While women up and down Britain start sporting their hats for the first day of Royal Ascot, we’re giving our punters the opportunity to fill their boots thanks to a favourites price promise.

For every race of the festival’s first day we’ll be best price on all the leaders in the betting so you can be sure you won’t find better value anywhere else.

So whether you’re backing Goldikova in the Queen Anne or Canford Cliffs in the St James’s Palace you’re best doing it at William Hill to ensure any favourite winner pays the highest price.

Here’s a list of the some of the top horses you can back at best price at William Hill:

Please note: best price refers to comparisons against high street bookmakers Ladbrokes, Coral and Betfred. Best prices are available on leaders in the betting meaning any horse priced shorter than 5/1. This offer runs from 15/06/2010 from 08:00GMT - 12:00GMT

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing

Royal Ascot, one of the highlights of the flat season, begins on Tuesday and what better way to celebrate this racing and social calendar spectacle with a great free bet offer. 

On the first day of the Royal meeting there are three fantastic Group 1 races, one of which is the King’s Stand Stakes at 3:05 - live on BBC One. In this year’s renewal the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Kingsgate Native will be bidding to win his fifth Group race.

The five-year-old faces the formidable challenge of Australian raider Nicconi who will be ridden by the charismatic Frankie Dettori.

It’s sure to be a thrilling race and if you place a £20 or more win single on the outright betting in the 3:05 Royal Ascot - King’s Stand Stakes, you’ll then be rewarded with a free £5 bet with which you can use on any In-Play market during the first half of the Ivory Coast v Portugal World Cup match.

PLEASE NOTE: Qualifying bets must be placed before the race starts. Your free bet will become available once the match has started and In-Play betting is available and remember, the free bet is valid until the start of the second half.

This offer is only applicable to customers who have registered their accounts on the English language website and is applicable to bets placed from 18:20 (UK) Monday 14th June.

You cannot use this free bet offer in conjunction with any other | Normal William Hill football rules apply.

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing

As featured in the Racing Post, William Hill horse racing compiler Jamie McBride reveals a bookie’s perspective ahead of Royal Ascot 2010.

Which of the big three do you fear most in the Queen Anne Stakes?

Goldikova is a superstar and will be hard to beat. Paco Boy won a weak Lockinge last time and is held by Rip Van Winkle on their Sussex Stakes form.

Canford Cliffs or Mafki in the St James’s Palace?

Canford Cliffs looks one to take on there’s no reason why Mafki can’t progress at the same rate as him. Steinbeck and Siyouni are also credible opponents.

Who do you think will win the Gold Cup?

At current prices I like Kasbah Bliss. Age of Aquarius looks very short to me as, on breeding, he is far from certain  to appreciate the step up in trip.

How do you the King’s Stand / Golden Jubilee going?

The Golden Jubilee looks wide open but Showcasing is very short; however promising his reappearance was, was still beaten by Prime Defender.

Who are the ones to watch from Ireland?

Bangalore Gold won impressivley last time and can go close in the Buckingham Palace. Samuel Morse has a big reputation and must be feared in the Coventry.

Who do you fear in the Royal Hunt Cup and the Wokingham?

Both look typically wide open but St Moritz in the Hunt Cup and Ingleby Lady in the Wokingham are worthy of the shortlist.

Which juvenile excites you most this week?

As mentioned, Samuel Morse. Crying Lightening won well on her debut and can run a big race in the Queen Mary.

Who is value to be top jockey and trainer?

The 10/3 quotes for Richard Hughes looks big - he should be favourite in my opinion. Logic follows that Richard Hannon can go close in the top trainer market.

Who is you outstanding bet of the week?

Richard Hughes to be top jockey.

Give us a life changing Lucky15

• Total Gallery in the King’s Stand
• Strawberrydaquiri in the Windsor Forest
• London Stripe in the King George V Handicap
• Ingleby Lady in the Wokingham

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing

William Buick is in his first season as the retained jockey for John Gosden and what a season it has already been for the 21-year-old. Buick has won 25 races this season including the illustrious Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan back in March.

