Alan Thomson, the former Racing Editor at the Daily Record, puts up five tips at Newmarket and Newcastle on Saturday. View selections below.
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PINATUBO (3.35) carried all before him last year and sets the bar high in the Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.
Charlie Appleby has been making all the right noises when discussing Pinatubo’s preparation and the Godolphin colt can extend his unbeaten sequence to seven. Pinatubo was held up in the Dewhurst Stakes here over seven furlongs before sweeping through to catch today’s chief market rival Arizona, the margin being two lengths at the line. He should have no trouble staying this extra furlong.
Aidan O’Brien saddles four and there has been good support for Arizona, reportedly on the back of a scintillating home gallop. Jockey bookings point to him being the Ballydoyle No 1 but Ryan Moore has got it wrong several times in the past and it would be reckless to dismiss the prospects of Frankie Dettori’s mount Witchita, even though the colt is well held by Pinatubo on previous form.
The other horse to garner significant favour in the betting is Kameko, winner of the Vertem Futurity Stakes at Newcastle. Oisin Murphy has been singing his praises and Kameko impressed in a recent racecourse gallop at Kempton.
TEREBELLUM (2.25) gets the nod over Magic Lilly in the Group 2 Dahlia Fillies’ Stakes.
My selection, trained by John Gosden and ridden by Frankie Dettori, is sure to prove popular. After winning at Deauville she wasn’t disgraced in finishing fifth in the Group 1 Prix de L’Opera at Longchamp on Arc weekend. Terebellum would prefer some cut underfoot. Charlie Appleby’s Magic Lily was last seen chasing home Barney Roy in Meydan and looks sure to be in the mix.
Gosden has high hopes that WALDKONIG (3.00) will acquit himself well in the Investec Derby and this Listed contest should be the perfect stepping stone to Epsom.
His colt created a huge impression when waltzing home by nine lengths at Wolverhampton in early December and this second public appearance will prove valuable experience. Stablemate Mishriff ploughed through the Nottingham mud to score at Nottingham last November before taking the runner-up prize in the inaugural Saudi Arabia Derby Cup on dirt.
Al Assy ran third at HQ in October and the second home that day, Galsworthy, won easily at Kempton earlier this week. He is reported to be working sharply on the home gallops and is a solid ew alternative..
At Newcastle, WITHHOLD (2.40) can put his proven experience on the Tapeta all-weather surface to full use by landing the wide-open Betway Sagaro Stakes.
Roger Charlton’s stayer, a former easy winner of the Cesarewitch Handicap, progressed to scoop Newcastle’s Northumberland Plate over today’s course and distance, before posting another success in the Marsh Handicap at Newbury off an 8lb higher mark. Withhold has gone well fresh in the past and makes plenty of each-way appeal wearing first-time blinkers.
German St Leger winner Ispolini does most of his racing abroad and his last outing on home soil saw him run fourth to Stradivarius in the Yorkshire Cup. He has a bit of ground to make up on third-place Mildenberger on that effort but should be involved, along with closely-matched Royal Line and Prince Of Arran.
Gosden and stable jockey Rab Havlin boast a terrific strike-rate at Newcastle and lightly-raced DAARIK (2.05) is capable of landing the seven-furlong handicap. A previous course winner over six furlongs, Daarik was edged out by Fox Power in a Listed contest over a mile here last November and this intermediate trip is ideal.
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Tally Ho
Alan
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