Navan Horse Racing Tips: Best Bets For Saturday's Action

January 16, 2026

See here our best bets for Saturday’s action at Navan headlined by the €45,000 Navan Handicap Hurdle.

The ground is currently soft to heavy with a mainly dry forecast in the build-up to racing.

Navan Horse Racing Tips

12:10 – Welonlyhavedone @ 9/1 E/W
12:45 – Court Compliance @ 11/4
2:25 – Ballybow @ 14/1 E/W

12:10 – Race Displays Rated Novice Hurdle – WELONLYHAVEDONE @ 9/1 E/W

The Gavin Cromwell stable is really struggling to fire at the moment but he’s bound to come back to form at some point and it could begin with WELONLYHAVEDONE who should have a nice each-way chance in the opener.

A forgiving heart is needed after this six-year-old was pulled up in a Grade 2 at Cheltenham in November but the drop back to two miles should be in his favour on testing ground.

He was very much in contention to beat Declan Queally’s recent Grade 1 Ballymore Novice Hurdle winner I’ll Sort That at Galway in October when coming down at the final flight and if he can find that form again he will be competitive here.

Cromwell won this race with Path d’Oroux in 2023 and this is surely one of his best chances of a result across the weekend. The drop back in trip isn’t guaranteed to suit market leader Lazare De Star whose mark of 126 connections will be seeking to protect.

With that in mind there’s an each-way angle into this contest and marginal preference goes to Welonlyhavedone who is still very unexposed and surely has a lot more to offer in this company.

12:45 – Navanracecourse.ie Maiden Hurdle – COURT COMPLIANCE @ 11/4

Willie Durkan’s COURT COMPLIANCE should prove a tough nut to crack in the only maiden hurdle on the card with two decent runs under his belt this season.

His first effort at Punchestown was a promising run, only just touched off by Champagne Kid who was in receipt of 7lbs that day and subsequently landed the Listed €100,000 Neville Hotels Premier Handicap Hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas.

He was then runner-up at Down Royal when sent off a 5/6 favourite on St. Stephen’s Day to a decent recruit of Gordon Elliott’s, Sept Etoiles, who will contest a decent race at Thurles on Sunday.

Court Compliance has to be a winner in waiting and this looks a good opportunity for him to get off the mark. His point-to-point form with Newbrook Diamond reads okay and I’d be disappointed if he wasn’t up to taking the spoils.

2:25 – QuinnBet Beginners Chase – BALLYBOW @ 14/1 E/W

BALLYBOW is a fine big stamp of a horse who was made to jump fences and he’s entitled to come on in bundles from a solid reappearance effort at this track in December.

The further this lad goes the better he is and going back up to three miles on soft ground will be his bread and butter. The form of his Grade 3 win over hurdles at Clonmel last February against Ballygunner Castle has worked out well and that rival has put in some decent efforts in this code.

I’d be keen to take on his better-fancied stablemate Wingmen who has looked a bit of a dodge in his last pair of runs and while Slade Steel is the rightful favourite there isn’t much juice in his price – although if you like him it might be worth taking some of the 50/1 going for the Brown Advisory before.

This race could turn into a real energy-sapping slog fest and Ballybow makes good each-way appeal at the prices.