Friday
The 4.45 at Newbury today is a wide open event in my eyes despite Asadna attracting plenty of support in recent days. He has questions to answer after his Ascot disappointment so I’d rather take a chance on SHAGRAAN who impressed me last time at Windsor. Clive Cox seems to have a decent team of two year olds this year and this lad might be somewhere near the best of them based on how he won at Windsor last time out. He looked to have to taken some pulling up after the race and his connections will have a good handle on where he stands in the two year old division as stablemate Jasour took the July Stakes last week and I’m sure they would have been working together at home.
Newbury 4.45 – Shagraan
Saturday
The Super Sprint at Newbury looks to be the race of the day and I am excited by the challenge of finding the winner of it. The favourite looks a little short for me and I would argue BOBSLEIGH has the better form in the book and at the prices he looks the bet for me. Eve Johnson-Houghton holds this son of Elzaam in some regard and he has gone some way of justfying that faith by winning at Brighton on debut before taking the Woodcote at Epsom. A close 6th in what looked a red hot Coventry (form already boosted) suggests he has the necessary class to compete at a higher level so the fact he gets in here off 8’12 means he must have a serious chance. You’ll need some luck in this race so an each way punt at 6/1 looks sensible.
Across at Newmarket I’m hopeful CLOUDBREAKER can continue improving and take the 4.15 Fillies and Mares listed race. Charlie Fellowes thinks plenty of his 3 year old filly and she is undoubtedly well handicapped off 93 given how well she ran against the boys at Royal Ascot. This isn’t the strongest listed race I have seen at Newmarket and if you could get 8/1 or bigger about the selection I rate that a good bet.
If those two each way punts don’t land then I will be relying on CHILLINGHAM to deliver at Ripon. This rates a drop down in class for Ed Bethell’s charge after he finished 4th in the Copper Horse handicap at Ascot last time out. He had earlier won a shade cosy at Thirsk on soft ground and he had looked to have been kept back for that race at Ascot. That suggests connections think he is still well handicapped and I would agree but he will have to be to win this off top weight.
Newbury 3.35 – Bobsleigh
Newmarket 4.15 – Cloudbreaker
Ripon 4.30 – Chillingham
