ITV Racing Tips on Friday, April 15th
There is a cracking Good Friday’s racing to end the week as Newcastle plays host to All-Weather Finals Day, the first year the track has hosted the culmination of the All-Weather season. We have scoured through the action to provide our ITV4 tips for all nine scheduled races, with our top tips providing extra selections on what promises to be an unmissable day of racing.
Amilcar (2.00 Newcastle, All-Weather Mile Championships Conditions Stakes) 7/1
My Oberon is expected to go off a warm order for this conditions prize, having finished sixth in the Group 1 Dubai Turf last time out. It’s a slight concern that he only just scrambled home on all-weather debut prior to that, however, and with the suspicion that he’s probably better on turf than synthetics, a chance instead is taken on AMILCAR.
A Listed winner in France at the backend of last year, this 6yo by Wootton Bassett made a promising British debut when fourth in the Listed Lady Wulfruna at Wolverhampton last month.
Amilcar was only beaten 2l there, staying on having looked a little outpaced when turning for home. Stepping back up to a mile on a track nowhere near as sharp is a huge plus on that evidence, whilst it’s also worth mentioning that he conceded 3lb to higher-rated horses the last day, so in the circumstances did very well to finish as close as he did.
Andrea Atzeni keeps the partnership intact this afternoon and, the favourite aside, he’s got a bit in hand on the rest of these rivals.
Crimson Sand (2.20 Lingfield, Betway All-Weather Vase Sprint Handicap) 4/1
Both Count Otto and Mighty Gurkha have good course records and have slipped to tempting marks, particularly the latter, who found only the now 109-rated Diligent Harry too strong (met on levels) 12 months ago.
Whilst neither should be completely dismissed, it is difficult to get away from the claims of CRIMSON SAND here, who was thrice a sprint winner last year, his first two victories coming at this venue.
Richard Hughes’ charge has run well in defeat in all three starts this year, finding only subsequent winner Tone The Barone too strong last time. Stepping back up to 6f is a plus on that showing, whilst it’s very interesting that connections enlist the services of William Buick, who has started the turf season in incredible form.
If cheekpieces manage to unlock even a small amount of improvement from this 4yo today, he looks certain to run another big race.
ITV Racing Tips. Bang in-form rider William Buick can ride a winner on Lingfield’s Friday card.
Harry’s Bar (2.35 Newcastle, Betway All-Weather Sprint Championships Conditions Stakes) 11/1
Experience tended to prevail ahead of potential when this race was held at Lingfield and that trend can be continued here with the 7yo HARRY’S BAR backed to provide Adrian McGuinness with an All-Weather Finals winner.
This lad has proven a fine acquisition for connections at 75,000 guineas, gaining his fourth win for the stable (all coming at Dundalk) when landing a handicap last month.
The first-time cheekpieces applied there have been retained, and although Harry’s Bar is back up in grade he has won at Listed level for the yard, so conditions company certainly doesn’t look beyond him.
Although as mentioned, Harry’s Bar has failed to win away from Dundalk for Adrian McGuinness, he gained victories at a variety of British all-weather tracks when trained by James Fanshawe, even finishing a 12/1 third over this very course and distance back in August 2020 when bumping into a subsequent Group 1 winner in Glen Shiel.
Zameka (2.55 Lingfield, Coral All-Weather Vase Three-Year-Old Handicap) 7/2
There’s not a great deal of form to go in this 3yo handicap, but ZAMEKA has looked like a potentially very exciting horse in his three starts to date, producing progressive form figures of 321, getting off the mark when making all in a Wolverhampton novice back in January.
On his start prior, Zameka had run the classy Tiber Flow to within a neck, and that piece of form suggests that an opening handicap mark of 81 underestimates him.
Roger Varian’s charge has done all his running to date over 7f, yet his prominent style of racing should be suited by this drop back to 6, with his pedigree also offering hope of this (dam Al Ihsas a Queen Mary runner-up). There are plenty of potential improvers but perhaps none more so than Zameka, who has also been gelded since last seen, and as such he is well worth siding with here.
ITV Racing Tips. Roger Varian’s exciting Zameka can land the Three-Year-Old Handicap on Friday.
El Caballo (3.10 Newcastle, Coral 3 Year Old All-Weather Championships Conditions Stakes) 9/4
Tiber Flow is 3-3 and should Zameka do the business at 2.55 will see his form receive a healthy boost just before this conditions race, but at the minute this looks all about EL CABALLO, who got to within a length of the Middle Park third Armor at Doncaster on debut and has won all four starts since, the most recent three coming on the all-weather.
