Hugh Taylor

Published 9.00, 9.18 & 9.25 - all selections online

Ollie Pears has four runners as he bids to land the Rous Selling Stakes at York (2.25) for the fourth year in a row, a remarkable record for a small yard in what is a valuable race of its type, and the interesting one of his quartet might be ENEMY ACTION, who left the impression he’d find plenty of improvement for his debut sixth at Beverley last month.

He was very green in the early stages at Beverley and soon found himself a fair way behind, but although he still had only one behind him approaching the furlong pole, he stayed on well as the penny dropped to finish a never-nearer sixth.

He recorded the fastest final furlong of any of the three two-year-old 5f races run that day and left the impression he’d be well suited by 6f, whilst he should have a good chance of reversing the form with his stable mate Lady Dublin, who had the benefit of a previous run and finished fourth after racing much more prominently.

There are three previous winners in this race (all in selling events) and it looks a bit stronger than some of the previous renewals, but Enemy Action looks just the type to take a big step forward from that debut.

FEEL THE NEED isn’t the easiest to predict, but he has saved some of his best efforts for York and having shaped as if in need of the run on his recent return from a four-month break, he might bounce back to form in the 7f apprentice handicap (1.50 York).

He finished second to Tolstoy, another course specialist, in this race in 2024 before reversing the positions with that rival last year, and although he made his reappearance here last month, when he looked in much better form than his finishing position suggests, still on the bridle early in the straight and heavily eased by his rider in the closing stages.

His mark is now as low as it has ever been and his rider Mason Paetel is a useful booking in this type of apprentice event - he’s ridden 47 winners but jockeys with fewer than 50 winners still claim a 3lb allowance here.

His high draw isn’t ideal, but if he gets a decent pace to aim at he’d have good claims on his best form.

Of the remainder, Leadman is probably capable of winning this with his head in his chest if putting everything together, especially if in the same form as when a fast-finishing second at the Dante meeting, but he’s hard to catch right and looks the type that needs everything to drop right for him.

OVERBUDGET hasn’t built on a promising racecourse debut at Nottingham last year, but that was her sole run on deep ground to date, and she might be suited by the return to a softish surface at Goodwood this evening (7.14).

She was no match for the impressive winner at Nottingham, but shaped well herself in second, recording a fast final furlong in the context of the meeting and pulling well clear of the third, who had run well on similar ground over the same course and distance earlier in the season.

Overbudget was subsequently an expensive failure at Wolverhampton on her 2026 debut and didn’t run well at Windsor on her handicap debut, but she performed better at Wetherby last time and it could be that a return to a softer surface is what she needs.

HUGH'S BEST BETS (scale 1-5 points)

1.50 YORK

1pt win FEEL THE NEED (18-1 general)

2.25 YORK

1pt win ENEMY ACTION (11-1 & 10-1 general)

7.14 GOODWOOD

1pt win OVERBUDGET (6-1 & 11-2 general, 13-2 William Hill)

Published 10/06

There’s nothing else I like at the odds this morning for today’s cards, but looking ahead to Saturday’s big betting race, the Churchill Tyres Supporting Macmillan Sprint Handicap at York (3.35), the one I like is FORTIFICATION, who has two extremely solid pieces of form to his name at the track over 5f and shapes as if he might improve again at this trip.

He sprang a 40-1 surprise to end a long losing run for Brian Ellison on his stable debut at the Dante meeting, having only a couple of the 17 runners behind him well inside the final 2f before storming home to get up near the line.

That form was very much franked in the 3yo 'Dash' at the Derby meeting on Saturday when the third, fourth and seventh from the York race filled the first three places in what was a valuable 16-runner class 2 handicap.

Fortification then ran against his elders in a hot 2 class handicap, again over 5f at York, and acquitted himself very well, finishing a never-nearer fourth. That form is again starting to work out well, with the winner running very well when third in another hot handicap at Epsom at the weekend and the third bolting up at Doncaster next time.

Fortification runs off the same mark here which means he has to carry just 8st 5lb back against his own age group, with Jo Mason booked for the ride. This is usually just about the hottest three-year-old sprint handicap of the season, and the draw might add complications, but Fortification looks to have very solid claims based on his course form this year and as there might be even more to come over this trip, he makes appeal at the current double-figure odds.

