racing betting sites per our expert reviews. Odds are subject to change.

• Longchamp 1.50 – Darnation – bet with BetUK
• Longchamp 3.05 – Hukum – bet with bet365
• Longchamp 3.50 – Al Husn e/w – bet with Betfred

Longchamp 1.50 – Darnation

Karl Burke hasn’t been able to hide his excitement over DARNATION, who has been progressing at a rapid rate, and has every chance of getting the job done here in her first start in Group 1 company. A Group 3 winner at Goodwood in August, she made a very taking impression when dispatching the field with consummate ease in the Group 2 May Hill Stakes at Doncaster. She is now swimming with sharks in this top-level assignment, but the Karl Burke team continue to operate in fine fettle, and she looks like a filly who has it all.

Burke has made no secret of the fact that she is a filly that is very happy with substantial juice in the ground, to the point where it is almost crucial to her chances. It looks like there will be plenty of ‘soft’ in the going description, so this race looks tailor-made for her. Clifford Lee is in the saddle and the combination can make an impact here with this exciting daughter of too darn hot.

Place a bet on Darnation to win at BetUK

Longchamp 3.05 – Hukum

It’s the biggest race in Europe, and the stats doom-mongers are out in force, as HUKUM tries to become the first 6-year-old to win the Arc, and now stall 14 is seen as the complicator too. However with only 15 runners due to go to post, and in my view a substandard race, I think this could be the year those stats get stuck in the shredder, and I am backing the Owen Burrows trained son of Sea The Stars to emulate what his father did 14 years ago to the day.

Hukum has been in spectacular form this year since returning from injury and the best part of a year off the track. He returned by winning a Group 3 at Sandown in May, and then was back right in the big time when landing the King George at Ascot in a thrilling encounter. Burrows has deliberately not raced him again since given his ability to run well fresh, and this 64-day lay-off should be the perfect way for him to enter the heat of battle. At the time of writing, underfoot conditions are a blend of Soft and Good to Soft, which should be absolutely ideal for the horse, as he likes plenty of cut in the ground to operate at his best. This is his biggest test yet, but he is a class act and I think he can bring home the gold medal with Jim Crowley doing the steering.

Bet on Hukum to win with bet365

Longchamp 3.50 – Al Husn e/w

It is a big afternoon for veteran jockey Jim Crowley, and AL HUSN can get back in the thick of things by landing the Prix De L’Opera, with the combination of the drop back to 10f and a bit of cut in the ground being big ticks in the right boxes. She looked to be a filly really going places when landing the Group 1 Nassau Stakes at Goodwood on testing ground.

However, she didn’t look the same filly when stepping up in distance to 1m4f for the Yorkshire Oaks on rattling quick ground. She was far too keen in the early stages, and didn’t settle, and all in all never got involved, eventually only beating one rival home. She will need to settle better, but will have every chance of doing so here, giving trainer Roger Varian another Group 1 win on his CV in the process and looks to have solid esch-way claims in this company. 

Place an each-way bet on Al Husn with Betfred

Don’t forget Ed will be back on Tuesday with his best bets for all the equine action…

About the author

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