Champion jockey Oisin Murphy can be backed at +16400 with Bovada to win the two handicaps he rides in at the Flat meeting at Newbury on Saturday.
Kasbaan (14:25) and Bright Eyed Eagle (16:45) are not prominent in the betting, but both races are open-looking contests. If Murphy's rides make the frame, the place element of an each-way bet will pay over +1000.
Online bookmakers have the field at +400 in both races, which means bets on two winning favourites will be settled at +2400. There could be more value in a double on Murphy's mounts, as the jockey has a good record at Newbury.
The Irishman has had 19 rides at the track during the current Flat season for five wins at a strike rate of 21%. Murphy has ridden in 282 races in total at Newbury, and almost one-third of those horses have finished in the frame.
Kasbaan is trained my Michael Appleby, who has had only 32 runners at Newbury over the last 10 years and just 2 winners. However, almost 20% of his entries have been placed, while the average outright starting price (SP) for these horses is just over +500.
The trainer of Bright Eyed Eagle is Ed Walker, whose 12 wins since May 2011 at Newbury have come from 131 runs. His place strike rate is an impressive 32.1% at an average SP of +700. Three of those wins came in the last 12 months for a strike rate of 13%.
Murphy has ridden for Appleby in six races over the last 12 months and delivered one winner. However, 32 rides for Walker since last August have produced six winners and nine places. The win rate there is almost 19%, which is a decent return for the combination.
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Murphy won the Flat jockeys' championship in 2019. His 1,053 rides produced 192 wins to clinch his first title in a riding career that began in the 2012/13 season. He has won 27 races at Newbury, where he has seven rides on Saturday.
Kasbaan is currently quoted at +1400 to win the Unibet You're On Handicap, which is the third race on the card. It is a Class 2 race for horses aged three and older over the straight mile. The projected going is good to soft/good in places, but no rain is forecast.
While Murphy's mount has won at the distance and in the class, the horse has only been placed at or above the handicap mark. Kasbaan has won three races in 17 starts and runs off an Official Rating of 92. All told, there is enough form in the horse's career for Murphy to win the race and deliver the first leg of the handicap double.
The Unibet 3 Boosts A Day Handicap is the seventh race on the Newbury card. This is a Class 4 race for horses three years and older over one mile and two furlongs. Bright Eyed Eagle is joint fifth in the betting at a best price of +1000.
Walker's runner has won on similar going but not in the class. The horse runs off an OR of 83, only two points shy of the highest rating among the 14 horses declared to run. That means Bright Eyed Eagle does not need to produce a great deal of improvement to complete the double.
Murphy has the personality and manner to promote the sport like Frankie Dettori has done over the last 25 years. He has the ability to win multiple Classics and Group races, but he also delivers in terms of quantity in the bread-and-butter races.
The two Newbury handicaps for professionals offer first prizes of less than £10,000, so they are ordinary. Murphy could reward his backers by winning both races and delivering a big-priced double or a nice return if his two rides only make the payout places.