Best of the Weekend Sport. Racing Selections from Sandown and Super Sunday Picks

The flat racing season is beginning to wind down as we reach the tail end of summer. However, several highlights remain, including the St. Leger Meeting and Champion’s Day at Ascot. This Saturday Sandown lays on a Group race double bill with cracking renewals of the Atalanta Stakes and Solario Stakes.

In contrast to the flat racing, the latest Premier League season is just beginning to find its stride, and Sunday sees the best of the Super Sunday offerings so far as the cameras travel to St. James’s Park and Old Trafford for Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United vs Liverpool.

Here, using data presented by NewBettingSites.uk, we pick out our best bets for a mouthwatering weekend of sport.

Saturday: Sky Bet Atalanta Stakes – Sandown 2:25

The Classic generation clashes with their elders in this 1m contest for the fillies, with the past ten years seeing a fifty/fifty split between three and four-year-old winners.

The incredibly well-bred Doha is the shortest price of the four-year-olds in her bid to hand Ralph Beckett another big race success. By Sea The Stars and out of dual Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Treve, pedigrees don't come much better. Seven runs into her career, it’s fair to say she won't be hitting the heights of her parents, but we fancy she could be up to making her presence felt in this grade.

Having toughed it out well to land the 24-runner Kensington Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, she was unfortunate not to pick up a Listed success when blocked at a crucial stage at Pontefract. The Group 1 Nassau Stakes was a step too far last time, but she only faded close home in that 1m2f event. That 4¾l fifth to Opera Singer reads well, and she can at least hit the frame, with the David Menusier-trained Tamfana and Doom feared most.

• Recommended Bet - Doha each way @ 13/2 LiveScoreBet

Saturday: Sky Bet Solario Stakes – Sandown 3:35

Won by Derby hero Masar in 2017 and Champion Juvenile Too Darn Hot in 2018, this 7f event for the youngsters is a race worth keeping an eye on. Eight go to post in 2024 - five of whom arrive on the back of a win.

Field Of Gold is the choice of the market following a smooth success at Newmarket, and goes for the Gosden operation, which is the joint most successful in the history of this race. It’s hard to fault the likeable grey, but he’s a short enough price and far from the only promising sort in the line-up.

Royal Playwright and the overpriced Victory Sound make the shortlist, but the one to be on is the Ralph Beckett runner, Matauri Bay. This full-brother to the Group 1-winning Aunt Pearl made a huge impression on debut when quickening twice inside the final furlong to put the race to bed. To win in such style, despite displaying signs of inexperience, marked the colt out as a horse to keep on side. This is a hot race, but we suspect he may be up to the task.

• Recommended Bet - Matauri Bay to win @ 9/2 with QuinnBet

Sunday: Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur 1:30

The first stop in the slightly earlier Super Sunday games takes us to the North East as Eddie Howe and Newcastle welcome Ange Postecoglu and Spurs. These battles of the big guns often turn into damp squibs, but that hasn’t been the case in this fixture, with the past five Premier League meetings featuring a whopping 25 goals. Focussing on the games at St. James’s, Newcastle battered Spurs 6-1 in 2022/23 and dished out a 4-0 beating last season.

From what we have seen from the Magpies so far this season, it’s tough to see them repeating such a scoreline. Second-best even before the sending-off against Southampton in their opener, they showed admirable character to pick up a 1-0 win but have played well only in patches in subsequent games at Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest. Still without Fabian Schar, the injured Sven Botman and, with Marc Guehi's transfer saga seemingly heading nowhere, the hosts have serious questions across their back line.

Spurs have shown a higher overall level in their two games. Dominant for 45 minutes against Leicester, a failure to take their chances came back to haunt them as they were pegged back in the second half. They completely outclassed Everton in a 4-0 win last weekend and will look to build on that here. That said, Newcastle are tough to keep quiet on their own patch and are close to full strength in attack. As has been the case in recent games, goals may be on the menu on the banks of the Tyne.

• Recommended Bet - Over 4.5 goals @ 41/20 with LiveScoreBet

Sunday: Manchester United vs Liverpool 3:30pm

All eyes on Manchester for what is always one of the most anticipated fixtures of the season. One of only four sides to win each of their opening fixtures, Liverpool start as the odds-on favourites in this one, but the Red Devils will draw encouragement from their recent clashes with the Merseysiders on home soil.

Despite their underwhelming League form for the past two seasons, United beat Liverpool 2-1 here in 2022/23, drew 2-2 last season, and knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup here in March.

Liverpool have impressed going forward in their opening two games, but this represents an altogether tougher task than Ipswich away and Brentford at home. Their new possession-heavy, play-it-out-from-the-back system came under little pressure in those games, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see it crack here, with United sure to harass the Reds from the off. United invariably play above themselves in this game, are stronger at the back than last year, and look good value to pick up the points.

• Recommended Bet - Manchester United to Win and Both Teams to Score @ 4/1 with QuinnBet

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