Andrew Asquith provides an overview of the key things to note on the racing front on Friday.
Fingle Bridge looks a bright prospect
Olly Murphy does well at Market Rasen overall (22% strike rate), but this season alone he is operating at a 25% strike rate, and he has an excellent chance on Friday with Fingle Bridge in the Watch Unibet Racing Post Postcast Novices’ Hurdle (12:15).
He ran to a useful level when winning his bumper by 18 lengths at Chepstow in December 2022 and looked something out of the ordinary when brushing off a two-year absence on his hurdling debut at Uttoxeter last month.
Admittedly, that wasn’t the strongest maiden hurdle, but Fingle Bridge came in for sustained support – he started a strong 7/2-on favourite – and proved in a different league to his rivals, always travelling powerfully and displaying a sharp turn of foot to readily move clear after two out.
The bare form is nothing special, but he has significant potential to improve – he has the Timeform Large P attached to his rating and also has the Horse In Focus Flag – and should have no problem defying a penalty before moving on to bigger and better things.
Cloud Cover returns to Newcastle
Newcastle stage and excellent card on Friday, featuring several useful, and competitive handicaps, and the Best Odds Guaranteed At BetMGM Fillies’ Handicap (13:00) sees the return of the James Tate-trained Cloud Cover.
She has an excellent record on an artificial surface, progressing right through the handicap last season, which culminated with a win in the Fillies’ And Mares’ Championship on All-Weather Finals Day over this course and distance.
Cloud Cover was given a well-deserved break afterwards and shaped better than some of her form figures suggest on her return. She confirmed herself a mare to be reckoned with on the all-weather when winning a Listed event at Deauville last month, not needing to be at her best but gaining a first success at that level.
She is now up to a career-high mark of 100, but she is a classy operator, and is expected to prove too strong for these rivals at a course and distance which clearly suits.
Brosay caught the eye on the clock last time
Brosay was highly tried when trained in Ireland by Diego Dias, contesting the Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot and a valuable sales race at Naas, and he has made an excellent start for new connections, so is of big interest in the Weekly Free Bets With BetMGM Extra Handicap (13:35).
He had no problem dropping back to five furlongs round the sharp turns at Lingfield on his stable debut, sticking to his task well in the closing stages having been a little tapped for toe in the first half of the race.
Brosay caught the eye back at Lingfield over six furlongs last week, too, arguably unlucky not to win having been hampered by the winner on a couple of occasions, and his performance can be upgraded further when taking sectionals into account.
He ran the final two furlongs just under a second quicker than the eventual winner, and he was the only horse in the field to dip under 23 seconds over that distance. Brosay flew home in the final furlong, only just failing to reel in a thriving sort who was completing a hat-trick.
Brosay was given the Sectional and Horse In Focus Flags following that performance. Connections turn him out quickly, so he’s able to race from the same mark (due to be 2lb higher in the future) and, switched to a track which will suit his run style better, he has excellent claims of making it two wins from three starts for these connections.
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