There’s a super six races live on ITV this Saturday, who are showing the pick of the action from Newbury and Newcastle. That includes the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle where Constitution Hill makes his eagerly awaited season reappearance, as well as the ultra competitive Coral Gold Cup at Newbury.
GG writer Jake Russell is on hand to give his tips for all six races. Back his selections with BetMGM’s HUGE new customer offer of £40 in Free Bets when you deposit and bet £10!
1.40pm Newbury – Coral Racing Club Handicap Hurdle (Class 2)
A very trappy and competitive contest to open the ITV Racing schedule, where we get to see Jet Powered make his seasonal debut, 336 days after his disappointing effort in a Introductory Hurdle at Newbury. Therefore I will be opposing him here, with Get A Tonic of the Skeltons. Already had the one run this season, she was sent over fences at Warwick where she came a distant 4th to Iroko, so has been reverted back to Hurdles here. With a run under her belt already this season just 25 days ago, she will arrive here fresh and fit. The step down to 2m4f from 3-miles might be a little concerning, however early on in her Novice Hurdling days she does have some decent form over this shorter trip than the 3 miles she has been operating at lately. Sometimes when a horse is dropped down in trip it can be a cause for concern for most, however I think this is a plus with this horse as she might be a better proposition at 2m4f. The fact that connections have wasted no time in getting her back over hurdles might suggest something, and I feel she is coming along nicely to land a race of this nature over the smaller obstacles.
1.55pm Newcastle – BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle (Grade 1)
This race obviously evolves all around the hurdling superstar Constitution Hill, who is 7 for 7 over hurdles under rules, with two Cheltenham Festival wins to his name already. He was absolutely foot perfect in the Champion Hurdle in March, where he smashed State Man by 9 lengths who has since won two Grade 1’s since they met at the festival. He is just the class act in the 2-mile hurdling scene and maybe even beyond, so there isn’t to much for us to say here that many don’t already know. He won the Fighting Fifth last season, getting harder pieces of work at home, and this race probably isn’t as strong as last season. Therefore he should be winning this with his head in his chest before going onto bigger things again this season.
2.15pm Newbury – Coral Bet Bundles Intermediate Handicap Hurdle (Class 1 Premier Handicap)
This is a decent little contest, and all eyes will be on Under Control who by passed the Greatwood Hurdle for this race on Saturday, and I just think race fitness might catch him out here after not running for 210+ days. Therefore with that in mind, Brentford Hope is the one I would side with at the prices. Granted Under Control might be the type to improve past most of these, I just think he might come on better with each passing run this season. Once a Derby hopeful, Brentford Hope has been with Harry Derham for a little while now where he has racked up 3 wins over Hurdles in just 4 career runs, rising all the way from a 113 horse to a 133 horse here, just 4lb’s below the Henderson horse in the rankings. As mentioned he has the race fitness and does come here off the back of a very convincing 16 length win in a Conditional Jockeys Handicap under Alice Stevens, really winning in style that day. He needs to step up in class here to land a contest of this nature, and needs to back that effort up from last time. However with race fitness on his side, I think he could be a upwardly mobile horse now in terms of improvement, and I think he could land back to back course and distance races come Saturday.
2.50 Newbury – Coral Gold Cup Handicap Chase (Class 1 Premier Handicap)
It’s no secret to our readers that I am a huge fan of Complete Unknown and his chances for the Coral Gold Cup this weekend, as I stated on my horses to follow article via GG that he is the perfect fit for this race come Saturday. Paul Nicholls has won this race on three separate occasions with Strong Flow and the tank Denman twice. Complete Unknown was a Novice Chaser last season and ran well in some good graded contests, before going on to make a start in his seasoned chasing campaign, where this has been the main plan for a little while for this horse. He has already had the pipe opener this season, when winning by a length at Newton Abbot just 42 days ago. The win last time wasn’t exactly pleasing to the eye, however it was small field on heavy going and the way the race was run, didn’t suit him at all. He basically had to do all the donkey work from the front, jumping and travelling well before forging clear in the closing stages. Race fitness is on his side, plus he carries a nice enough weight around here. I feel this horse is a graded type in a handicap on Saturday, so I think he will win this, and win this well before going on to bigger and better things as the season progresses. A slight risk might be taken with the price in a competitive big field race like this, however I am pretty confident this horse will get the job done come Saturday.
Coral Gold Cup – Key Runners, Outsiders To Watch + Verdict For Saturday’s Feature At Newbury
The Coral Gold Cup is one of Newbury’s feature races of the season, and has been won by some very good chasers in the past. One of the main names to win this race include ‘The Tank’ Denman, plus Many Clouds and Bobs Worth. This is a race all connections want to win, and they…
Tue 28 Nov 20233.05pm Newcastle – BetMGM Rehearsal Handicap Chase (Class 1 Premier Handicap)
Nicky Henderson couldn’t help but show his disappointment when Shishkin refused to run in the Grade 2 Chase at Ascot last time, meaning the King George was slightly up in the air, especially if they couldn’t get a prep run in Shishkin before he went to the King George. However they have found a race for him at Newcastle on Saturday, and although he has to lumber around a whole lot of weight, over 3-miles in a testing race, he is by far the best horse in the contest therefore he is hard to oppose, even if he does carry 12 stone, almost 2 stone more than the rest of the field. This will be a real test for him, and Nicky Henderson isn’t one to send a horse to a race in desperation for a prep run, so he wouldn’t send his star chaser up to Newcastle if he didn’t think the race would be suitable. He is lightly raced over this 3-mile trip, however he won a Grade 1 over 3-miles at Aintree for his last run of the season last term. I think the 3-mile trip is more his bag now adays, as it gives him time to switch off during races. If he can carry 12 stone to victory here on Saturday, it will be one of the great weight carrying performances we have seen in a little while. Weight carrying performances are somewhat of a rarity now, they used to be a regular occurrence many years ago.
3.25pm Newbury – Coral Get Closer To The Action Handicap Chase (Class 2)
A decent little chase contest to end the day for the ITV Racing viewers, I feel this is a good opportunity for Master Chewy to get back to winning ways here after a decent win on chase debut at Aintree by 12 lengths, before coming 2nd giving plenty of weight away to Djelo on his second chase start at Aintree once again. That Chase debut was a great sceptical to watch, jumping very well indeed and travelling well before keeping on well to win readily in the end by 12 lengths. He only lost next time out by three quarters of a length, to a horse he was giving plenty of weight too, only just getting beat in the closing stages by a Venetia Williams horse, and we all know how well her horses are going at the moment. He takes a slight step up in class here to a class 2 contest, but the form he has shown over fences so far this season has shown he can take this step up in class in his stride. He is the least exposed chaser in the field, and I think he could improve enough to land a contest of this nature.
ITV Racing Tips
1.40 Newbury – Get A Tonic (11/2 Generally)
1.55 Newcastle – Constitution Hill (1/5 Generally)
2.15 Newbury – Brentford Hope (11/4 Generally)
2.50 Newbury – Complete Unknown (6/1 Generally)
3.05 Newcastle – Shishkin (6/4 Generally)
3.25 Newbury – Master Chewy (2/1 Generally)
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