In just 11 races at Epsom he has ridden two winners which gives him a respectable 18% strike rate and with Gertrude Bell his ride in the Oaks he has a great chance to improve to 3-12.

Gertrude Bell is 14/1 to score in the fillies’ classic. The three-year-old has never finished outside the top three in her five career starts. She has also won her last two starts - a class four at Newbury in April and then the Cheshire Oaks at Chester in May.

The latter victory may not have been against the strongest of fields with 20/1 Oaks shot Champagnelifestyle ¾ a length behind in second. However, John Gosden’s charge has the ability to improve at Epsom and should have no trouble in lasting the extra distance as she is the half-sister of a 2m winner.

Therefore at the price I think she is worth taking a chance on.

At the head of the market is Henry Cecil’s Aviate (11/2). She won the Musidora Stakes at York and is unbeaten over three starts.

Aviate will look to follow up Sariska’s Musidora/Oaks double from last year but doubts remain about the strength of this year’s Musidora.

Nevertheless Cecil has said that she “has done everything right” in her preparation as he bids to win the Oaks for a ninth time.

Cecil’s chances of a ninth success do not just rest with the favourite though as he also has Timepiece (8/1) in the field.

Timepiece will be ridden by Eddie Ahern and despite two defeats in prep races the jockey is confident of the filly’s ability. One of the defeats was in the Oaks Trial Stakes at Lingfield when she was sent off as the 4/7 jolly but could only finish second.

Another Oaks runner, Ceilidh House, finished third in the same race. Ralph Beckett said before the Trial that she would come on for the race and one has to respect this judgement but with no further races to base this assessment on it could be a bit of a gamble at the odds of 12/1.

In Timepiece’s other prep race defeat it was Oaks’ second favourite Rumoush (6/1)who triumphed in the Feilden Stakes at Newmarket. Timepiece was back in fourth as the Marcus Tregoning-trained Oaks fancy was victorious.

However, in her next outing Rumoush was a disappointing seventh in the 1000 Guineas. She was expected to progress after the run but with the yard out of form then the Oaks may be out of reach.

The big danger in the field could well be Sajjhaa (6/1). With the withdrawal of Godolphin’s Hibaayeb it has left Frankie Dettori free to pick up the ride on the Michael Jarvis-trained filly.

Sajjhaa has been heavily backed in to claim the Oaks despite only having one race under her belt, albeit it was an ultra-impressive seven-length victory on 20^th May at Sandown.

The Oaks though may come a bit too quickly for her as the step up in class is huge but she might just be able to handle it.

Another one who has been well backed ante-post is Akdarena (15/2). She has won her last two starts - a Group 3 last time out at Naas and a listed affair the race before at Navan.

The race at Naas was won in emphatic style and gives Jim Bolger real hope of his first Oaks success since Jet Ski Lady in 1991.

Aidan O’Brien’s runners of course can never be ruled out of these massive races and it is Remember When (8/1) who carries the main hope of success for the Ballydoyle team.

Stable jockey Johnny Murtagh is unsurprisingly on board the Irish 1000 Guineas fourth. In being a three-parts sister to Dylan Thomas she has promise but she is not for me in the Epsom Classic.

Ed Dunlop’s Snow Fairy (14/1) will have the champion jockey Ryan Moore on board and has been highlighted by Henry Cecil as one of the runners he respects.

In her one race this season, a listed 1m2f affair at Goodwood on 19^th May, she emerged victorious despite never having raced beyond 7f as a juvenile. As a result despite Cecil’s respect, the extra 2f at Epsom could prove to be a problem.

Of the bigger priced runners Meeznah (33/1) is the one that stands out as David Lanigan saddles his first Classic runner.

The former assistant to Cecil has plenty of experience of Classics and has been bigging up his filly’s chances despite her price.

