Wednesday Racing Tips - Ascot Racecourse 20/12/23

ATA stakes day at Ascot takes place tomorrow and we have a $340k card upon us with some very competitive races on the program and the A.T.A. Stakes is the feature race of the day, a 2200m staying race in race 7 for a share of $125k prize money. I have picked out my best betting spots of the day and outlined them below so follow me!

(Note: Odds provided by Playup)

Selections:
#14 - Blazing Emerald (BEST BET) - $2.40
#1 - Mr Megsey - $7.50
#2 - Plainly Spoken - $18.00
#16 - Cruise To Rio - $10.00

BEST BET - #14 - Blazing Emerald (BEST BET)
It has to be Blazing Emerald here and I am confident she is the best horse relative to her field of the entire day at Ascot. She last raced at Pinjarra when coming from last in the run to storm home and clock some of the best late splits of the meeting when running into fifth. She should be able to settle closer and the track is more in favour of her run style, she just wins this IMO.

THE DANGER - #1 - Mr Megsey
Mr Megsey is the only real threat in my opinion as he should be at just about peak fitness third up here. He has had two runs back from a spell after not racing for a massive 63 weeks and has been building towards something like this. His last run saw him power home from the rear of the field to clock good splits and finish midfield and he is a winning chance now, not to be disrespected.

VALUE BET  - #2 - Plainly Spoken
Plainly Spoken, I don’t think is going well enough to win this but he has been going well enough to be given a look here, especially for the exotics. Both of his runs this time in have come at Bunbury where he has made up a tonne of ground late despite not being a winning chance. He can settle much closer in the run now having drawn the inside and this race isn’t overly strong other than the favourite.

Selections:
#7 - Just Adorabelle (NEXT BEST) - $4.60
#6 - Fashion Stakes - $5.00
#9 - Art Of Consent - $10.00
#2 - Trespassing - $7.50

BEST BET - #7 - Just Adorabelle (NEXT BEST)
I quite like the look of Just Adorabelle coming into this race off of a very sharp maiden win and she comes up at a nice price here. She shed the tag last time out at Pinjarra over the 1200m when shifting out wide on the turn and absolutely ripping to the line to win so well. I think she is above this grade and with a win here we should see her move onto that level of competition.

THE DANGER - #6 - Fashion Stakes
Giving another chance to Nev Parnham’s Fashion Stakes who stepped out here about a month ago over the 1400m and had some issues when pulling up with bleeding from her nose after the run. I think it is a clear forgive run and with the tick over trial between runs she’s been placed with some intent here evidently so that being said don’t count her out.

VALUE BET  - #9 - Art Of Consent
One I can entertain at longer odds is the Casey stable’s Art Of Consent who should have a stack of improvement after resuming from a long 37 week spell last time out and running brilliantly. She was against the tempo of the race when battling away behind a smart winner but still found enough to place third on the wrong part of the track. Fitter and better for that run stepping into this, a win wouldn’t shock.

Selections:
#12 - Queen Alina - $4.60
#6 - Desennea - $5.00
#10 - Ihts Closing Inn (ROUGHIE OF THE DAY) - $5.00
#2 - Black Fantasy - $5.10

BEST BET - #12 - Queen Alina
I think Queen Alina is a deserving favourite here and can get one up on the close second favourite. She comes out of a run a couple weeks ago at this track and trip when flying home to clock some of the best closing splits of the meeting in a race where she was completely against the track bias to place second there. The horse that won had every favour and now loses Pike so I think it is Queen Alina’s time to turn the tide.

THE DANGER - #6 - Desennea
Can Desennea handle this trip? Does she still have steam in the tank? Those two queries is why he is my danger and not bet but if the answer to both of those is yes then he certainly has what it takes to win this. He last won here a couple weeks ago over the 1800m when sitting back and launching at them late in a dominant display over some pretty good horses. I think that’s good enough for this and if he shuts down those queries he wins.

VALUE BET - #10 - Ihts Closing Inn (ROUGHIE OF THE DAY)
Ihts Closing Inn can win this for the DUrrant camp. He might not look to have done much in her two starts back from a spell but I think that is the stable’s way of building her fitness for this assignment specifically. Both of the runs have come over the 1400m and 1600m and she is a true staying animal. She has plenty of upside here and last prep looked like one of the more promising stayers out of WA.

Plan on betting on the races this Wednesday? Betting online is surprisingly simple these days, and our Best Bookmakers area is the simplest way to discover the best online betting sites to follow our expert’s tips.

Playup is my top selection for Racing this week as they are providing some of the best overall fixed odds amongst the Australian bookies at the moment for racing. They are also very generous, often offering a number of racing promotions such as money back in bonus bets for 2nd and 3rd for a selected runner in a race of your choosing. They cover all Australian thoroughbred racing and are quite comprehensive in their international racing markets.

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William Pike, the wizard in the West, one of the best jockeys of all time is consistently picking up winners and applying his magic touch to rides till this day and this year he has proven he still has the touch, riding over 1 in 5 rides to victory and almost one in two to place. I have outlined his whole list of bookings for tomorrow’s racing at Ascot below:

R1 - #2 - Pot Shot - $5.00
R6 - #8 - Rusty Spirit - $8.10
R7 - #9 - Wiley Girl - $7.00
R8 - #9 - Western Knight - $46.00
R9 - #12 - Revitup - $7.50
R10 - #8 - Romancing The Rock - $9.00

Ascot is a pretty tricky track and as such I have chosen runners that suit this track, generally being those close to the rail for the sprint distances and those that can settle just off the speed for the mid distance races. Follow me below for a fun bet to track over race day!

Ascot R2 - #14 - Blazing Emerald - PLC $1.35 
Ascot R5 - #7 - Just Adorabelle - PLC $1.90
Ascot R7 - #10 - Ihts Closing Inn - PLC $3.20

Total Odds = $8.00
$50 Stake = $400.00 Return!

Odds provided by PlayUp, sign up for a new account here to get started.

Our experts have curated a bet type information page which delves into all the different types of exotics betting, check it out for clarification on the different types of exotics betting or just to brush up on your knowledge.

Ascot Racecourse Trifecta Tip (R2)

1st: 1, 2, 14, 16

2nd: 1, 2, 14, 16

3rd: 1, 2, 14, 16

$50 stake = 208% flexi

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If you are looking for the best promotions this week for Wednesday's racing I wouldn’t look past Unibet, often they offer odds boosts in addition to the money back promotions. Don’t forget to check your account as well for personal offers. 

Promotions often change so make sure you sign up at unibet.com.au to see what promotions are applicable to you and you may even be surprised to find some promotions that weren’t mentioned here!