ITV Racing Tips for Today - Saturday 17th January

It's the second day of the Winter Millions Festival and the focus moves to Ascot and the feature race of the weekend of the Clarence House Chase, seeing Il Etait Temps and Jonbon lock horns again. With a strong card from Ascot and graded action coming from Haydock, we've looked at all the live races across the two cards.

Old Park Star 8/11

Looked a really nice hurdling prospect after getting the better of Un Sens A La Vie at Kempton and bolting up at Cheltenham under a penalty. Sits prominently in the Supreme Novice Hurdle betting and will be looking to further enhance his Cheltenham claims with another big run here. A replication of his effort last time out will see him hard to beat.

La Conquiere 5/4

A lightly raced 7 year old, La Conqueire built upon her 2nd in the Graded Aintree Mares’ bumper when winning first time up over hurdles at Uttoxeter. She took another step forward last time out when handily winning a listed race at Newbury. Gets weight from Nurse Susan here who will likely find the trip too sharp. This Jamie Snowden trained mare should keep her unbeaten record over hurdles here.

Myretown 5/2

Exploded onto the stayers chasing scene with an incredible performance in the 2025 Ultima, making all the running to an 11 lengths win. Sent off a warm favourite for the Coral Gold Cup in November but unfortunately came down at the 9th fence after hitting the front. Has been given plenty of time to recover from that fall and carries a nice racing weight of 10st11 here. Can continue his progression in this sphere and should prove better than a mark of 142.

Scarface 7/1

Seems to handle any kind of underfoot conditions and ran well over course and distance in a similar event last time out, coming 2nd to Etalon. Only nudged up 1lbs in the weights for that 2nd place, a mark of 136 still leaves him well enough treated to win a race of this nature. Should go well again under usual pilot Brendan Powell.

Phantomofthepoints 7/2

His two efforts at this venue have come in a competitive grade three event in November and he’s recorded a good 3rd place finish both times. A stark drop in grade to class 3 and only 2lbs higher than his mark when placed here in November, he looks set up for another big run. Fell over fences when last seen last month and should relish this return to hurdling.

Tripoli Flyer 7/1

Looked a classy novice hurdler but hasn’t been able to put much of a run together this season. An attempt at novice chasing was abandoned after 2 poor efforts over fences and a run in the Christmas Hurdle last month behind Sir Gino was an ambitious bit of placing. Drops into handicap ranks now and although a mark of 140 looks on the stiff side, he could yet continue to find improvement over hurdles and this step up in trip should suit. Could well bounce back to form in this sphere.

Il Etait Temps 8/15

It’s impossible not to side with Il Etait Temps after he’s already soundly beaten Jonbon twice and looks one of the best 2 mile chasers on either side of the Irish Sea at the minute. A demolition job in the Tingle Creek saw Jonbon back in 2nd again. Placings should remain the same as their encounter at Sandown last month.

Below we've put together some of the best bookmaker offers and promotions ahead of Friday's racing to get Free Bets for the racing from Ascot & Haydock.

• Win Double
• Accumulator Tips
• Lucky 15 Tips
• Request-a-bet Tips
• ITV 7 Tips

Other specific tips available include:

• NAP of the Day
• Each Way Tips
• Dark Horse Tips