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Salisbury Racecourse: preview and tips for Saturday’s bumper eight-race card

By Sporting Life.

SALISBURY Racecourse hosts its latest meeting of the Flat season with an eight-race card taking place on Saturday (May 24) afternoon and evening.

Racing gets underway at 4.45pm with a class four novice stakes for the two-year-olds before the action comes to a close at 8.20pm as seven runners take on the mile and three quarter handicap in class five.

Read below for the latest tips and a full preview of the Salisbury card courtesy of Sporting Life.

The opening contest on the Salisbury card sees 11 runners head to the start for the class four handicap over five furlongs (4.45).

Preference in the opener heads the way of Son Of Sarabi, who disappointed at Goodwood three weeks ago, but the form of his close second in the Brocklesby at Doncaster is backed up by the time figure so he is worth another chance this time around for the Jonathan Portman yard.

Filly Foden should be in the firing line again and is the main threat for trainer Alice Haynes.

Race two on the card (5.20) is another class four contest, this time a handicap over a mile and eight runners will take it on.

James Fanshawe’s lightly raced Sky Safari made it three wins from four starts when resuming with an impressive victory at Kempton last month and a 6lb rise in the weights doesn’t look sufficient to prevent her from going in again and making it four wins from five.

A small field of three takes on the mile conditions stakes at 5.50 to mark the third race of the day and Stanhope Gardens, trained by Ralph Beckett, should have this one in the bag from the get-go, pulling clear of the rest when pushing Delacroix (currently one of the market leaders for the Epsom Derby) very close in a Group 3 at Newmarket in the autumn and can make a winning return for this season en route to much better things.

The one who stands out in race four (6.20) is Realign, a huge €550,000 purchase at the breeze-up sales who finished an excellent third in the Convivial maiden at York on his final two-year-old start and will surely take plenty of beating if anywhere near that level on his return to action for the William Haggas team.

Jasour ran poorly on his final start last season but has since had a breathing operation and, having run out a ready winner of the Pavillion Stakes at Ascot on his 2024 reappearance, there’s every reason to believe he can bounce back with a bang in 2025 in race five at Salisbury (6.50), which is the feature race of the day with the Listed Cathedral Stakes, worth a handy £28,355 to the winner.

Race six (7.20) can head the way of Kosometsuke, who proved a different proposition sent handicapping when justifying favouritism with something to spare at Kempton last week and a 5lb rise may not be enough to prevent the follow up, while the penultimate race of the evening (7.50) sees Babylon, who found only another progressive sort too strong on his handicap debut at Yarmouth last month, get the nod to go one better for trainer Harry Eustace.

Finally, the Salisbury card comes to a close at 8.20 as a field of seven tackle the Salisbury Flower Shed Handicap over the mile and three quarter trip in class five.

Preference in the finale heads the way of Eve Johnson Houghton’s Robusto, who arrives on a good mark back on turf after a good recent Southwell second, so gets the nod over Wannabe Brave, who didn’t enjoy the rub of the green when third at Chelmsford City last time.

Salisbury selections – Saturday

  • 4.45 – Son Of Sarabi
  • 5.20 – Sky Safari
  • 5.50 – Stanhope Gardens
  • 6.20 – Realign
  • 6.50 – Jasour
  • 7.20 – Kosometsuke
  • 7.50 – Babylon
  • 8.20 – Robusto

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