Racing Tips · Thursday, 1 October 2026

Rick Doyle's Daily Double

Two strong fancies for Thursday: Cromane can follow up her Naas nursery win in the Bellewstown mud, while Max Of Stars looks ready to strike back at Southwell with Brian Hughes aboard.

Rick Doyle

Racing Tipster

Rick DoyleDaily DoubleFree Racing Tips

• 1:00 Bellewstown

  Racing TV Nursery Handicap

  1m | Handicap | Yielding To Soft

  Cromane Evs

  G. F. Carroll/Joseph G Murphy

  Live price from Bet365

  CROMANE looks to have plenty going her way at Bellewstown and the softer the ground gets, the happier I'd be about her chances. Joe Murphy's filly was well fancied before making a winning nursery debut at Naas a fortnight ago and there was a fair bit to like about how she did it. She was still off the pace entering the closing stages but stayed on strongly, hit the front inside the final furlong and was going away at the line to win by 1¼ lengths. The most encouraging part is what connections said afterwards. Murphy felt the rain had been a big help and Gary Carroll reported that she wanted every yard of the mile, with the trainer believing she'll eventually stay considerably further. That makes today's conditions look ideal. Bellewstown is yielding to soft and the extended mile should provide another proper stamina test, which looks much more in Cromane's favour than the quicker conditions she encountered earlier in the season. The handicapper has hit her with a 7lb rise to 74, but she remains lightly raced and that Naas success looked like the performance of a filly who had finally been given the conditions she needs. This is also only her second handicap start, so there's every chance the assessor hasn't caught up with her yet. Ippy is respected after a promising third at Down Royal, but Cromane has already shown what she can do under these conditions. With Carroll keeping the ride and the rain very much in her favour, she looks capable of following up.

  

  Cromane

  1:00 Bellewstown

  Best OddsEvs
• 4:35 Southwell

  Old Stag 70th Birthday Handicap Hurdle Race

  2m | Handicap | Class 4 | Good

  Max of Stars 6/1

  Brian Hughes/Ollie Pears

  Live price from Bet365

  MAX OF STARS looks ready to strike now autumn has arrived, with her handicap mark coming down and Brian Hughes back aboard at a track where the pair have already enjoyed a runaway success. Ollie Pears' mare tends to come alive at this time of year and her record in September and October is hard to ignore. This time last season she was winning a stronger Class 3 handicap at Wetherby from a mark of 115, yet she lines up here in Class 4 company from just 112. Southwell also holds no fears. Her previous hurdles visit here resulted in a 13-length victory under Hughes, and the champion jockey returns to the saddle today. There was encouragement in her latest second and a peak RPR of 123 suggests she has the ability to take advantage of this reduced mark. She is also one who likes to get on with things, which could prove useful around here if Hughes can get her into a nice rhythm. There are a few progressive sorts against her, but Max Of Stars has proven form from higher marks and her record at this time of year is particularly persuasive. Back over a course and distance she has already conquered emphatically, she looks to have plenty going for her.

  

  Max of Stars

  4:35 Southwell

  Best Odds6/1

More Racing Tips & Previews

Opinion

Stephen WelchBig Match SpecialWales v Norway

Opinion

Rick DoyleDaily DoubleDAILY RACING TIPS

18+, please gamble responsibly. Odds are correct at time of writing and can change.