York free racing tips: Betting options galore in wide open October Finale opener

13:30 York: William Hill Top Price Guarantee Autumn Handicap (1 mile)

With only a couple of points covering the top half-dozen early market leaders, this is clearly a wide-open affair, in which top-weighted Blue For You looks a likely favourite for David O’Meara after chalking up his third course-distance win here in July.

O’Meara has three well-fancied candidates in this 16-runner-line-up, including dual Hamilton winner Theoryofeverything, but it is another of his stablemates, Padishakh, who has caught our eye as a prime contender.

Suggested Best Bet: Padishakh in the 13:30 at York

The four-year-old comes here in good nick after a near miss when last seen three weeks ago at Ayr, where he was narrowly beaten by just a neck behind Aragon Castle, whose two wins and two seconds from seven 2024 outings suggests a decent form line.

Indeed, Padishakh has improved In each of his last three starts, upped in class in turn and posting a career-best effort at Ayr in terms of both speed and performance. 

• Preview and suggested best bet provided by TommyTheTipper on Tipstrr

The capable David Nolan is rebooked for the ride after coming so close last time out at Ayr , and having won on soft and good-to-soft before, connections are confident that their gelding will be able to handle the potentially testing conditions.

The draw could be better than his 14-stall but he will at least have the benefit of being drawn near Zealot, who usually runs over further (and is worth a look as an outsider option), so hopefully he is quick out the gate to give Padishakh an early tow into the race. 

Outsider Punt: Zealot in the 13:30 at York