UK Racing Tips – Friday 31 March 2023

WETHERBY

Race 2 – SOMEWHAT CLOUDY 83/100

SOMEWHAT CLOUDY is expected to make it two from two over fences in the second at Wetherby. Snapped up for £45,000 by trainer Donald McCain after being placed in an Irish bumper two years ago, the seven-year-old has done very little wrong in nine subsequent starts in Britain. Eight outings over hurdles yielded a solitary victory, but she was also placed on four occasions, including on each of her first three starts this season. McCain felt the time had come to switch his seven-year-old to the larger obstacles at Market Rasen almost three weeks ago and it proved a good call, with Somewhat Cloudy jumping accurately on her way to making a successful chasing debut. She proved that day she goes on soft ground and a 5lb rise does not look unfair ahead of her follow-up bid in West Yorkshire under champion jockey Brian Hughes.

Race 3 – CRUZ CONTROL 1/3

CRUZ CONTROL ought to make the most of having his sights lowered in this novices’ hurdle. The Exeter bumper winner was thrown in at the deep end in a Grade Two bumper at Aintree last spring and it was no major surprise to see him come up short. It clearly did him no harm, though, as he bolted up on his seasonal reappearance and hurdling bow at Newcastle on Boxing Day, earning him another step up in class for a Grade Two on Cheltenham Trials day at the end of January. Cruz Control’s jumping failed to stand up to the test at that sort of level, but he clearly has less on his plate at Wetherby and should be capable of giving weight and a beating to these rivals.

LINGFIELD

Race 4 – SHARP POWER 33/20

SHARP POWER is taken to make it third time lucky in this maiden stakes on the all-weather at Lingfield. The Churchill gelding was a big eyecatcher when filling the runner-up spot on his first start for Richard Hughes at Kempton in mid-February and as a result, went to Southwell next time as a leading contender. He again had to make do with minor honours, this time beaten three-quarters of a length into third place after being ridden positively. Sharp Power stuck to his task well on that occasion, making a rise in distance from six to seven furlongs look a wise move, while the booking of William Buick suggests connections mean business.

LINGFIELD

Race 5 – ANGLE LAND 33/10

ANGLE LAND can continue her excellent run of form for Robert Cowell in the fifth at Southwell this evening. The four-year-old appears to have inherited plenty of speed from her top-class sire Mayson and is really in her groove at the moment, winning three of her last four races. She must contend with a career-high mark of 79, but judged on the way she scored at Chelmsford a couple of weeks ago that does not look insurmountable.

NEWCASTLE

Race 2 – RHYTHM N HOOVES 15/10

Archie Watson appears to have provided Hollie Doyle with a likely comeback winner at Newcastle. Doyle has been sidelined by injury since mid-January, but makes the journey to the northeast for a solitary ride in preparation for the commencement of the new turf season at Doncaster this weekend. The horse in question is RHYTHM N HOOVES, who looked like a winner in waiting when beaten a head by the more experienced Cuban Grey on debut at Wolverhampton. He appeared undone by greenness more than anything at Dunstall Park and just a smidgen of improvement will make him hard to beat in the second at Newcastle.