It’s an excellent weekend for sport here at BetConnect. Plenty of horse racing on ITV with Sandown the main port of call as well as the third round of the FA Cup which looks sure to have surprises. Some decent open race greyhound cards on both Saturday and Sunday along with the final week of the NFL regular season, we’re in for a busy one! *All prices correct at time of writing on Thursday afternoon.
Horse Racing
1.15 Sandown – Scipion 6/1
Well regarded by connections, he was a promising novice hurdler last year. Third on his chasing debut at Uttoxeter, he had a tough task on ground too quick. Subsequently, that has been a race that has worked out well as a form guide and this softer surface is a big plus for him. He strikes as a type with untapped potential so it would be no surprise to see him do better now.
2.25 Sandown – Blow Your Wad 33/1 E/W
The big contest of the day is the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle. Scipion’s connections could be in for a good day as they also have this live outsider. He has looked a bit of a big baby at times so it’s no surprise that connections reach for some headgear.
His racecourse debut saw him 6.5l behind Luccia who was ante post favourite for this race earlier in the week. He followed that up with a second, beaten 1.75l behind Tahmuras who is the current favourite for this race. On that occasion this lad looked like winning before hanging away his chance. He’s run to a consistent level since but on that run the discrepancy in prices 2/1 V 33/1 is just too big to ignore.
3.00 Sandown – Sir Ivan 18/1 E/W
Third in this race in both 2021 and 2022, it’s no surprise to see him lining up again. Those places came off marks of 135 and 140 so from 129 this weekend, he has every right to be right in the mix again. He arrives off the back of a pair of solid runs this season which should have teed him up perfectly for this so it’s a surprise to see him quite such a big price.
Football
Bournemouth V Burnley – Burnley to win and BTTS 9/2
Burnley have only lost 3 times in 29 games in all competitions this season. Admittedly all of those have come on the road but one of those was at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup, one at Sheffield United and one at Watford who sit 2nd and 4th in the Championship.
There is no disgrace in any of those and with their opponents having more important things to worry about in their Premier League survival, the visitors can book their spot in the 4th round.
Brentford V West Ham – Brentford to win 6/4
Brentford beat their visitors 2-0 at the London Stadium on the 30th of December. That was the halftime score despite the home side having the majority of the ball. West Ham have won just once on the road in the league this season against Aston Villa back in August. Brentford have been strong at home and should be too good.
Greyhounds
10.37 Crayford T3 – Huntsman
Back to winning ways when returned to the Kent venue last time out. That was a pedestrian split by his standards but he might not need to do more than that in what looks a relatively soft race for the level. He probably won’t be much of a price but it would be disappointing to see him turned over.
Sunday – 4.04 Central Park T5 Ragtime Tilly
A solid performer over a variety of trips, she bounced back to winning form last time out over 480m here. She has a decision over T2 to her credit and this looks a weak enough contest for her to follow up that four bend win with one over 642m.
NFL
Kansas City Chiefs @ Las Vegas Raiders – Travis Kelce anytime touchdown scorer 4/5
When these two teams met in Week 5, they produced one of the games of the season. The Raiders were 17-0 up at one point before being beaten 30-29 in an absolute thriller. Travis Kelce was the thorn in the side of the Raiders scoring 4 TD’s so it’s no surprise to see him a short price to add to that in the final week of the season.