It’s day one of the Craven Meeting at Newmarket on Tuesday 15th April and the action will all take place in front of the ITV Racing cameras. Four races will be shown live on terrestrial television and our in-house tipster Steve Chambers is here with his best bets across those races, as he looks to grab a couple of winners.
1:50pm Newmarket – Weatherbys With Venatour Racing Handicap
A winner of this race 12 months ago, Dark Thirty is fancied to retain his crown and heads into the 6f contest at 1:50pm on the back of a win and has to be respected. Meanwhile, the likes of Elmonjed and Physique sit prominent in the betting, but there could be value further down the odds and the one that makes most appeal is the William Haggas-trained MORE THUNDER, who takes a huge step down in trip for this contest.
Generally seen running over 1m 2f for Sir Michael Stoute last season, the Night Of Thunder colt drops back to a sprint trip here and he’s certainly of interest. Third on his last start back in September at Newmarket, he tired in the closing stages of that event, so he could really benefit from the shorter distance and he could be one that can strike in the closing stages of the contest and grab victory.
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2:25pm Newmarket – bet365 Feilden Stakes
Impressive when winning his maiden at Kempton back in October, Masai Moon now steps into Listed company for the first time in the 2:25pm. Already holding a Dante Stakes entry, the Charlie Appleby-trained runner is obviously held in high regard, but he could unstuck against Andrew Balding’s ALMERIC, who looks to have a lot of ability and claim victory in this event.
Fourth at Sandown on his first outing, the Study Of Man colt improved significantly when winning at York next time out and he’s not only got a Dante entry, but also sits amongst the Irish Derby entries. Sure to improve this season, Almeric will need to build on that Knavesmire success, but he’s one that should continue his progression this term and could well storm to victory on Tuesday afternoon.
3:00pm Newmarket – bet365 Earl Of Sefton Stakes
Charlie Appleby’s Ottoman Fleet is bidding for a hat-trick of wins in the Earl Of Sefton Stakes at Newmarket at 3:00pm, but the Godolphin raider could be vulnerable to a very exciting four-year-old in the shape of AMBIENTE FRIENDLY, who placed in both the English and Irish Derby last season and he could be a top middle distance performer this season.
Now trained by James Owen, the Gleneagles colt is most certainly going to be using this contest as a stepping stone to bigger things later in the season over a longer trip, but he was high class last season and could prove to be a cut above here. Beaten on both his starts at Newmarket, he was hard to win with last season, but he did compete in some of the premier races on the calendar, so should find these calmer waters at Group 3 level a little easier and he can dominate in the closing stages.
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