2026 BetVictor Novices' Handicap Betting Tips
The second race on Saturday's Newbury card is a novices' handicap hurdle sponsored by BetVictor. This is a fairly long-distance encounter over two miles and three furlongs, with Razors Edge showing as the early favourite to win. The horse made his bow at Chepstow in November when finishing third out of eleven and has since run well at Newbury.
On the latter occasion, the Dan Skelton-trained runner was fourth out of eight runners, with the 16/1 chance performing well over two miles, half a furlong. It's possible that Razors Edge will perform better over a longer distance and the same applies to Storming George. This is another six-year-old with potential and the horse ran well at Kempton last time out.
There was a victory at Doncaster towards the end of November when winning on the soft ground, with a disappointing outing at Aintree being followed by a second placed effort back at Doncaster. That was in a handicap hurdle over a similar distance to this race and there was a midfield placing in the Dovecote Novices' Hurdle.
Galashiels was second for Nicky Henderson on his previous outing, with the seven-year-old potentially well weighted for this encounter. The horse performed well on soft ground to finish second out of eleven at Newbury in mid-February, with that coming after finishing in the places at Wincanton. That was in a maiden hurdle on heavy ground.
2025 BetVictor Novices’ Handicap Hurdle Tips
We’re looking forward to the BetVictor Novices’ Handicap Hurdle and the bookies are sure to be offering extra places for a race which is wide open. A maximum of sixteen runners will go to post for an encounter where Hartington looks a viable contender. The six-year-old has landed consecutive runner-up spots after previously winning at Newbury in November.
Alexei has landed consecutive victories this season and the five-year-old is also among the favourites for this encounter. Last time out, the horse could only manage to finish fourth out of six runners at Exeter, having previously racked up a couple of wins at Taunton. However, this horse is one of the top weights in the race.
Authentic Legacy was first past the post in his previous showing, with Gary & Josh Moore training a five-year-old who could be well handicapped for this encounter. There was a victory at Newbury at the beginning of March, with the 9/4 favourite landing a three-length success and there could be more to come from this charge here.
Glynn Brae has been successful in back to back outings, with Nigel Twiston-Davies training a runner who is top weight for this race. The last triumph came at Fontwell in a small field and that came after succeeding at the same track a few weeks earlier. It will be interesting to see whether the five-year-old can step things up again here.