2022 Ascot Handicap Hurdle Betting Odds at Ascot racecourse

Saturday, 17 December 2022

While Pikar looks a solid each-way prospect, the 2022 Betfair Exchange Trophy could be all about creating a shortlist of potential winners. There could be as many as 21 horses lining up for this race over nearly two miles, with several horses trading at a similar price and it will be interesting to see whether Goshen goes for this race or the Long Distance Hurdle.

Watch out for Ascot price boosts when you go through the racecard at the top horse racing betting sites. Pikar could be the subject of a gamble depending on the going, with some talented hurdlers lining up in a bid to claim some pre-Christmas prize money. Harry Fry has a couple of lively each-way contenders.

2022 Betfair Exchange Trophy Tips

Pikar has been installed as the bookmaker favourite to win the 2022 Betfair Exchange Trophy, with the horse likely to put on an impressive showing if he can repeat the performance which saw him claim a victory in a Novices’ Hurdle at Chepstow Racecourse recently. There was plenty to like about a five-length win and there could be more to come from this runner.

Hacker Des Places returns to Ascot after a fairly impressive showing at the same track on his previous outing. Finishing second meant that each-way backers were rewarded and Paul Nicholls is a trainer who could be worth following for this meeting, with his five-year-old having also won a handicap hurdle at Aintree.

Nicky Henderson is no stranger to success at Ascot and he has an interesting runner in the form of First Street lining up. Sent off as the 3/1 joint-favourite for the Coral Bet Bundles Intermediate Handicap Hurdle, there was a solid two-and-a-half length win for the runner who was second in last season’s County Handicap Hurdle.

Maybe Highway One O Two is a value selection when you consider that the runner actually beat Hacker Des Places by over seven lengths when the horses clash. It’s the sort of race which will benefit each-way backers and trainer Harry Fry has a couple of interesting runners in the form of Metier and Lightly Squeeze.


2021 Betfair Exchange Trophy Betting Tips

Nicky Henderson will hope that the market leader can go close in the race, with the five-year-old opening the season with a couple of victories and the first of these was at Southwell before another facile win at Worcester. The horse wasn’t far away when running in the more competitive Greatwood Handicap Hurdle.

However, there are two other horses trading at similar racing betting odds. Paul Nicholls could have more than one winner on Long Walk Hurdle day, with this trainer having a talented four-year-old in the form of Samarrive. Harry Cobden was on board when steering the runner to victory in the Betfair Daily Rewards December Handicap Hurdle.

West Cork probably has the best claims to being favourite for this race, with Harry Skelton’s horse winning the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle and the runner has a habit of running into the places which is encouraging from an each-way point-of-view. The seven-year-old hadn’t raced for eighteen months and could be open to further improvement.

Boothill, Goshen and Soaring Glory Also Among Favourites

Boothill runs for trainer Harry Fry and the horse wound up third in the Bateaux London Handicap Hurdle when being sent off as the 5/2 favourite, while there was another below-par outing when being sent off at odds-on but fourth place suggests that the horse isn’t at all a good thing.

Goshen is a very bizarre horse who is currently entered in this race, with the Gary Moore-trained runner having stormed clear in the JCB Triumph Hurdle in 2020 only to unseat his rider and the runner has been hit and miss since then. There was an impressive win in the Kingwell Hurdle earlier in the year, although it was a below-par outing in the Champion Hurdle when finishing eighth.

Soaring Glory claimed the spoils in the Bateaux London Handicap Hurdle and the six-year-old is capable of running a big race here, with the horse then finishing last out of four horses in a hurdle race over two miles.