2020 Newbury Saturday Tips by Dave Stevos
122020 Newbury Saturday Tips For ITV4 Live Races
Sunday at Leopardstown promised much but delivered little for us. Heavy watering to appease Elliott and Mullins did nothing to help most of our selections. Rhythm Divine was still going perfectly well in the opener before falling two out. She is one to keep an eye out for on her current mark. Never Do Nothing didn’t run anywhere near to form and got stuck in the mud around the top bend. De Name Escapes me ran better than his finishing position and has a similar race in him at some point. Jett ran a huge race for us at 125/1 in the big one. I look forward to seeing him in the Gold Cup on better ground. It is Betfair Hurdle day today, check out Dave Stevos 2020 Newbury Saturday tips below…
2020 Newbury Saturday Tips: 1.50 – Handicap Hurdle (Class 2)
First up at Newbury live on ITV4 is this 3 mile handicap hurdle. A field of 9 will go to post and One For The Team looks a worthy favourite. He has knocked on the door on his last three runs and his turn can’t be too far away. He has sneaked up in the weights without winning though and he might prefer softer ground than what he gets here. At the prices, Versatility could be worth an each way interest upped in trip and back on better ground.
This 6yo son of Yeats is lightly raced and he ran alright at Ascot (21f hvy) on handicap debut off 128. He also produced a good effort on his seasonal return at Kempton (21f gd) shaping as though further would suit. His only hurdles win came on good ground (19f) at Warwick last season and he seems to prefer a sounder surface. Nicky Henderson is in solid form, Nico De Boinville rides and at odds of 15/2 Versatility is the e/w selection.
NEWBURY SATURDAY TIPS: VERSATILITY E/W @ 15/2 NAP
2020 Newbury Saturday Racing Tips: 2.25 – Game Spirit Chase (Grade 2)
With the Gold Cup dream over for Altior, he returns to 2 miles in the Grade 2 Game Spirit. The 2017 winner of this race is the best 2 mile chaser of his generation and I’m not sure why connections felt the need to try and stretch his stamina. The lure of a Gold Cup is clearly strong, but you wouldn’t see Blue Point’s owners trying to win a Derby with him. To be fair to Altior, he wasn’t disgraced behind Cyrname last time. He was only beat 2L but even so, it was disappointing to see him lose his unbeaten record over jumps.
It would be even more disappointing if he gets beat here, but to be honest it is hard to see him losing. I am a big Bun Doran fan and he was impressive at Kempton last time. He is rated 15lb lower than Altior though and the best he can hope for is some place money. I’d love to see Simply Ned run well here and he will appreciate the better ground. He got stuck in the soft ground at Leopardstown but he travelled well for a long way. The likes of Kalashnikov, Sceau Royal and Dynamite Dollars add further intrigue but they will probably have to play second fiddle to Altior. Not a betting race for me but one that is well worth watching closely with Cheltenham in mind.
2020 NEWBURY SATURDAY RACING TIPS: NO BET
Newbury Saturday Preview: 3.00pm – Denman Chase (Grade 2)
The second Grade 2 on the card at Newbury is the Denman Chase. Run over a trip just shy of 3 miles, another big Cheltenham hope will go off at short odds here. Native River, the Gold Cup hero of 2018, is around 1/3 for this race. He returned to action with a commanding win at December at Aintree, beating Black Corton easily.
Might Bite unseated in that contest and it would take a big leap of faith to back him given his recent form. His last 3 runs produced form figures of PUP and that probably describes him perfectly. That leaves another five and none of them, bar one, has proven stamina for this trip. The only horse that is guaranteed to stay the trip is Welsh National 5th, The Two Amigos. He stays further than 3 miles and with Native River and a number of other pace angles in the race, this could be a proper test. He has placed form on good and has won on good to soft and while softer ground would suit better, he should handle the conditions. Nicky Martin’s charge is worth a small interest e/w at 12/1 in the betting without Native River market.
NEWBURY SATURDAY TIPS: THE TWO AMIGOS E/W WITHOUT native river @ 12/1
Newbury Racing Tips: 3.35pm – Betfair Hurdle (Grade 3)
A maximum field of 24 will line up at the tape for this 16f Grade 3 handicap hurdle. Not So Sleepy was talked about as a Champion Hurdle horse after his romp at Ascot on heavy but good ground could find him out. He has shown his best form on soft ground and he is 17lb higher than last time too. One horse that should absolutely relish the good ground at Newbury today is last year’s Triumph Hurdle 4th, Nelson River.
Trained by in form Tony Carroll, this horse has yet to get going this season. However, it was heavy ground for his two hurdle starts and he likely needed his comeback run on the all weather. Tony Carroll put him away after he was well beat in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle (16f hvy). After a 50 day break he returned to action with a perfectly respectable run in 4th over 14f at Wolverhampton. That trip stretches him on the level and it looked all over like a prep run for a bigger race.
This will be Nelson River’s handicap debut over timber and a mark of 142 looks more than fair on that Triumph Hurdle effort. That form looks strong with the likes of Pentland Hills, Couer Sublime and Quel Destin now rated in the mid 150s. His sole run on genuinely good ground resulted in a win at Cheltenham and this looks his ideal trip. Carroll has had 6 winners in the last 2 weeks and Harry Bannister has 7 wins and 14 top 4 finishes from 45 rides for the yard. All things considered, Nelson River looks well worth an e/w bet at odds of 66/1.