Meeznah impressed with a nine-length win in a maiden at Newmarket before an injury curtailed her Epsom preparations as she had to miss a planned trial race. So the doubt over her is whether she is ready for the big day?

I know I most certainly am and my money, despite the high-class field, will definitely be going on Gertrude Bell as future star Buick seeks his first English Classic.

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing

This week has seen the Derby market move in every way imaginable, with the loss of the winter favourite St Nicholas Abbey and the elevation of Jan Vermeer to the top of the betting.

Since routing his 2yo opponents in the Racing Post Trophy last October, the Ballydoyle star player was expected to be St Nicholas Abbey.

Even when O’Brien’s supporting cast expanded seemingly every week, the Derby picture seemed to evolve around this exceptional racehorse.

However this all changed…

Tuesday’s news of a muscle disorder saw the Ballydoyle phenomenon removed from the betting, although the writing was on the wall as he had already been usurped at the head of the market by stable mate Jan Vermeer 2/1.

Jan Vermeer has attracted support after winning the Group 3 Gallinule stakes at the Curragh in little more than first gear, and was strongly backed from 16-1 with Hills, down to the favourite’s mantle.

With Dante winner Cape Blanco now destined for France as well, the Derby looks a little more open.

Prince Khalid Abdullah will be hoping to add more silverware again this year, with the Sir Michael Stoute trained Workforce (9/2).

Having won the Classic, the 1000 Guineas controversially already this year with the Head-Maarek trained Special Duty, Abdullah would be ecstatic if he could give him a third Derby winner, and preferably without a heated photo finish.

Currently, second favourite in the betting, Workforce bids to give his Newmarket based trainer his third victory in the race, having consecutively won the race with both Kris Kin (04) and North Light (05) respectively.

Workforce may not have as much experience as his rivals, having seen a racetrack only twice, but after finishing second to Cape Blanco in the Dante, this horse is sure to know his job come Derby day; and ticks a lot of the boxes for the mile and half test that Epsom asks of a horse.

A shrewd bet may well prove to be Henry Cecil’s Bullet Train (7/1), another Abdullah entry.

With Cecil, slowly running out of fingers on which to count his Oaks victories, another Derby to sit alongside would be very welcome for the Master of Warren Place.

Bullet Train won the Lingfield Derby trial as impressively as any other trial winner this year, and has a pedigree that could provide the perfect marriage with Epsom and its undulations.

Cecil’s last Derby was with Commander in Chief in 1993 in the same owners colours and 7-1 just might seem a bit too big come Derby day.

Mahmood Al Zarooni, the new recruit to Godolphin training ranks is bidding to make an instant presence in the UK and has supplemented Rewilding (7/1) with smart miler Buzzword (50/1), bidding to inject some pace into the race.

Saeed Bin Suroor, primary Godolphin trainer is singlehanded with Al Zir (20/1) and the booking of Kieren Fallon proves that Al Zir is definitely not a horse to be ignored.

This $1.6 million two-year old purchase has proved his class already over the shorter trip and has both form in the book and a serious pedigree to match.

Bin Suroor has waited a long time for another Derby winner since the unbeaten Lammtarra lifted the trophy in 1995.

And so, a little after 4pm on Saturday, another champion will be crowned. Whether it’s an English, Irish or UAE trained winner is anybody’s guess.

But, a top class field and the excitement of the Epsom Derby should prove to be nothing less than spectacular once again.

(Written by Joe Goldring)

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View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing

Entries are out for two of the most prestigious handicaps in the racing calendar, the Wokingham stakes and the Royal Hunt Cup.

The Wokingham, established in 1813 is the oldest race at the renowned Ascot meeting write William Hill’s Joe Goldring.

Originally, the race was divided into three separate divisions and it wasn’t until 1874 that it became a single handicap.

The entry for the 6f handicap renewal this year is long and competitive, and the same trainers who have enjoyed success seem to be targeting the race once again.

