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Alan Kelly's Tips - Thursday, 9 July
Newmarket's three-day July meeting gets underway on Thursday afternoon, the card featuring two Group 2 contests along with the opening Group 3 Bahrain Trophy Stakes at 1:50pm.
The ground at headquarters is expected to ride on the firm side of good.
3.00pm Newmarket - Man Of Vision (Each-Way)
The first two horses home in York’s valuable Macmillan sprint Handicap last month, Thunder Call and Red Spell Danger, take each other on again in this 6f Heritage Handicap, the Tim Easterby-trained runner-up now 2lb better off with William Haggas’s runner for the half length which separated the pair.
Five lengths further back in 9th place on the Knavesmire came Godolphin’s well-supported MAN OF VISION (Each-Way), who was badly drawn in stall 20 and failed to help his cause by hanging to his left inside the final furlong. Now 6lb better off with the winner, and on a course which should suit the grey son of Dubawi, William Buick’s mount gets the each-way vote.
Roger Varian’s Calico Blue had no chance against US speedster Bacio at the royal meeting, but only finished a length behind runner-up Sandal’s Song and is the other one to consider.
Recommendation: Man Of Vision (Each-Way) - 9/1 with Betfred (4 places)
4:45pm Newmarket - Morris Dancer (Nap)
Leading owner Godolphin is represented by both MORRIS DANCER (Nap) and Wild Desert in today’s Listed Sir Henry Cecil Stakes, with stable jockey William Buick aboard the former for John & Thady Gosden, while Ryan Moore takes the mount on Charlie Appleby’s charge. The latter has not been seen since finishing a head second in the Grade 1 Summer Stakes at Woodbine 10 months ago.
The Too Darn Hot colt is likely to be straight enough on his reappearance, although preference is for Morris Dancer, who ran a cracker on his first run of the season when finishing third in Royal Ascot’s Group 3 Jersey Stakes last month.
The son of Palace Pier did absolutely nothing wrong as a juvenile, running Eve Johnson Houghton’s high class Zavateri to a short head in Goodwood’s Group 2 Vintage Stakes before cantering home in a Salisbury Listed contest, beating subsequent Solario Stakes winner A Bit Of Spirit in the process.
Karl Burke’s Shayem is probably best of the rest, but Morris Dancer looks a horse to follow during the rest of the Flat season.
Recommendation: Morris Dancer (Nap) - 11/8 with bet365
5:20pm Newmarket - Shipbourne
Andrew Balding’s Spanish Voice is 3 from 4 on turf and will have the services of jockey Ryan Moore in the saddle for the first time. The Lope De Vega colt faces a tough task with 10st 1lb to shoulder however in a race which is expected to go to the classic generation.
Hugo Palmer’s Lion Of Alba, after finishing 7th of 14 in the Italian 2000 Guineas, ran a stormer to finish 4th of 30 in the Britannia at Royal Ascot, although Oisin Murphy’s mount did have the advantage of being drawn 32 in a race dominated by high numbers.
Ralph Beckett’s SHIPBOURNE is bred to be good, being by Frankel and out of 2010 Newmarket 1000 Guineas winner Special Duty (with the help of the stewards), and makes his handicap debut off an opening mark of 88 following victories at Newbury on his debut last October and Doncaster on his reappearance last month.
The Juddmonte-owned colt’s one defeat came on Kempton’s all-weather surface back in December when third behind horses now rated 103 and 99. While Hector Crouch’s mount made hard work of beating main market rival English Time on Town Moor, that horse has since gone one better courtesy of a comfortable success at Ffos Las.
The other three-year-old in the race, Jane Chapple-Hyam’s The Joker, has each-way claims, but Shipbourne is the one with the potential to go on to better things.
Recommendation: Shipbourne - 9/2 with William Hill
Ante-Post: Coral Golden Mile (Goodwood, 31 July) - Tribal Chief (Each-Way)
Having selected the David Menuisier-trained Tribal Chief for Saturday's valuable Coral Challenge at Sandown, the race was pretty much over for Saffie Osborne's mount as the stalls opened, the five-year-old losing in the region of 8 lengths to his rivals in a race where it was almost impossible to win from such a position.
A fast finishing sixth, beaten three lengths, the son of Sioux Nation nevertheless ran a cracking trial for Goodwood's Coral Golden Mile later this month. Currently standing at number 46 for the £175k handicap on the Friday of the five-day festival, and with a maximum field of 20, the five-year-old will need a few to come out in order to make the cut.
Sixth in last year's race off a 2lb lower mark when beaten three lengths after being slowly away once again as a strongly-fancied 11/2 chance, TRIBAL CHIEF (Each-Way) will need to get his act together as the stalls open on the Sussex Downs, but following excellent efforts in both the Lincoln and Victoria Cup this season, the ante-post selection has a big handicap within him at some point.
Recommendation: Tribal Chief (Each-Way) - 16/1 with Betfred & Paddy Power (¼ odds, 1-2-3-4)
* Betting odds correct at the time of publication. All odds are subject to changes.
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About Alan Kelly
A passionate follower of horse racing for over 50 years, Alan has enjoyed a 40-year career in the betting industry, 28 of which he spent running his betting shop as an owner/manager.
A successful punter with a keen eye for value, Alan has had many betting highlights, including a Scoop 6 win and has shown a consistent profit in the battle with bookmakers since joining Free Bets in 2008.
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