2.20pm Cheveley winner Lumiere shines in work for Johnston
Mark Johnston put the finishing touches to Guineas contenders Buratino and Lumiere as they worked before racing at Newmarket.
Coventry Stakes winner Buratino was busy last season but thrived on his work, while Lumiere won the Cheveley Park Stakes in September.
Buratino worked with New Caledonia while the filly went with Deodoro but both have slight stamina doubts.over a mile
Johnston said: “That was perfect. To be honest, all the work had been done before today and this was just the finishing touches.
“We just wanted to give them an outing to the track because if we are going to start them off at that level, they need to have been to the track beforehand.
“It was terrible ground at Haydock [for their gallop last week], it was very very soft but they did a pretty serious gallop and we knew that they didn’t need to do an awful lot today.
“Obviously something like this does not test them over a mile. You might question Buratino on pedigree, but the way he ran in the Middle Park, when he was beaten by an out-and-out sprinter, if he’d have gone further he’d have taken closer order, which gives us confidence in him getting it.
“His style of racing gives us great confidence as well as he switches off and then finds a gear. Lumiere is bred to get every inch of a mile and is not bred to be a sprinter.
“She’s always looked like being a miler and if you looked at her and didn’t know her form, you’d think she was a middle distance horse.
“The question with her is her temperament, as she can be keen early on but she was much more settled here today. Whether that will be the case when the stalls open in the Guineas, who knows. I’m not a great believer of fighting with them - if she goes fast, she goes fast.
“At York and in the Cheveley Park, she looked the scopiest of the field. Lumiere will be running in the Guineas off the same weight she did in the Cheveley Park.” PA
11.15am Guineas candidate Marcel pleases in Newmarket gallop
Tony Paley: The Racing Post Trophy winner Marcel pleased connections in a workout at Newmarket on Thursday morning. The colt is due to run in both the English and French 2,000 Guineas so will not have a prep run before the Newmarket Classic on April 30.
Now owned by Peter Makin, he was ridden in the gallop by his new jockey Pat Smullen.
“I just wanted to bring him here as he needed it,” said trainer Peter Chapple-Hyam. “That was always the plan and in two weeks’ time he should be spot-on.
“Because the French Guineas is only two weeks after the English Guineas, if we are thinking about doing both we didn’t want him to have a third run. He’ll come up here for another gallop but he needed that very badly as I’ve been very light with him.
“I’ve been very happy with him over the winter but he does need to improve and he needs to find a bit more speed. I watched Air Force Blue win the Dewhurst the other day and it did make me choke on my tea but beside him it’s an open race.”
Smullen reported: “I was very happy with him and he worked very nicely. He travelled well in the piece of work but he needed it, he’s a very laid-back type of colt.
“He gave me a lovely feel and I was very pleased with how he felt this morning and in two weeks’ time he should be spot-on. He seemed to handle the dip really well, which some horses don’t do, so there are a lot of positives.
“I think he would get further but there’s no doubt he’s not short of pace. I think a mile at the moment is ideal for him. Going into the race without a run holds no fears at all, as we know Peter can ready one for the day.”
Today’s best bets, by Chris Cook
Hmm, I seem to have picked a few market drifters at Newmarket on Thursday. There’s always a feeling of foreboding when that happens, or sometimes of having missed a key piece of information that is blindingly obvious to all others, but I shall stick by Suqoor (5.40) in the sprint handicap at the end of the card, even though you can now get 10-1, which is about twice what I expected.
Perhaps this three-year-old gelding is unfancied because punters don’t much like the look of the inexperienced Irineu Goncalves aboard but he’s been worth following this year so far and was aboard when Suqoor scored at Kempton last time. The horse did nothing in two starts for Richard Hannon last year but was picked up for a song by Chris Dwyer and seems to have benefited a great deal for a bit of time.
He carries a penalty for that last win and is surely ahead of his rating, which is tied to his first three efforts. This is a lot tougher than the Kempton race but there is much to be said for siding with a race-fit animal who is clearly on the up.
Cheltenham’s card is almost as competitive as a Festival day, albeit without the same quality. I wanted to put up Long House Hall in the 4.10pm race but 11-4 is too short in such a big field, so Mezendore (4.45) is the one.
He won nicely on his debut for Rebecca Curtis last month and it is probably good news for him that he wasn’t in that stable during the winter, when so many horses there seem to have had some kind of virus. Mezendore has only gone up 6lb and could have a lot more to give. You can get 8-1.
At Ripon, Explain (2.35) might be drawn on the wrong side for his sprint handicap but makes each-way appeal at 33-1 in any case. He’s barely above his last winning mark and won on the only previous time he was tried on ground this soft. He’s switched stables and been gelded since he was last seen in August.
Tipping competition, day four
Our winners so far:
Monday
Imshivalla 4-1
Nakadam 9-4
Bazooka 16-1
Tuesday
Barton Gift 8-1
Teruntum Star 16-1
Nathra 5-4
Wednesday
Voix D’Eau 9-2
Ibn Malik 3-1
Brando 2-1
And our leader is:
wemeanyounoharm +24
… who improved his situation with another two winners yesterday. TheVic (+16.50) held his position by picking Brando.
Today, we’d like your tips, please, for these races: 3.35 Cheltenham, 5.05 Newmarket, 5.40 Newmarket.
This week, we’re offering a second copy of Racing & Football Outlook’s Flat Guide 2016, the handy annual which as ever is packed with facts, analysis, tips and insights into the new season to help lift your spirits from the post-Aintree slump. If you don’t win, you can buy a copy here.
As ever, our champion will be the tipster who returns the best profit to notional level stakes of £1 at starting price on our nominated races, of which there will be three each day up until Friday. Non-runners count as losers. If you have not joined in so far this week, you are welcome to do so today but you will start on -9.
In the event of a tie at the end of the week, the winner will be the tipster who, from among those tied on the highest score, posted their tips earliest on the final day.
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Good luck!
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