HUGH'S BEST BETS (scale 1-5 points)

CHURCHILL TYRES SUPPORTING MACMILLAN SPRINT HANDICAP, YORK, SATURDAY 13 JUNE

1pt win FORTIFICATION (12-1 bet365, Betfair Sportsbook, BoyleSports, Paddy Power, Sky Bet & Unibet.

Published 04/06

The first thing that has to be said about backing SENORITA BONITA for the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot is that both Simon Crisford and racing manager Chris Wall commented after her impressive win at Nottingham yesterday that the Albany Stakes was also an option, but in my view the Queen Mary is the more logical route, and as she’s available at what I consider bigger odds than she should be for the 5f race, it looks a chance worth taking backing her ante-post.

She found herself in far from an ideal position at Nottingham after a slowish start, soon pushed out onto a wing, and then had to be switched round a couple of rivals to make her challenge.

The manner in which she picked up under a hands-and-heels ride once in the clear was really impressive, showing a turn of foot which suggests she would be thoroughly effective if kept to this trip at Royal Ascot.

My initial interpretation of the times is a very positive one and to my mind the Queen Mary is the logical destination for her. The Albany Stakes is already looking a strong renewal, with Aidan O’Brien having two very likely-looking candidates for that race (acknowledging one of them could be re-routed), whereas the Queen Mary favourite is Wild Blossom, who was visually impressive when winning a four-runner race on soft ground at Carlisle by a wide margin but recorded a slower time than that of the 62-rated seven-year-old who won the following race over the same distance.

If Senorita Bonita turns up in the Queen Mary I think there’s a good chance she will start at less than half her current odds, so she looks worth chancing now in the hope that that is where connections decide to run her.

HUGH'S BEST BETS (scale 1-5 points)

QUEEN MARY STAKES, ROYAL ASCOT, WEDNESDAY 17 JUNE

1pt win SENORITA BONITA (13-2 bet365, 6-1 Betfair Sportsbook, Paddy Power, Sky Bet, William Hill, 5-1 Unibet)

At The Races have agreed to a change to my working days for this column as of 2025. Whilst this job has always been a labour of love rather than being remotely onerous, it does require a fair commitment of time, and after 16 years of producing a column for seven days a week, I wanted to give myself more time with my family, as the nature of working every day means that there have been limitations on what I could do with them, especially in terms of things like short trips away etc.

With that in mind, I’m no longer going to do a column on weekends (with the exception of Royal Ascot Saturday) and will instead be doing my column from Monday to Friday only. I’m grateful to At The Races for their support in this matter.

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Important Note: The prices quoted in Hugh's column are those available at the time of publication (see top of article for exact times). These are checked both by Hugh and the person uploading the column. Readers should be aware that one of the main aims of this column is to demonstrate how Hugh uses his methodology to identify horses that are value at the time of publication. Hugh’s tipping record (including profit & loss and return on investment) is published for the purposes of transparency and to demonstrate how selections have performed at the prices available at the time of publication. Readers should be aware that accepting shorter odds than those quoted will result in lower returns. There is no guarantee that the prices quoted by Hugh in his column will continue to be available after publication, because the bookmakers are aware of Hugh’s record over a very long period and tend to cut the odds very quickly once the column is published. For further explanations of the aims of the column, please see the FAQ.

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2026 results  
2025 results ROI 1.34 +170 pts
2024 results ROI 1.05 +33.55 pts
2023 results ROI 1.27 +190 pts
2022 results ROI 1.12 +86 pts
2021 results ROI 1.40 +281 pts
2020 results ROI 1.13 +66.37pts
2019 results ROI 1.16 +101.38pts
2018 results ROI 1.55 +345pts
2017 results ROI 1.46 +282pts
2016 results ROI 1.44 +281pts
2015 results ROI 1.34 +207pts
2014 results ROI 1.32 +199.79pts
2013 results ROI 1.32 +210pts
2012 results ROI 1.31 +222.65pts
2011 results ROI 1.28 +302.64 pts
2010 results ROI 1.23 +324.79 pts
2009 results ROI 1.26 +500.36 pts