2023 Wednesday Newmarket Craven Meeting Tips – DS
2023 Wednesday Newmarket Craven Meeting Tips
We got a couple of decent runs for our money on Day 1. Awtaad Prince drifted like a barge and was ridden accordingly. Final Watch missed the break badly and just missed out on a place in 4th. Toshizou was also slowly away but our 20/1 e/w NB managed to get up on the line for place money in 3rd. We are back in action tomorrow with a bonus race from Cheltenham, check out our 2023 Wednesday Newmarket Craven meeting tips below.
1.30 Cheltenham – Silver Trophy Handicap Chase (Grade 2)
A dozen chasers will go to post for this valuable 20f Grade 2 handicap chase and Heltenham, who is chasing a four timer, heads the market for the Skeltons. Those last three wins have come on easy ground and he has failed to win both previous starts on genuinely good ground. That’s the type of ground it is going to be at Cheltenham tomorrow so he could be worth taking on off an 11lbs higher mark than last time out.
At huge odds, maybe Cilaos Emery can roll back the years now dropped in trip and returned to good ground. This 11yo was formerly trained by Willie Mullins and it is just a year ago since he ran 2nd behind Easy Game over 20f at Fairyhouse in a G2 Chase. On his next start at Thurles, 22f on yielding proved beyond him and it was bottomless over the same trip on his last run for Mullins at Tramore.
Poor Start
This son of Califet started out with a poor run for his new yard at Auteuil (18f sft). If you just looked at the result of his last race at Kelso (26f sft) you’d see he finished 8th of 10 and was beat 25L. However, he shaped a lot better than the result suggests. He led from the outset, jumped lovely and he only faded between the final two fences.
His form figures on good to yielding or quicker read 1121 and he has run well over hurdles at Cheltenham before. Sean Bowen had a sighter on him at Kelso and he has kept the faith and three of Leech’s last seven runners finished 2nd. A mark of 142 looks generous on that Easy Game form from last April and if Cilaos Emery repeats that, he could outrun his odds of 35/1.
2023 Wednesday Cheltenham Tip: Cilaos Emery e/w @ 35/1 (4 places)
1.50 Newmarket – Connaught Access Flooring Handicap (Class 4)
These early season 3yo handicaps are devilishly difficult puzzles to solve. Fifteen run and after seeing how breezy it was on Tuesday at Newmarket, you’d imagine the ground will be closer to good than soft there today. A case can be made for most of these promising young horses but at the prices, Cobalt Blue is the one that stands out as maybe being a bit too big at around 16/1.
This son of Sioux Nation is having his first run since being gelded in the off season. He showed plenty of promise in his 2yo career, improving for every run and just failing to shed his maiden on his last two runs. At Espom (7f gd) he went down by a head to Chartwell House. Then, three weeks later at Wolves (8.5f st), he found just Lion Kingdom too good. The 3rd from that Epsom race, Red N Blue Candy, won a maiden next time and was beat just 3L in a G3 on his last start of the season (now rated 94).
The drying ground should suit this lad and he comes into the race with his trainer in form. Roger Varian has had 18 runners in the last two weeks, returning three winners and ten top four finishers. His horses are clearly in good nick and this horse has enough form in the book to suggest that a mark of 82 might be generous. At odds of 16/1, Cobalt Blue is the e/w selection.
2023 Wednesday Newmarket Craven Meeting Tip: Cobalt Blue e/w @ 16/1 (4 places)
2.25 Newmarket – Weatherbys Digital Solutions Handicap (Class 2)
Another wide open handicap, this time for the older horses over 6f. Aleezdancer is the 5/1 jolly after his dominant win at Doncaster on his seasonal bow. He got a hefty 7lb hike for that win though and he might want softer ground than he’ll get here. Chairmanoftheboard also ran in that race and he finished 8th of 19, 8.5L behind the winner. He is now 8lbs better off with that rival and on this ground and track, he might turn that form around.
I’d imagine Jack Channon’s main aim with this horse is the 6f Heritage Handicap back here at the end of the month. Chairmanoftheboard was beat by just 1.5L into 3rd in that race behind Blackrod last year off a mark of 94. Interestingly, he was only 2.5L behind Aleezdancer two starts later at Ripon when giving him 2lbs. He gets 12lbs from him here, so he is a stone better off.
If Chairmanoftheboard is going to get back into that valuable handicap in a couple of weeks, he’ll need to go up in the weights. So, surely, he’ll be doing his best here and there is no doubt he is on a very competitive mark (last won off 91, runs off 88). He’s won here on the July Course, he’s been 3rd both previous runs over today’s C&D and his odds of 10/1 are just about big enough for the blog. Chairmanoftheboard is a confident e/w selection.
2023 Wednesday Newmarket Craven Meeting Tip: Chairmanoftheboard e/w @ 10/1 (4 places) NAP
3.00 Newmarket – bet365 Feilden Stakes (Listed)
Ralph Beckett’s horses have returned to action in great form and he runs Captain Wierzba in this Listed contest. By Night Of Thunder, this 3yo has had just four starts. A promising debut at Windsor (6f gd/fm) was followed by an emphatic win at Ffos Las (7.5f gd) and Beckett wasted no time in stepping him up in grade.
He obviously thought testing ground would suit this fella judging by how he was campaigned. In late September he headed to France for a G3 at Saint Cloud and Rossa Ryan was infamously pushed out of the saddle by Christophe Soumillon. Beckett then headed for the G1 Vertem Futurity at Doncaster (8f hvy) but his charge could only manage 6th, 9.5L behind the winner Auguste Rodin but only 0.5L behind the 106 rated Dancing Magic in 4th.
Maybe Beckett misjudged the type of ground that Captain Wierzba wanted. There’ll be a small bit of juice in the ground today and that could turn out to be perfect. He’s the third highest rated horse in the race (102) and he has the potential to rate even higher than that this season. On pedigree this step up in trip should really suit and he looks well overpriced at odds of 18/1.
2023 Wednesday Newmarket Craven Meeting Tip: Captain Wierzba e/w @ 18/1 NB
3.35 Newmarket – Nell Gwyn Stakes (Group 3)
Barefoot Angel is a horse that owes us nothing. We backed her once last year, in the G3 Firth Of Clyde at Ayr, and she showed a really smart turn of foot to land the spoils at tasty odds. She beat Believing into 2nd by a neck and she re-opposes here today. I think she is more than capable of upholding that form over this extra furlong, especially after seeing how strongly she finished off her race in the 6f Two Year Old Trophy at Redcar (gd/sft) on her last start of 2022.
A daughter of Dark Angel, Richard Fahey’s filly is a full sister to a multiple 7f winner and that might turn out to be her optimal distance. However, her dam is a half to a couple of Listed winners at 10f/12f so you wouldn’t totally discount her staying further, but this looks an ideal trip to start her back over.
Oisin Orr retains the ride having ridden at Redcar and he’ll be keen to get a first winner on the board for this owner. There’s plenty of unexposed fillies from big yards/owners in this race but Barefoot Angel is a smart horse in her own right and if she has trained on, she can hopefully finish fast and strong for the e/w money at odds of 20/1.