William Haggas bids to retain the race having been victorious with the smart High Standing last year and relies on just the one entry, Bonnie Charlie. High Standing went on to prove his credentials in group company, notably finishing runner up to the likes of Regal Parade in the Group 1 Sprint Cup at Haydock, whilst Haggas was third in 2008 with King’s Apostle who went on to win the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville.

With Haggas’s previous entries going on to bigger and better things, it is no surprise that Hills have taken few chances with Bonnie Charlie and have installed the 104 rated colt at 20/1 in their initial lists.

Another trainer to have enjoyed success in the event is Richard Hannon, who in both 1990 and 1994 won the race with Venture Capitalist and Knight of Mercy respectively and has an entry for Listed winner Edge Closer, who is featuring prominently in the betting at 20/1 as well.

Year after year, the veteran handicappers, come back to woo the public in these valuable sprints and such a horse is Knot in Wood for Richard Fahey. Having run in the last three Wokingham’s and placed in the William Hill Ayr Gold Cup, is a respectable 25/1 chance this year.

Other notable entries include the last year’s third Rock of Rochelle (25/1), Kevin Ryan’s sprint campaigner Advanced, and the Godolphin trained Ancien Regime, winner of a Group 3 and bidding to go one better than last year’s runner up Asset.

The Royal Hunt Cup over Ascots straight mile is similar to the Wokingham in its quality and quantity.

Another big field handicap, it was first run in 1843 and interestingly is one of only three trophies at the meeting, along with the Gold Cup and the Queen Vase, which are presented by the Queen.

The Hunt Cup is always highly sought after, with the likes of Jeremy Noseda, Sir Michael Stoute and John Gosden providing recent winners.

Jeremy Noseda conquered the showpiece last year with Forgotten Voice, who went on to compete in Group 1 races most notably the Sussex stakes at Goodwood, and the Champion Stakes at Newmarket. Noseda holds three entries this year, Stoic and Himalya were both installed as 25-1 chances with Hills, whilst last year’s winners Forgotten Voice is a 16-1 shot.

Another trainer not to be ignored in handicaps is Luca Cumani, although, unusually, the Hunt Cup seems to have eluded the master of Bedford House.

This year Cumani bids to alter this with a handful of entries in Acrostic (16/1 - Hills), Axiom (25/1) Fortei Dei Marmi (16/1) and Mabait the current 10/1 favourite for the race in front of recent Victoria Cup winner Dandy Boy at 12/1.

Huzzah is also worthy of note, having finished a close second in last years race and having been out of form this season returns off a 10lb lower mark. He has been installed as a 33/1 shot while popular campaigner taking his chances once again is the Jamie Osborne trained Doc of the Bay (second to Mr Aviator back in 2008), and a 16/1 with Hills to go one better.

Joe Goldring, spokesman for William Hill, said: “Bookies love and hate the Wokingham never. Annually it turns into one of the biggest betting handicaps, of the season, but all too often a potential group horse is unleashed which punishes the layers. We currently make Enact and Ingleby Lady joint 12/1 favourites for the race, and entries for Enact looks like he could move on to bigger and better things after the Wokingham. Ingleby Lady looks relatively unexposed and open to improvement, whilst the Hunt Cup looks like a wide open contest. But, Luca Cumani catches the eye this year, looking for that elusive first win of the race and the likes of Mabait could easily be half that price if punters latch on to him. currently 10/1 favourite.”

Thanks to Joe Goldring for providing this piece.

Wokingham Handicap: 12-1 Enact, Ingleby Lady, 14-1 Johannes, Kaldoun Kingdom, 16/1 Al Khaleej, Bagamoyo, Genki, Jimmy Styles, Masamah, Redford, 20/1 Bonnie Charlie, Brae Hill, Edge Closer, Hawkeyethenoo, Hitchens, Laddies Poker Two, Medicean Man, Palace Moon, Rain Delayed, Wildcat Wizard, 25-1 BAR (1/4 ODDS A PLACE E/W 1,2,3,4)

Royal Hunt Cup: 10-1 Mabait, 12-1 Dandy Boy, 14-1 Fareer, Riggins, 16-1 Acrostic, Al Khaleej, Balcarce Nov, Bangalore Gold, Docofthebay, Forgotten Voice, Fortei Dei Marmi, Last Three Minutes, 20/1 BAR (1/4 odds a place)

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing

WILLIAM HILL say that the two losers David Cameron tipped listeners to the BBC Radio 4 Today programme have given the industry a million pound-plus fillip.

