Matt Brocklebank tipped winners at 12/1, 7/1 and 13/2 last week - check out the Saturday preview as our man goes on the hunt for value at Newbury and Market Rasen.
1pt win Faithfulflyer in 2.05 Market Rasen at 11/1 (BetVictor, Ladbrokes)
1pt win Master Milliner in 2.25 Newbury at 25/1 (bet365)
1pt e.w. All The Glory in 2.40 Market Rasen at 16/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4,5)
The overall quality takes quite a significant dip compared to last weekend but, as was the case in the July Cup seven days ago, Newbury’s Saturday feature sees some exciting-looking three-year-olds tackling older horses for the first time in the Group 3 Fidelity Energy Hackwood Stakes.
Last Saturday it was the older horses who held sway at Newmarket and Regional, who skipped the option of running there, leads the charge among the more established band of sprinters.
All the youngsters deserve respect, though, especially Commonwealth Cup runner-up Lake Forest who was making his belated seasonal return and stayed on with real purpose at Ascot. He'll appreciate the drying conditions here and would probably be my idea of the winner, if pressed, but it’s hard to argue William Haggas's horse is being vastly underestimated in the market around the 9/2 mark.
This year’s Weatherbys Super Sprint Stakes doesn’t get me going at all and at Newbury I’m focused on the two-mile Mettal UK Handicap, in which Ascot Stakes third Kyle Of Lochalsh could take some pegging back.
He looked some way ahead of the handicapper when winning over a mile and three quarters at Salisbury in May and effectively proved the point with a smashing effort over a much longer trip at Ascot. He was almost forced into that event after just missing the cut for the Copper Horse Handicap and should be fully effective over two miles around Newbury.
However, Kyle Of Lochalsh has gone up another 2lb so he’s fully 12lb higher now than for the Salisbury stroll so, at a massive price, I reckon the bet has to be MASTER MILLINER.
He only beat two home when sent off at 100/1 in the aforementioned Ascot Stakes so has stacks to find with Kyle Of Lochalsh (and Temporize, who was fifth) on the face of it, but that was his first outing since September 2022 and the distance beaten was exaggerated after Master Milliner was squeezed for room when weakening and eased down.
It's also worth noting he went from a tailed-off Royal Ascot run in the Queen Alexandra two summers ago to win a Kempton handicap on his very next start the following month. That success was achieved over Saturday’s trip of two miles and when you isolate his form over that distance his record is quite impressive, in chronological order reading: 1152928111.
He's eight now and has obviously had some physical issues but Emma Lavelle wouldn't bringing him back for the hell of it and he's dropped back to his last winning mark, when successful over two and a half miles at Goodwood's big meeting.
Fast ground suits too and I think there’s more than enough to merit a small, win-only interest.
📊 2024 record so far:
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The summer jumping at Market Rasen won’t be for everyone but the prize money isn’t bad at all and I’ve a couple of bets on the card, starting with FAITHFULFLYER in the Unibet MoneyBack As Cash Races Handicap Hurdle.
This is obviously an open race, but Sandy Thomson’s runner looks a touch over-priced on the back of his Cartmel fifth when attempting to bring up the hat-trick.
Stepping up to two and three-quarter miles in Cumbria, he was ridden with restraint but that meant he had a lot of horses in front of him when the pace quickened, and he just had to sit and suffer for a few strides at a key moment.
He wasn’t done any favours by the eventual winner in the straight either, before running on quite encouragingly when it was too late, and it basically confirmed to me that he remains in excellent form.
He’d hacked up at Kelso and Uttoxeter on his two previous runs so I’m far from convinced the revised rating of 114 is beyond him and Thomson has decided to add some cheekpieces in a bid to eke out a little more improvement for this contest.
Faithfulflyer did wear such headgear a couple of times (without success) during his brief time in Ireland but Thomson’s record when fitting cheekpieces for the first time (4-27 at 14.81%) certainly doesn’t put me off and I reckon this horse will relish the forecast strong pace. He won’t mind the slight drop in trip either.
The other one to be on in Lincolnshire is ALL THE GLORY for the O’Neills in the Unibet Daily Industry Best Prices Summer Handicap Hurdle and I want her on side each-way as this has the distinct look of a big-race target.
The strong-travelling mare was a ready winner of a novice event here last August and her 2023/24 campaign ended in an impressive victory in Newbury's big mares' novices' handicap at the end of March.
She scooted in that day and a subsequent 8lb rise looked more than justified but unfortunately she took an early fall on her next start when pitched into the Swinton at Haydock.
Her only start since, when fifth over the extended two and a half miles here last month, should have helped restore some confidence and she ran better than the bare form suggests, shaping nicely behind a winner who was relatively well positioned, then just losing a couple of places late on.
There's plenty of competition for the lead this weekend and that should help things pan out a lot more favourably for All The Glory and she’s definitely got the requisite boot for this drop in trip as she’s won twice over two miles in the past.
Published at 1600 BST on 19/07/24
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