The 2018 Ascot Silver Cup betting tips given by Horsebetting.com experts say Gold Present is worth a punt to land back-to-back successes in the 3m handicap chase at the Berkshire venue on Saturday, 22 December, now eased in grade. Benatar has a solid record at the track, so rates the main danger. Minella Daddy is another with some decent course form to his name, so looks a lively outsider and each-way player. Our in-depth Ascot Silver Cup betting tips preview below has more details on these horses’ chances.Class-dropping Gold Present can capture more Ascot Silver Cup gloryGold Present shaped well on seasonal reappearance, so now eased in grade looks worth a bet to land back-to-back runnings of the Listed 3m Ascot Silver Cup at the Berkshire venue on Saturday (15:00). This Nicky Henderson trained eight-year-old has won three of his 10 starts over fences and was most impressive when landing the spoils 12 months ago.
After chasing the leaders, the son of Presenting responded well to pressure to challenge at the last. A superb jump then took him into the lead and he stayed on strongly to beat Frodon by three lengths off a mark of 147.
Gold Present won going away and the runner-up, to whom he was conceding 1lb, has won twice this season – landing the Grade 2 Old Roan Chase at Aintree and the ultra-competitive Grade 3 Caspian Caviar Gold Cup at Cheltenham off a rating of 164.
The third home Walk In The Mill has gone on to land the Grade 2 Becher Handicap Chase at Aintree, whilst O O Seven – who finished fourth – also won last weekend at Doncaster off a rating of 147. That gives the form a rock solid look and suggests that Gold Present should have no problems in winning races off his current mark of 152.
He also comes into the race having shaped with plenty of promise at this venue when a plugging on 10 1/2 lengths third to the very smart Politologue in the Grade 2 1965 Chase when facing a mammoth task on official ratings. That run should have blow away the cobwebs and this represents a return to much calmer waters.
Gold Present looks to have been primed for this, while another plus is that Henderson continues to bang in the winners and is operating at a strike rate of just under 26 per cent in the last 14 days at the time of writing. There is simply nothing bot to like about his profile here and his chances in this look glaringly obvious. That’s why Gold Present had to be the main selection in our 2018 Ascot Silver Cup bettings tips.Benatar the main dangerIn a race where a case can be made for plenty, the Gary Moore trained Benatar is feared most. This six-year-old son of Beneficial has a 66 per cent strike rate at the venue having won two of his three starts at it.
In the last of those successes over 2m 5f, Benatar showed a tremendous attitude to tenaciously fend off the persistent challenge of Finian’s Oscar to land a Grade 2 by a short-head. That completed a hat-trick of successes and saw him sent off 10/1 for the Grade 1 JLT Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Although beaten 12 lengths into third behind Shattered Love, Benatar stuck to the task really well and was giving weight to both the winner and runner-up Terrefort, who was a Grade 1 winner heading into the race having landed the Scilly Isles at Sandown.
His old rival Finian’s Oscar, who was 3 3/4 lengths behind him in fifth, also came out and recorded success at the highest level at Aintree’s Grand National meeting, so taking everything into account it was a fine effort by Benatar and the form looks really strong.
Benatar has failed to trouble the judge in two starts this season, but his latest effort when fourth to Politologue in the aforementioned 1965 Chase was not devoid of promise. He finished six lengths behind Gold Present that day, so has work to do to turn the tables on exactly the same terms.
However, the gelding appears to be building up to a big run and it would be no surprise to see him get much close and make his presence felt in this. Benatar is therefore expected to give Gold Present most to think about.Minella Daddy a lively outsiderOf those at bigger odds, Minella Daddy looks a lively outsider capable of making the frame. This Peter Bowen trained eight-year-old also has a good record over course and distance, having won once and been placed twice from four starts.
The success came two years ago where he stayed on strongly to land a 13-runner class 3 contest by seven lengths off a mark of 131. Minella Daddy then ran a cracker next time up off 142 when finding only Regal Encore 1 3/4 lengths too good over course and distance in a 14-runner Listed race.
Minella Daddy then suffered an injury when pulled up at Kempton and spent 390 days on the sidelines. However, the son of Flemensfirth showed that he retained plenty of ability when again chasing home Regal Encore in a similar grade affair over course and distance back in February off a rating of 137.
The form of the aforementioned races makes Minella Daddy of interest in this off a rating of 136. He looks more than capable of outrunning his odds if bouncing back from a disappointing effort last time out here when never jumping with any fluency, so therefore features as the each-way punt and completes our Ascot Silver Cup betting tips.Your Next Bet