‘Had both of Mr Cameron’s horses won, bookies would have paid out over £1million to winning punters who followed his tips’ said Hill’s spokesman Graham Sharpe.

Mr Cameron selected Midnight Fantasy at Wolverhampton; and Daring Dream at Ayr. The former finished unplaced and the latter was runner-up.

‘Punters were keen to back the PM’s tips to the extent that we had to create a special section on our website enabling them to place bets on both horses.

We can only sympathise, and advise him not to give up the day job - any plans to gamble the country out of recession are prsumably now on hold - maybe he should let Mr Clegg have a go next!’ added Sharpe.

WILLIAM HILL HAD PLACED A £600 CHARITY BET ON THE TWO HORSES AND WILL NOW DONATE THE £600 STAKE MONEY TO MR CAMERON’S NOMINATED CHARITY.

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing

After the new Prime Minister, David Cameron turned into a racing tipster on the BBC ‘Today’ programme, bookmakers William Hill say they have been inundated by punters wanting to back the PM’s tips.

His selections were 4/1 chance Daring Dream running in the 3.50 at Ayr and Midnight Fantasy in the 3pm at Wolverhampton.

“The PM said he had picked the horses as both names were relevant to the new coalition,” said Hill’s spokesman Graham Sharpe.

“We can only hope that the PM is a better politician than tipster or this could cost us hundreds of thousands.”

Hills have placed a charity bet of £100 each-way on each horse and £100 each-way double on the two which could net almost £9000 for the relevant worthy cause.

Follow @Politics_Bets on twitter for the latest politics betting news

Follow @williamhillNews on twitter for all our betting news updates

Follow @sharpeangle for regular odds updates from Graham Sharpe

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing

A busy Tuesday afternoon with a delicious mix of flat and jumps action. Andy Holding, Jon Babb and Gareth Topham are the terrible trio in the studio.

On the podcast, Ross Brierley and Dave Kelner have a one sided glance at the flat action on Tuesday, whilst Aidan O’Brien and Jonny Murtagh chat about their Derby prospects.

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing

In our first Free Bets For Everyone offer of the weekend, we’re giving you the chance to get a free £10 first goalscorer bet on Saturday’s Spanish La Liga match, Villarreal v Barcelona match if you stake at least £20 on the Race Winner market in Saturday’s 2000 Guineas.

The first Classic of the 2010 Flat season gets underway on Saturday as the 19 strong field, the largest line-up for three years head to Newmarket for the 2,000 Guineas.

Ante-post favourite St Nicholas Abbey is one of three Aiden O’Brien runners, with Fencing Master and Viscount Nelson also set to run.

With Johnny Murtagh onboard, Racing Post Trophy winner St Nicholas Abbey will start from stall 12, while main market rival Elusive Pimpernel will come out of stall one, a point to note as this is the very stall which contained 2009 winner Sea The Stars.

It’s sure to be a thrilling race and if you stake £20 or more (£10 each-way) on the race winner market in Saturday’s 2000 Guineas (15:05 live on Channel 4), you’ll then be rewarded with a free £10 bet - with which you must select who you think will score the first goal in the Villarreal v Barcelona afternoon match which will be televised from 16:00 on Sky Sports 1. Your free bet will be awarded once your qualifying bet has been settled.

This offer is applicable from 17:30 BST Friday 30th April.

You cannot use this free bet offer in conjunction with any other.

Your free bet will be available once your qualifying bet has been settled.

Normal William Hill football rules apply.

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing