Neil Morrice brings us all of his best bets and tips for Friday’s racing coming your way from Lingfield Park and Newmarket, including video analysis for the group 1 Coronation Cup.
Lingfield Park Best Bets
Race 1: No3 – COCO BEAR
Trainer: Eve Johnson Houghton – Jockey: Oisin Murphy
COCO BEAR hails from a stable that can ready an early juvenile, and the booking of Murphy for the Kodi Bear colt is added reason to think he can make an immediate impact. He’s shown plenty of speed in his work and should offer better value than Mighty Gurkha, who with Archie Watson on his ticket will know the time of day.
Race 2: No3 – BOWMAN
Trainer: Mark Johnston – Jockey: Franny Norton
By Lawman, BOWMAN has done plenty of work ahead of this introduction and can make the long trip from North Yorkshire worthwhile with a win for a stable that will send a bunch of two-year-olds to Royal Ascot later in the month. He’s a half-brother to a dual-winner in Delizia. Another to bear in mind is Archie Watson’s Igotatext, for whom fitness is unlikely to be an issue.
Race 3: No3 – CORVAIR
Trainer: Simon & Ed Crisford – Jockey: Oisin Murphy
This three-year-old only handicap can see the progressive CORVAIR stretch his winning sequence to four. The Crisfords have engaged the champion jockey for their charge, who before the lockdown smoothly took out a handicap here in March. The assessor put him up 6lb for his troubles but another win looks on the cards.
Race 9: No5 – JOVIAL (Nap)
Trainer: Sir Michael Stoute – Jockey: Louis Steward
JOVIAL is strongly fancied to score on her handicap debut in the colours of Khaled Abdullah. The Dubai filly started odds-on favourite for all three starts as a juvenile, giving an indication of how highly she was regarded at home, and duly delivered in the last two at Yarmouth and Newcastle. The fact that she’s already won on the all-weather raises confidence that she can complete a hat-trick.
Newmarket Best Bets
Race 3 No1 BRANDO
Trainer: Kevin Ryan – Jockey: Tom Eaves
With his exemplary record in this Group 3 Abernant Stakes, BRANDO can give short shrift to his mainly younger rivals. He loves the Rowley course with its gradual climb to the finish, and after landing this is 2017 and 2018, narrowly failed to pull off what would have been an unprecedented hat-trick last year. The veteran is giving away age to most of his foes but comes out clearly best on the figures, while his stable has made a pleasing start to the campaign.
Race 4 No11 SANGARIOUS
Trainer: Sir Michael Stoute – Jockey: Ryan Moore
SANGARIOUS again has Royal Ascot on his radar, and as a Group 3 winner dropping into Listed company has to be of serious interest. The son of Kingman took out the Hampton Court Stakes at That fixture last season, and although having a lengthy absence of almost a year to overcome will not lack too much in fitness. He looked in super condition blowing out for this on the Long Hill gallop on Wednesday, and while this will bring him on he’s sufficiently forward to win it.
Hurworth Bloodstock Coronation Cup (Group 1)
Race 5: No3 – BROOME
Trainer: Aidan O’ Brien – Jockey: James Doyle
The first Group 1 of the delayed 2020 season can fall to an outsider in the shape of BROOME. His owners Coolmore also field Anthony Van Dyck, who had my selection just a half-length back in fourth when winning the Investec Derby, and the betting is sure to favour the likes of that colt, Ghaiyyath, Defoe and Stradivarius. Anthony Van Dyke was beaten in the Irish Derby, where Broome stopped as if shot, and didn’t manage to win again, though he did go close in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita. Broome, on the other hand, vanished off the radar after looking badly amiss at the Curragh, but remains a fascinating prospect whose connections clearly think is worth carrying on with. Ghaiyyath tends to win big for Godolphin when he wins, as demonstrated when pulverising Group 1 opposition in Germany last September and then dominating a Group 3 at the Meydan Carnival in February. Defoe took this out last year before landing the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot. He was beaten inches on his 2020 return in Dubai, but rain would assist his cause, and that seems unlikely. Staying champion Stradivarius runs over the mile and a half distance for the first time in three years after dominating the Cup races for the past two seasons. He had a magnificent ten-race winning sequence halted at Ascot last autumn, but if getting a decent pace looks sure to be on the premises.
Prediction
1st BROOME
2nd Stradivarius
3rd Anthony Van Dyck
4th Defoe
5th Ghaiyyath
Race 6: No12 – EDINBURGH CASTLE
Trainer: Andrew Balding – Jockey: Silvestre De Sousa
Running from the base of this handicap it’s hard to get away from EDINBURGH CASTLE as being of serious interest. Gelded since his last of just three career starts, he should get the strong pace that was lacking when he was rolled over as a well-supported favourite at Chelmsford last back end. His trainer’s horses often need a run back, but that hasn’t looked the case this time as they were on the mark with a smart colt at Kempton, and had a narrowly beaten runner at Yarmouth on Wednesday.
Race 8: No12 – ZOOHOOR
Trainer: William Haggas – Jockey: James Doyle
The market is usually the best guide to a fillies’ maiden with no public form on offer and I’ll be surprised if ZOOHOOR isn’t wanted. The daughter of Dark Angel is a half-sister to four individual winners that has shown abundant promise in her work. She can show she can cut the mustard against a handful of equally well-related distaffers.
