ROYAL Ascot and the Derby are the huge June highlights for racing lovers; however, there may be no more important day for fanatics of the game within the North East than the day after today’s Betfair Exchange Northumberland Plate (3.35 pm) at Newcastle. ‘The Pitmen’s Derby,’ mounted in 1833, is one of the most ancient handicaps within the country. A color over miles, the race became substantially modified in 2016 while it was run for the first time on an artificial Tapeta floor, having previously been operated on turf.
We have seen a few very respectable horses scoop the prize in recent years, not least Withhold 12 months in the past, who won impressively before being centered at the Melbourne Cup. The experience Down Under didn’t go to devise for Roger Charlton’s inmate as he burst a blood vessel in the Geelong Cup. This can be his first begin considering then. However, scarcity has in no way been a hassle for this gelded son of Champs Elysees, and he certainly isn’t handicapped out of it off an 8lb better mark. He isn’t quite a vast enough price for me, though, and the primary one I will be backing is TIME TO STUDY for the in-form Ian Williams backyard.
The five-12 months-old changed into an extremely good 0.33 behind stablemate The Grand Visir inside the Ascot Stakes last week, not quite seeing out the 2m4f ride on smooth ground. That changed into his 0.33 begin for Williams, who is mustard with this type of horse. Time To Study was sixth in this race, remaining year while educated via Mark Johnston off a mark of 108. He lines up the next day off only 96, so he is well-handicapped. A challenge is a short turnaround. However, four of his five career wins have come with a gap of much less than two weeks when you consider his last run.
Kerrin McEvoy, the 2018 Melbourne Cup-prevailing jockey, becomes booked early within the week, and Time To Study appears an impressive every-way wager at 16/1 with Ladbrokes. I can also be backing Tom Dascombe’s PROSCHEMA at 14/1 with Coral. Regular followers of this column will recollect the 4-yr-vintage excellent each-way support at Newmarket for a few weeks while finishing 1/3 at the back of Red Galileo. He relished the step up to 1m6f, and the higher ought to be inside his compass the next day.
Jane Elliott takes to the air a treasured 3lbs from the saddle, and even though this will be his first start on the all-weather, he has to be nicely appropriate to it. Speedo Boy, or any other Williams runner, is also reputable, having split Red Galileo and Proschema at HQ. He usually runs his race; however, he doesn’t look exceptionally well dealt with off 98. There are many different dangers, including Roger Varian’s Gibbs Hill, but he has been off the music for a long time and is now an awful lot higher within the weights than while prevailing a Class Three handicap at Kempton almost years in the past.
The satisfactory great race on Newcastle’s card is the Group Three Betfair Exchange Chipchase Stakes (2.25 pm), which appears on the mercy of James Tate’s INVINCIBLE ARMY if he has recovered from last week’s Diamond Jubilee exertions. The son of Invincible Spirit may want only to end 7th at Ascot. However, he didn’t run poorly, just getting worn out inside the closing levels. It may additionally just be that Ascot doesn’t merely play to his strengths, and he is one from one at the all-climate, having won a Group Three at Kempton in September 2017.
He has to carry a Group Two penalty right here, which makes matters tougher. However, it doesn’t look like the most active renewal, and he has to be the guess at 15/eight with Ladbrokes. The most dangerous is Mr. Lupton, who received a Group Two on the Curragh on his reappearance remaining month. He, therefore, also has to carry a penalty and might be a touch more uncovered than the selection.
