All-Weather Racing’s Now On-Tap, Up North
It’s an historic day at Newcastle, where the brand new Tapeta surface will be used competitively for the first time. It has taken an awfully long while for all-weather racing to reach the north of England, particularly as it is the part of the country that needs it most (due to harsher weather conditions). Newcastle becomes the 3rd new all-weather track to open in the last 10 years, the others being Kempton and Chelmsford City.
On a day where most of the UK racing could be described as ‘much of a muchness’, we’ll do Newcastle the honour of briefly going over each of the 8 races.
The 2.00 is a 1m 2f affair for 3-year-olds. Steccando, Kings Gold, Jetstream Express, The Magic Pencil and Tap The Honey all have a realistic chance of becoming a footnote in history, although the unraced Gibbs Hill looks to have the edge. The German runner is related to a Listed winner (in France) and Andrea Atzeni is on-board.
The next is a devilishly competitive handicap, at 2.35. Tawdea shed his maiden tag at Hamilton, but still looks relatively unexposed. Biff Johnson showed enough in his victory at Wolverhampton to indicate he can also be in the shake-up.
Lady Can Be Affectionate To Punters, Today
Another handicap, at 3.05, looks just as tough for punters. Affectionate Lady ran well at Redcar, when finishing runner-up at Redcar and benefits to the tune of 8lb now away from the turf. On the other hand, Glasgon faces a 10lb hike and Rowan Scott looks to have his work cut out on the returning 6-year-old.
Outlaw Torn has been fairly disappointing, so far in this campaign, but the 3.45 should not take a great deal of winning. The Iffraaj gelding won on his last 2015 outing at Wolverhampton and a comparable effort would probably lead to another victory here. Mick Easterby’s Atreus looks the most obvious danger.
Top apprentice, Edward Greatrex, is far too good to still be in the receipt of 5lb and betting on the 4.10 is likely to reflect that. Peril has won 4 of his last 6 races, the latest being at Wolverhampton in February where Crazy Chic was bested by 3/4 of a length. Look no further.
Shepherd To Grab A Piece Of The Pie?
Callum Shepherd can steer Malaysian Boleh to the spoils, in the 4.40. He beat One Big Surprise by a head, at Brighton in April and that horse narrowly missed out again at Salisbury earlier this month. Exotic Guest has Jack Garritty on-board and Ruth Carr’s runner should go close, based on turf form.
Acclaim The Nation, Jabbarockie and Betsy Bobbin debut in the 5.10 and pedigrees suggest that all are best watched. David O’Meara’s Alsvinder was a huge disappointment on debut and can have no real excuses. Futoon looks the best bet, based on form shown at Haydock last year.
Misu Moneypenny On Cue, At Thirsk
Misu Moneypenny impressed at Thirsk and is taken to win the final race at Newcastle (5.45). The racecourse embarks on a brave new journey today and we wish it all the very best. All-weather racing has added immensely to the sport, in recent years and a new venue should give the whole industry a boost.
There’s also polytrack racing, at Lingfield, where Bank Of Gibraltar goes for Richard Hughes in the 4.30. Richard Hannon’s Hakeem looked smart when runner-up on debut and looks the best of the already raced juveniles, in the opener at Nottingham (2.10).
Gordon Goes Back On The Hunt
Distant Sound should go close in the 7.30 at Huntingdon, while Qibtee looks good value in the 5.40 at Weatherby – particularly with red-hot Josephine Gordon as pilot.
More Action, At Killarney, Compiegne, Cagnes-Sur-Mer & Vaal
There’s another chance to see Aidan O’Brien’s hugely impressive Long Island Sound at Killarney (6.20). Elusive Heights won impressively on debut, but this is a much stiffer test.
Over in France, there are 8 races at Compiegne, but the best of the action should be at Cagnes-Sur-Mer. Julia Bech, Kidmenever and Christian Scandella’s Happy Angel should make the Prix Georges Trabaud a race to savour. Today’s only South African meeting is at Vaal.
Today’s Picks
HUNTINGDON
5.25 Ninepointsixthree
6.00 All Yours
6.30 Marley Joe
7.00 Our Cat
7.30 Distant Sound
8.00 Wake Your Dreams
8.30 Merrydown Vintage
LINGFIELD
1.50 Poet’s Society
2.20 Raven’s Corner
2.55 Heart Of Lions
3.25 Cryptic
4.00 Frantical
4.30 Bank Of Gibraltar
5.00 Monday Club
5.35 Dynamo
NEWCASTLE
2.00 Gibbs Hill
2.35 Tawdea
3.05 Affectionate Lady
3.40 Outlaw Torn
4.10 Peril
4.40 Malaysian Boleh
5.10 Futoon
5.45 Misu Moneypenny
NOTTINGHAM
2.10 Hakeem
2.45 Wowcha
3.15 King Of Swing
3.50 Maoi Chinn Tire
4.20 Fadillah
4.50 Patent
5.20 Stars N Angels
5.55 Mossgo
WETHERBY
5.40 Qibtee
6.10 Geno
6.40 Pensax Boy
7.10 Singeur
7.40 Relight My Fire
8.10 Gimlet
8.40 Olympic Duel
KILLARNEY
5.15 Monarch
5.50 Erysimum
6.20 Long Island Sound
6.50 A Shin Impala
7.20 Specific Gravity
7.50 Pirolo
8.20 Aared
8.50 Ebayya
CAGNES-SUR-MER
R1 Muhlya
R2 Whip My Love
R3 Kipferl
R4 Multicolor
R5 Julia Bech
R6 Luna Lady
R7 Pearl Dragon
VAAL
R1 Le Tigre
R2 Cyber Magic
R3 Tokyo Drift
R4 Fort Meyers
R5 American Tiger
R6 Coby
R7 Whiteline Fever
R8 Tabreek
