Find all previous Seymour Biz racing previews in his weekly column: Saturday Horse Racing Tips.
It is the third and final day of the Autumn Cambridgeshire Meeting at Newmarket and ITV are concentrating mainly on this on Saturday with coverage of four races. This meeting principally features 2-year-old races and the three television cameras are covering, the Royal Lodge, the Cheveley Park and the Middle Park are worth a cool £600,000 between them- and there’s no money in racing!
Unfortunately for us punters looking for value on a Saturday, it is very difficult to find it in these Group races as short-priced favourites tend to dominate. The saving grace for the meeting is the Cambridgeshire itself but that race is notoriously difficult to find the winner. There have been victorious horses at 50/1 and 40/1 in the last four years but I have tried to dissect the race below.
The Newmarket meeting is backed up by two fine handicaps at Haydock Park but it is such a shame ITV could not find room for at least one of the other handicaps on the card instead of the 2-year-old Group races at HQ that hold very little interest to the ordinary punter.
Saturday Lucky Fifteen
2.05 Haydock. Cruyff Turn
2.40 Haydock. Mondammej
3.15 Haydock. Al Simmo
3.40 Newmarket. Fantastic Fox
Bet this lucky 15 now on Bet365
Beginning at Haydock with the 2.05 is the Betway Handicap run over a mile where there has been a disappointing turnout of just seven runners. The bottom weight holds favouritism and that is Charlie Appleby’s Noble Dynasty who is a lightly raced colt that ran second at Newmarket in April and was not seen all summer until coming out and winning at Thirsk at the beginning of this month. He only got home by a short head that day in a three-way photo and steps up in class here and meets some experienced campaigners.
Michael Appleby’s United Front is certainly experienced having only once been out of the frame in eight attempts this year winning twice on the all-weather. His latest run was on the turf at Yarmouth where he finished second and he may have to settle for a place once again.
Afaak is an old campaigner for Charles Hills who invariably finds one or two too good. He has not won for over two years.
Richard Hannon’s Nugget is fancied and has top weight here. He won at Newbury in April then ran second in Thirsk on May Day. He may have had his problems after not running all summer and is best watched.
Tim Easterby’s Cruyff Turn has already won four times this year and was highly fancied at Ayr last week but he was unable to get a clear run. He kept on well to finish fourth and can reward connections by making amends here.
At 2.40 it is the Heed Your Hunch At Betway Handicap a 5-furlong sprint. The top weight here is Charlie Appleby’s Royal Crusade who has been running in Group and Listed company but for all his ability he has been unsuccessful and drops back to handicap company but he has a lot of weight.
Michael Dods’ Jawwaal is fancied after finishing fourth here three weeks ago but he was behind a couple he faces here and may have to settle for a place in the frame.
Tim Easterby’s Copper Knight was one of those who finished in front of Jawwaal three weeks ago, finishing second, but he is a York specialist and has no success when crossing the Pennines into Lancashire.
The winner of that Haydock race was Antony Brittain’s Mondammej and although he has gone up a couple of pounds in the handicap, I think he may be able to handle that and win here again. I will also mention Ian Williams’s Mokaatil who won at Musselburgh in August and may well chase the selection home.
Although the 3.15 at Haydock is not being televised, I will put it in this week’s Lucky Fifteen in lieu of the Group races being shown from Newmarket.
It is the Abacus Securities Handicap where top weight is the highly fancied Call Me Ginger who has been victorious on the last three occasions, the latest of which was at Ayr last week, but he looks high enough in the handicap now.
Geoffrey Harker’s Wentworth Falls was a winner last time at Doncaster but steps up in class here. However, he beat Steph Hollinshead’s Al Simmo that day and she has since run a fair race in Listed company.
Al Simmo has shown some good form this season winning four races but perhaps the leap into a Listed race was a step too far this move back to handicaps could be ideal.
Tony Carroll’s Second Collection seems to do most of her racing at Windsor and won there in August but this is a big ask.
Ed Walker’s Mount Mogan won on the all-weather at Kempton earlier this month and the trainer hopes that win will have boosted his confidence. He may be placed but I will side with Al Simmo to beat him.
The big race of the day, but not the richest, is the bet365 Cambridgeshire Handicap at Newmarket which has an off-time of 3.40.
John Gosden has won this with hot 3-year-old favourites twice in the last three years and he turns up again with another. That horse is Uncle Bryn who was stone dead last in the Dante at York. He was then gelded and came out at Ascot to make all and win reasonably easily in a classy handicap last month.
The Dettori factor will also see him go off at a short price but I think he can be opposed. The Gosdens also run Magical Morning and Poet Of Life and the former could be the better of the two after showing well when running second at York last month.
Chichester is fancied in some quarters after his win at Ayr but before that, he was unsuccessful twice on the all-weather for trainer Keith Dalgleish.
Sir Michael Stoute runs Astro King who has been placed in a couple of big handicaps this summer after winning the first time out in April but he may have to settle for a place once more here.
The one I like is Roger Varian’s Fantastic Fox who was fourth behind Uncle Bryn at Ascot. He would be 4lbs better off here. Before the Ascot race, he had won easily at Haydock and the booking of Atzeni should be noted.
If you’re looking for a big outsider, try John Best’s Plantadream who won a decent handicap at Ascot last September and could go well at a huge price.
Saturday Lucky Fifteen
2.05 Haydock. Cruyff Turn
2.40 Haydock. Mondammej
3.15 Haydock. Al Simmo
3.40 Newmarket. Fantastic Fox
Bet this lucky 15 now on Bet365
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