STAR PREVIEW Thurs: Newcastle and Newmarket

Racing from Newmarket and Newcastle
Live on Sky Sports Racing HD from 11:00 am & Racing TV from 1:00pm

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Turf racing returned at Yarmouth yesterday with some excellent performances on a fine card and a wonderful winner for us in the shape of Celestin, who made a powerful move and kept finding plenty to take the opening handicap in decent style from the running on Bodyline and Make It Rain, He looks a sharp prospect going forward in a race one should keep an eye on.

A number of the winners were impressive in their own way, (the Lir Jet will be discussed in Juvenile Watch) with Dubious Affair looking as if she could cope with another rise in the weights, Mister Snowdon posting two excellent late sectionals to overturn Enemy, Haqeeqy improving for her debut, and the superbly bred Maydanny bolting in on his handicap debut in the highlights of the day.

We also had the first pattern racing at Kempton since the restart, with the Classic Trial (where we did not get a run for our money with Highland Chief) going to Berlin Tango for the red hot combination of Andrew Balding and David Probert. A comfortable winner in the end, he stretched out well to earn himself the right to make a tilt at bigger contests and should be respected, along with Listed winner Pyledriver in second. The horse that impressed most in the race was Bright Melody, who went second widest around the home bend and ran greenly before closing steadily to finish third ahead of Hypothetical and Max Vega. A step up in trip may well suit him and he’d be of interest on a stiff turf course next time out.

Born With Pride disappointed many, never really getting into the swing of things, but she is not one to give up on just yet, having gone from a mile on heavy ground straight to taking on the colts here and she’s worth another chance yet, even if she’s got something to prove now.

The Snowdrop Fillies’ Stakes was won in good style by Nazeef, who can earn more black type in the future, but Billesdon Brook did well to beat all but the inner with a penalty, and knowing how much she tends to improve during the season, she should be a force in fillies and mares Group 1’s this season.

Juvenile Watch: Only the one contest at Yarmouth but it looked a reasonable contest for the track on paper and it was hard to be anything but impressed with the dominant winner The Lir Jet. Always travelling like he wanted to go faster, he impressed by first mastering Steadman and then romping home with an impressive finish, and whilst he was the beneficiary of a very handy tail-wind – and lightning fast ground – sectionals speak kindly for him and he’d have to be of interest if going to Ascot, which he surely will. Runner up Steadman will find a way and Nelson Gay travelled like a 6/4 favourite even if he didn’t see things out after a bad start – he can pick up a race.

Today juvenile watchers are given an absolute treat with no less than six two-year-old contests at Newmarket, and one at Newcastle. Get those notebooks out – here are the horses of interest so far (not that I can’t wait to see every single one of them)

Newmarket

1:15 – Sacred (Relation to Lady Eli for Cheveley Park Stud & William Haggas) & Time Scale (related to three winners, out of 2yo listed winner for Qatar Racing and Ralph Beckett)

1:50 – Vedute (Maybe gelded and bred to need further, but balloted against nomination by Michael Bell and entered int the Goffs Premier Yearling Stakes; Impressively bred for same connections that had Art Connoisseur win Newmarket maiden before Coventry success + dam herself an unraced half-sister to 1m Group 1 winner Here Comes When and Group-placed 1m2f-1m4f winner Melodic Motion), Tactical (Toronado colt owned by the Queen, out of Make Fast who was placed in listed company at 2 and won first time out), & Bright Armour (By Mehmas out of 5f 2yo winner who scored on AW)

2:25 – Existent (Kingman colt out of Sharmadal mare, and Cheveley Park Stud family has achieved much) & Jimmy Sparks (By Zoffany, dam won at 6f and was by Group 2 juvenile winner)

3:00 – Dark Lion (half-brother to French 1m winner Gena, for same connections that had ) & Creative Force (Dubawi colt who’s related to five winners inc Persuasive) & Yuan Prince (Out of rapid Hot Streak and first foal of winning filly who was directly related to Move In Time)

3.35 – The Circus (half-sister to two winners, with a lot of US breeding in the pedigree for John Gosden)

4.10 – Sunset Memory (bred for further as first foal of 12f winner who’s related to smart stayers) & Cirrus (daughter of Starspangledbanner, out of 12f winner and Ryan Moore booked)

Newcastle

4:30 – High Peak (half-brother to no less than seven winners, all 6f winners for Joe Fanning and Mark Johnston) & Adaay Dream (half-brother to two winners, half-sister to group winner for Richard Kingscote and Retrive)

Are you as excited as I am? Excellent.

Today we’ve got more group action at Newcastle – where they have the Pavillion Stakes (3.55) as the feature on another bumper card. This year’s renewal is arguably one of the best contests Newcastle will have held on their all-weather card, with extremely promising pair A’Ali and Ventura Rebel (1-2 in the Norfolk last year) making their debut as 3 year olds. Both of them are seriously respected – along with Dream Shot (second to A’Ali in Flying Childers) Two-Year-Old Trophy second Troubador and Venture Lightning, but favourite Malotru gets the vote.

This target is a change of thinking from Marco Botti, but he ran a fine race when fourth in the Gimcrack (had previously won Italian Group 3) and he was an impressive winner of a Lingfield listed contest on his seasonal reappearance despite being slow away from the gate and also being hampered shortly afterwards.

This is a step back in trip for him but he’s a dual winner over 6 furlongs who should have plenty of pace to run at, and if he was fit enough to win in February then hopefully he may have a fitness edge on some of his rivals here – nothing can be taken as gospel during the season, but a number of horses who’ve seen a racecourse this year have really shown the benefit of that in the three days’ racing we’ve had so far.

The other bet of the day comes in the very last at Newmarket, where Inclyne makes the most appeal in a competitive handicap. She barely ran a bad race last summer after reappearing in a hot maiden here last April, and whilst her win came at Kempton on the all-weather, she ran excellent races at Ascot, Nottingham and Chester, the first two of them on good to firm ground.

Her best effort was last May, when she didn’t get a clean run at Nottingham before finishing a close third behind Manorah and subsequent Royal Ascot winner Thanks Be, and despite some excellent runs after that – including on her last run of the year at Chester when she didn’t get a clear run around the turn – she gets to start this season on a fair mark of 78, with Oisin Murphy taking the mount for the in-form Andrew Balding.

RECOMMENDED BETS (scale of 1-100 points)
BACK Malotru 1 pt win in 3.55 Newcastle 1 pt at 15/8 with
BACK Inclyne 1 pt win in 6.30 Newmarket 1 pt at 4/1 with

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