Find all previous Seymour Biz racing previews in his weekly column: Saturday Horse Racing Tips.
ITV have their cameras at what I consider the two most conservative tracks in Britain, Newmarket (HQ) and Newbury, both of which are providing some great racing.
From Newmarket, they are showing a couple of Class 1 Stakes races, including the Charles II (told you it was conservative) and a hot 6f handicap, while Newbury have Group1 fare with the Lockinge Stakes featuring the best milers in the UK and Ireland doing battle with each other, mouthwatering.
Newbury are backing up this great race with a Listed race, the Carnarvon Stakes, and a Group 3, the Al Rayyan Stakes, add to which they have a 10f handicap the London Gold Cup. So there we are, seven fine races for us to peruse to try and find some winners and here are my thoughts on them for this week’s Lucky Fifteen.
Saturday Lucky Fifteen
2.40 Newmarket. Fundamental
3.15 Newmarket. Seven Brothers
3.00 Newbury. Tamborrada
3.35 Newbury. Palace Pier (Lord Glitters e/w)
Bet this lucky 15 now on Bet365
Beginning at Newmarket with the 2.40, the Betway King Charles II Stakes run over 7 furlongs of the Rowley Mile. Here, Jane Chapple-Hyam runs her unbeaten Bellosa who won here over this course and distance last month, she came home by an impressive 7 lengths in an 11 runner contest but this is a large step up in class from Cls4 to Cls1, could she be good enough?
Bellissime was an all-weather winner for Kevin Ryan at Chelmsford last time but she is making an even bigger step up.
Charlie Appleby’s Cloudbridge has his first run of the season after only being beaten a nose in a Group 3 contest on Kempton’s A/W track last September. He has since been gelded and Appleby must fancy his chances.
I have thoughts of giving Ralph Beckett’s Devilwala another chance after tipping him up at the beginning of this month when he faded badly. He drops back in trip and class here but I must pass him over after his last run.
John and Thady Gosden, henceforth to be known as the Gosdens as there’s only one driver on the bus, send Fundamental out since he was beaten at Newbury in a Group contest after two wins on the all-weather at Chelmsford. He can improve to take this.
At 3.15 it is the Heed Your Hunch At Betway Handicap run over 6 furlongs. The favourite here is Eve Johnson Houghton’s Jumby who ran a good third over this course and distance last month. He dwelt at the start and didn’t get a clear run after that, an improvement is expected.
Marcus Tregonning’s Perotto was second over this c and d at the beginning of this month. After rearing at the start, he was left in the last place but worked his way through the field to take the runner up spot. Third in that race was KR Burke’s Bickerstaffe who raced prominently throughout. He has a 2lbs pull on Perotto after that race.
First Folio was having his first run for trainer James Ferguson at Yarmouth in April where he won going away but this is a major step in class.
Kevin Ryan’s Seven Brothers won well on his handicap debut at Doncaster last month where even when hard pressed, he was able to pull something out to get home and that fighting spirit is what I think will get him home here. I must mention at the bottom of the handicap Charles Hills’s Jadwal who has been placed on his last two outings on the a/w, he can be placed here at a nice price.
Moving west to Berkshire, Newbury has one of their biggest days of the year and there is a big handicap on the card with the BetVictor London Gold Cup at 3.00.
This 1m 2f contest has attracted the best 3-year-old handicappers in training with Richard Hannon’s River Alwen at the top of the weights. He won a classy contest at Newbury a fortnight ago but looks high enough in the weights here.
Charlie Appleby’s unbeaten gelding Tamborrada latest victory was at Doncaster in March and he can show further improvement. Sir Michael Stoute runs Bay Bridge after his win on the a/w at Newcastle in April where he won easily and showed great improvement on last year’s form.
The Gosdens have Highland Rocker here who won comfortably on his turf debut at Ripon in April, a reproduction of that form would see him go very close.
Another Ripon winner last month was Roger Varian’s Dubawi Sands another comfortable performance. But both these winners are stepping up in class and either would have to show a major improvement to take this.
Mark Johnson’s imposingly named King Frankel finally got his head in front in a Class 5 race at Pontefract last month winning by 32 lengths in a three runner contest. Looking at all these improving horses, I’ll put my cross against Tamborrada to take this and continue his unbeaten run for Appleby.
The biggest race of the day by a country mile is the Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes, a Group 1 run over Newbury’s straight mile. The Gosdens have the hot favourite, Palace Pier, who’s is odds-on for this after his string of victories as a 2 and 3-year-old with his only defeat was in the mud of the QEII at Ascot last October. Since then he has been to Sandown and won easily. Gosden will have him spot-on for this and he will be very difficult to beat but as Ascot proved, he is not unbeatable.
AP O’Brien runs Lope Y Fernandez after his win at Leopardstown in April. His previous effort was in the Breeders Cup Mile last November where he was a close up third.
William Haggas’s My Oberon was a comfortable winner at Newmarket last month and he steps up in distance here for the first time.
An outsider with claims at a big price is David O’Meara’s Lord Glitters who after running 6th in the QEII went to Dubai for the winter and had two prestigious victories. He is an 8-year-old and should not really have seen that level of improvement but he did win the Queen Anne, a Group 1, at Royal Ascot in 2019 so is no stranger to this class but Palace Pier looks very special.
Saturday Lucky Fifteen
2.40 Newmarket. Fundamental
3.15 Newmarket. Seven Brothers
3.00 Newbury. Tamborrada
3.35 Newbury. Palace Pier (Lord Glitters e/w)
Bet this lucky 15 now on Bet365