HAIL SEZER has been shaping well recently and is surely not too far away from getting his head in front. Geoff Harker’s charge has probably been slightly unlucky in recent starts as his overall profile is one of a progressive horse. He probably hasn’t won as many races as he should have done but connections look to have found an ideal opportunity for him here and Danny Tudhope is a positive jockey booking.
Doncaster 1.00 – Hail Sezer
Saturday
The 1.15 at Newcastle doesn’t look the strongest of races and I’m keen on BENADALID who is looking to bounce back after a poor run last time at his beloved Ripon. Seemingly no real excuse for that run you just have to put a line through it and move forwards to this race here at a course where has won and run well at before. The softer nature of the course clearly suits him and if he can bounce back to anywhere near his best then he is dangerously well handicapped.
In the big race itself I’m going to have two darts at the board. At a bigger price I think last year’s 3rd ISLAND BRAVE is a huge price at 20/1. Benoit De La Sayette claims a valuable 5lb off his back which puts him on a 4lb lower mark than what he ran off last year and if you take that literally then he should go somewhere near winning this. At the other end of the market the Brian Ellison trained ONESMOOTHOPERATOR looks to hold exceptional claims. He has been running well here at Newcastle against some classy types. He ran better than the bare result suggested last time at York and could provide his trainer with a first success in this race. He looks well weighted and of the favoured horses at the top of the market he looks the most solid.
An each way punt to end the day is ZIP who could prove to be a bit of a flyer. He is a very useful horse on his day but ultimately needs soft ground to be seen at his best. He has ran some good races here at Newcastle and is well below his last winning mark. Harry Davies claims 5lb and that particular jockey booking is eye catching as Davies is in high demand at present. I expect him to run better than his odds suggest.
Newcastle 1.15 – Benadalid
Newcastle 3.30 – Island Brave / Onesmoothoperator
Newcastle 4.38 – Zip