El Caballo built on a course and distance conditions success when scoring in Listed company at Lingfield last month, a performance that can be marked up as El Caballo played up a little in the preliminaries (reluctant to load) and took a little organising when turning for home.
The return to this straight track should suit El Caballo, and it seems pretty notable that stable rider Clifford Lee chooses him ahead of Kaboo, another exciting colt for the Karl Burke yard.
Internationalangel (3.45 Newcastle, Coral All-Weather Fillies’ And Mares’ Championships Conditions Stakes) 2/1
There doesn’t appear a great deal to separate Highfield Princess, Arousing and Fauvette on their Chelmsford February running, but the former does come out on top on these terms.
She hasn’t really looked at her best since returning from an absence, however, and comes up against a rapidly improving rival here in INTERNATIONALANGEL.
Jane Chapple-Hyam’s mare completed an incredible six-timer when scoring over course and distance in February, quickening clear to win eased down from a subsequent dual winner in Whittle Le Woods.
That was the performance of a pattern-class performer, and although International Angel saw her winning sequence come to an end in Listed company at Wolverhampton last time, that run can be easily forgiven considering that she hung right and made her challenge very wide. It is probably best to put a line through that showing, and back at this venue expect a far better showing under Hollie Doyle, who has been booked to ride for the first time.
This grey still looks on the upgrade and is backed with confidence to regain the winning thread on Friday afternoon.
ITV Racing Tips. Hollie Doyle and Jane Chapple-Hyam can team up to land the Fillies’ and Mares’ on All-Weather Finals Day.
On A Session (4.00 Lingfield, All-Weather Vase Mile Handicap) 7/1
Since taking up a dual license this season, the David and Nicola Barron yard has enjoyed a scintillating run of form, with their last five runners producing form figures of 21312. ON A SESSION can enhance that with victory in Friday’s mile handicap.
This gelding admittedly hasn’t got the greatest strike rate being just 3-25 in his career to date (0-11 for this stable), but he has threatened to better that on a number of occasions, including when runner-up at last year’s Galway Festival.
On A Session finds himself on a pound lower mark here, that despite producing an eye-catching performance to finish third in a Kempton handicap last time out, when staying on for third behind two classy rivals.
This represents a quite significant drop from 0-105 company into 0-90 level, and whilst On A Session has never raced at this venue it looks certain to suit his come from behind style, so expect a big showing here under Rossa Ryan.
Onesmoothoperator (4.15 Newcastle, Betway All-Weather Marathon Championships Conditions Stakes) 14/1
A trio of triple-figure-rated stayers sit atop of the market for this extended 2m contest, but it might just pay to chance something at a big price for this event, with ONESMOOTHOPERATOR a fascinating contender for Brian Ellison.
This son of Dialed In has produced form figures of 21222 since joining this stable from David Simcock, looking particularly unfortunate not to go in over course and distance latest; short head behind Nate The Great.
He is worse off with that rival today and finds himself up against it on the bare figures on these terms, but this strong traveller strikes as the type to improve when facing better opponents, with connections even hinting that a tilt at the Northumberland Plate back here may be on the agenda later in the season.
That suggests they feel we have clearly yet to see the best of Onesmoothoperator, whose overall form figures here at Newcastle now read an impressive 13222, and therefore the price available seems just a little too big to ignore.
ITV Racing Tips. Brian Ellison’s Onesmoothoperator can cause an upset in the All-Weather Marathon.
Tyrrhenian Sea (4.45 Newcastle, Betway Easter Classic All-Weather Middle Distance Championships Conditions Stakes) 8/11
The feature Easter Classic possibly lacks the sparkle of recent renewals, with the last two winners rated 111 and 112 but the highest-rated runner here the 106-rated Living Legend. That gelding must be respected having claimed Listed honours at Kempton last month, but with fellow front-runner Al Zaraqaan in the line-up he could find his favoured easy lead tough to come by, and this could set up for something coming from off the pace.
United Front is a likely player back on his favoured synthetic surface, having struggled in the Lincoln last time out, yet whilst this will almost certainly be run to suit him, he appears to face a tough test coming up against a potentially well above average sort in TYRRHENIAN SEA.
Roger Varian’s 4yo wasn’t made to work hard for three wins here over the winter, and whilst his unbeaten record came to an end at Kempton last month, it almost certainly wouldn’t have done had Tyrrhenian Sea had any sort of luck in running (stuck in a pocket throughout the home straight).
He was ultimately beaten just a half-length in fourth, with United Front second, but even though that rival enjoys a 5lb weight pull here it is difficult to see the form being confirmed, with Tyrrhenian Sea unlikely to be suffering the same fate on this bigger track, with just the five runners capable of getting in his way.