Simon Holt best bets for Newmarket on Saturday
Korcho and Mordin are Simon Holt's two against the field in Saturday's bet365 Cambridgeshire - check out all his best bets for Newmarket's card.
Recommended bets:
1pt win Korcho in 3.40 Newmarket at 25/1
1pt win Mordin in 3.40 Newmarket at 18/1
1pt win Monarch Of Egypt in 3.00 Newmarket at 11/1
1pt win Nurse Barbara in 2.25 Newmarket at 16/1
TRAINER Hughie Morrison fields a strong contender in Le Don De Vie, the mount of Ryan Moore, in Saturday's bet365 Cambridgeshire but stable companion and fellow three-year-old KORCHO looks a live runner too at much bigger odds.
It is great to see so many of the Classic generation in this year's race, and they can often be more progressive than older horses. Korcho has gone up in the ratings by over a stone since winning at Windsor in the spring and it is surprising that the handicapper dropped him a couple of pounds after his latest run at Goodwood over a mile and a quarter where he was bang in the firing line until well inside the final furlong having travelled kindly into the lead two furlongs out.
On that evidence, this slightly shorter trip is going to suit Nicola Currie's mount and he looks good value on an earlier second behind Walkinthesand at the Newmarket July meeting where he had Majestic Dawn, Dark Vision and the much-fancied Good Birthday behind him.
The last-named has won since at Beverley yet now meets Korcho on worse terms and is set to start one of the favourites.
One other pointer is that the selection's half brother Credit Swap won this race back in 2010.
If there is a future Group horse in the field, then it could easily be Le Don De Vie who changed hands for a small fortune earlier in the season and whose recent defeat of Great Example and Harrovian in a small field at Goodwood looks solid form. So Morrison has a very strong hand.
The other horse who takes my eye is last year's runner-up MORDIN who, while no match for the well handicapped Wissahickon that day, is clearly ideally suited to this unique test (often described as a nine-furlong sprint) and has run some fair races since winning at Haydock (soft) back in April. With the promising claimer Marco Ghiani taking off 7lb and trainer Simon Crisford's string in good form, he looks worth a second shy at the stumps.
There are some terrific two-year-old races on the yard, not least a vintage renewal of the Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes featuring Group One winners Earthlight and Siskin as well as Mum's Tipple who are all unbeaten.
The last-named made an incredible impression when bolting up by 11 lengths in a sales race at York but, bearing in mind that the runner-up Rayong was well beaten in a similar event next time, this looks a lot tougher.
Earthlight made it four from four for the French genius Andre Fabre when beating Raffle Prize and the re-opposing Golden Horde (who earlier beat Threat at Goodwood) in the Prix Morny at Deauville on heavy ground while Siskin has twice beaten Ryan Moore's mount Monarch Of Egypt in the Railway Stakes and the Phoenix Stakes at The Curragh.
However, MONARCH OF EGYPT got a lot closer on the latter occasion (beaten just three-quarters of a length) despite racing keenly and this eye-catchingly bred colt by American Pharoah out of a Galileo mare has improved in each of his three starts. He might be the one.
The aforementioned Raffle Prize is set to start favourite after a near-flawless season in the Juddmonte Cheveley Park Stakes but the supplemented NURSE BARBARA could be the value here after a brave effort when worn down close home by O'Brien's Blissful in a listed race at Leopardstown (7f).
Blissful was a bit disappointing in yesterday’s Rockfel Stakes but Nurse Barbara's previous Cork maiden win over this distance has worked out extremely well and I like her tough attitude.
The meeting opens with the Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes which sees the reappearance of the Chesham Stakes third Highland Chief after a three-month break.
As it has turned out, being beaten four-and-a-half lengths by the brilliant Pinatubo at Royal Ascot was no disgrace, but the absence is a bit of a worry and Kameko, a gorgeous son of Kitten's Joy who split two smart prospects in Positive and Al Suhail in the Solario Stakes at Sandown, deserves plenty of respect albeit at odds unlikely to prove appealing to value hunters.
Preview posted at 1600 BST on 27/09/19
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