Published 9.03 & 9.13 - no further selections

TWILIGHT GLOW’s standout run as a two-year-old came at Newbury on the only occasion he encountered give in the ground, and he looks attractively handicapped in the 7f handicap at Goodwood (7.02) as he’s set to encounter conditions on the easy side for the first time since that run.

Having shown little on his first two juvenile runs on fast ground, he showed much-improved form when runner-up at odds of 40-1 at Newbury, clearly well suited by the softest surface he had encountered. The winner of that race has won a class 2 handicap this year and is now rated 93, whilst the third was given an opening mark of 76 and is now rated 82, so Twilight Glow’s chance now he drops to 0-70 grade is clear.

Twilight Glow wasn’t discredited on his seasonal debut at Kempton and then had no chance from stall 1 dropped to 6f at Ascot last time in a much better race than this, but it’s the return to an easy surface, together with a drop in class, that makes him of interest here.

HENRYTHENATE showed bags of early speed on his debut for a new yard at Chester last time and although the market has dismissed him, he might be worth chancing at big odds in the 3yo ‘Dash’ at Epsom Downs (1.30).

He seemed thoroughly exposed, rated just 65 after nine two-year-old starts for Charlie Fellowes, but he showed much-improved form fitted with a tongue tie for Stuart Williams, winning twice at Lingfield over 5f.

Switched to turf on his debut for Pat Morris, he was able to lie up with the pace set by eventual winner Exclamation and was going better than that rival 2f out, with the pair a couple of lengths clear of the remainder.

However, he couldn’t sustain his run, perhaps as a result of having raced wider than the winner throughout, and he eventually faded into fifth.

The early pace he showed should stand him in good stead if he’s able to replicate it on this very different track - indeed, he and the winner covered the first 3f faster than any of the runners in the class 2 handicap for older horses run the previous day, which certainly wasn’t run on slower ground.

Henrythenate has done most of his running round a bend so it remains to be seen how he handles this straight downhill track, but he certainly has plenty of raw speed and if he takes to the track, he could outrun his odds by some way.

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

1.30 EPSOM DOWNS

1pt win HENRYTHENATE (50-1 & 40-1 general)

7.02 GOODWOOD

2pts win TWILIGHT GLOW (7-1 & 13-2 general)

Published 10.06 - 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