HARRY SKELTON: Newbury Friday

We’ve got plenty of chances on Friday at Newbury. We’ve been very grateful for the rainfall over the past two weeks as it’s meant we’ve been able to get a lot of our horses out and running on suitable ground, writes HARRY SKELTON.

It’s been nice to see some of them finally being able to enjoy their racing after that long, dry period.

NEWBURY

FRIDAY

MON KAPLAIS – 12:10pm Newbury

He’s had one run at Chepstow where he ran okay. It was a muddling race – the field got split in two halves – and he was just a bit babyish and green throughout. I see him as a future chaser, but he needs plenty of time.

ASTA LA PASTA – 12:45pm Newbury

We’re dropping him back to two miles here and we’re hoping the ground is slow enough for him, as that’s how he likes it. He got the job done last time out, he jumped well and took charge of the race when the favourite fell. Hopefully, he can build on that again and he has plenty of ability, so I don’t think he’s without a chance.

FLOWERING – 1:20pm Newbury

There’s plenty of money on offer in this Listed race so we’re having a crack at it with her. She won at Warwick, albeit in quite a low-key race, and has come on very well for that run. She’s in good form coming into it and we’d be delighted if she can find the places and pick up some prize money.

BOOMBAWN – 1:55pm Newbury

He’s got plenty of experience under his belt for a novice and has done very little wrong. He won well in tough style last time out at Wincanton in a race that was run quite quickly on good ground, which seemed to suit him. The ground will be slower for him here, but we’re limited in our options so we’re having a go at picking up some money.

HELTENHAM – 2:30pm Newbury

He’s a course-and-distance winner and is unbeaten at Newbury. He loves soft ground and the track clearly suits him well. I’ll be giving him a hold-up ride, to keep a lid on him for as long as possible on the slow ground. In an ideal world, we’d have already got a run under his belt but the ground just hasn’t worked out for him. We’ve done plenty of work with him at home and if he can put in a clear round, he should hold every chance.

LANGER DAN – 3:05pm Newbury

It was great last year to win a Coral Cup at the Festival with him, and he stepped up again following that with another great run at Aintree. This is a marked step up and he’s got the highest rating of the four runners. He’s been a tricky customer at home and has been okay recently – he hasn’t exactly wowed us, but that’s just how he is. He really comes alive when he’s had a few runs and things click into place, as he does the bare minimum at home. We’re as happy as we possibly could be so it’ll be interesting to see how he goes. Whatever he does here, he’ll improve, he’s a horse who thrives on his racing and being on the track. Some horses do just like the spring, and I think he tops that list.