Neil Morrice brings us all of his best bets and tips for Thursday’s racing at Stratford, Chepstow and York.
Stratford Best Bet
Race 1: ROBIN DE BROOME (9)
Trainer: Olly Murphy
Jockey: Aidan Coleman
Getting weight from his rivals and having a first run since a wind operation, ROBIN DE BROOME has plenty going for him on his second start since joining Murphy. If recapturing the level of form he produced last year he should take this.
Race 2: ARCADIAN SEA (1)
Trainer: Sarah Humphrey
Jockey: Sean Bowen
One of the least experienced in this second division of the novices’ handicap hurdle, ARCADIAN SEA will be hard to beat if progressing from his last run in June. On that occasion, he finished second on handicap debut, with the third home franking the form.
Chepstow Best Bets
Race 5: VALENTINO SUNRISE (5)
Trainer: Mick Channon
Jockey: Scott McCullough
There’s lots to like about VALENTINO SUNRISE even though he’s frustratingly not managed a win so far this season. He’s knocked on the door the last twice, and only last week was pipped in a photo when the principals came clear. Furthermore, he’s due to run from a 4lb higher mark in the future so today looks like his day.
Race 7: TROUBLE SHOOTER (6)
Trainer: Shaun Keightley
Jockey: Josephine Gordon
TROUBLE SHOOTER encounters different ground conditions but if handling this quicker surface has a good chance of notching a third win from his last five starts, and third in succession on grass. He’s a hold-up horse who should find the long straight here an advantage.
York Best Bets
Race 1: LIBERTY BEACH (13)
Trainer: John Quinn
Jockey: Jason Hart
The Lowther Stakes always throws up a filly with a sizzling pace and LIBERTY BEACH has that in bundles. A winner of all but one of her five outings this season and that in the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot, she should take this step up to six furlongs in her stride. She displayed an electric turn of foot to plunder the Group 3 Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood and certainly wasn’t stopping at the finish.
Race 4: ENABLE (1)
Trainer: John Gosden
Jockey: Frankie Dettori
The winner of this Darley Yorkshire Oaks in 2017 but unable to defend her crown when she wasn’t ready last year, ENABLE should deliver in her final outing on English soil. A smooth triumph in the fillies & Mares Group 1 will keep her on course to become the first horse in history to win three Prix de l’Arc de Triumphs. To do that, she must confirm her superiority over Magical, who ran her to threequarters of a length in the Breeders’ Cup Turf in Kentucky. It will be a crippling jolt to her connections, not to mention the massive Yorkshire crowd if she fails.
Race 6: MUBTASIMAH (7)
Trainer: William Haggas
Jockey: James Doyle
Haggas likes nothing better than saddling winners here. A Yorkshireman to his bones, he looks to have strong claims of landing this concluding fillies’ handicap with MUBTASIMAH. Her progressive sequence of three successes from as many starts gives her the look of a filly who is going places, and when completing her hat-trick at Newmarket she could be named the winner a long way out.
