2026 Newmarket & Chepstow Friday Preview & Tips

It’s nearly the middle of October and we are still racing on good to firm ground. Horses that have been waiting for softer conditions will have to keep waiting another while longer but at least we got a drop of rain at Chepstow for the jumpers. Dave Stevos landed one 22/1(NB) place on his return at Longchamp last week, his 2026 Newmarket & Chepstow Friday preview is below.

1.15 Newmarket – Cornwallis Stakes (Group 3)

A big enough field for this G3 sprint for the 2yos and with a few firms paying 4 places, I’ll take a chance on the Irish raider Armor Supreme. Trained by Diego Dias, this daughter of Armor has won two of her five starts and has finished out of the first three just once.

A winner on debut at Goodwood and then runner up in a listed at York on her second start, the only time she finished out of the three was in the G2 Queen Mary at Royal Ascot and she wasn’t beaten that far at all in that race (4l).

At the Curragh on her penultimate start she gained her first win at pattern level in a 5f Listed heat (good) and while she came up short at Longchamp in a G3 on her last start in August, soft ground was a valid excuse and, in any case, she was only beaten 2l into third. Given her profile, odds of 16/1 about this consistent filly look more than fair and hopefully, she gets us off to a solid start.

2026 Newmarket & Chepstow Friday Tip: Armor Supreme e/w @ 16/1 (4 places) nb

1.50 Newmarket – Oh So Sharp Stakes (Group 3)

An even bigger field for this 7f Group 3 with 16 runners and most firms are paying an extra place e/w. I’m going to take a chance on one at a huge price here and the one I am interested in is the Rod Millman trained daughter of Havana Grey, Lola De Valence.

After a modest effort on debut at Salisbury, this filly got off the mark in fine style in a Nottingham novice in early August (6f, gd-fm). Millman wasted no time in stepping her up in grade into Listed company at Salisbury on her next start but I’m not sure the good to soft ground was her bag.

Trip To Ireland

Millman decided to head over to Ireland to try and nick some black type last time out and she wasn’t that far away from doing so at Fairyhouse (6f, good). Outpaced early, she finished with a wet sail to get up for fourth and she was only 2.75l behind the 105 rated runner up Livenka.

On the evidence of that run, she looks well worth a go over 7f and her pedigree suggests the trip might suit too. Rod Millman’s last runner in this race in 2022, Tagline, finished fourth at 25s, hopefully Lola De Valence and the woman of the moment Saffie Osborne can do something similar at odds of 66/1.

2026 Newmarket & Chepstow Friday Tip: Lola De Valence e/w @ 66/1 (4 places)

2.57 Newmarket – Fillies’ Mile (Group 1)

The feature on Friday is this G1 for the fillies and Musical Times will be looking to extend her unbeaten record to four. She absolutely bolted up on her first try at 1m at Donny last time out on good to soft ground and quicker ground here should pose no problems.

The Godolphin filly is clearly the one to beat but she takes on another two undefeated fillies in Forbidden Fire and Lex Victoria, both of whom are priced up at double figure odds. They are both promising sorts but this represents a big step up in class for the two of them and I’ll instead take a chance on an Irish raider who, bar the jolly and the second fav, arguably has the strongest form in this race.

Green Empress

Dancing Destiny was beaten just a head on her penultimate start by Green Empress in a Curragh G2 (7f good) and that form was well advertised by the winner at Longchamp on Sunday. Yes, she was below her best on latest back at the Curragh when a remote third behind the special Sun Goddess but the ground was yielding.

On her sole start at 1m she ran out the winner of a Listed race at Naas so stepping back up to this trip looks a big positive for her, as is the prospect of good to firm ground. At odds of 25/1, Dancing Destiny is the e/w selection.

2026 Newmarket & Chepstow Friday Tip: Dancing Destiny e/w @ 25/1

3.12 Chepstow – Welsh Champion Handicap Hurdle (Class 2)

Nick Schofield made a really promising start to his training career last season and one of the highlights was Queenie St Clair’s win in a valuable mares’ novices’ handicap hurdle at Kelso back in March (2m, good to soft). That came off a mark of 119 and she is 7lb higher now but there could be more to come from her.

I really liked how she jumped and travelled that day at Kelso and while she has won on testing ground, the decent underfoot conditions seemed to bring out the best in her. Yes, she came up short next time in the Scottish Champion Hurdle but she was 4lb wrong that day and the ground was bottomless.

Schofield let her off on her summer holidays after that run and she had a nice pipe opener on the Flat at Ffos Las 12 days ago, presumably to sharpen her up for this. Sean Bowen (who has won on her before) is a positive booking and he has an excellent strike rate when riding for this yard (7-15 with another two top 4 finishes). So, at odds of 40/1, Queenie St Clair has to be worth throwing a couple of quid at e/w.

2026 Newmarket & Chepstow Friday Tip: Queenie St Clair e/w @ 40/1 (5 places)

3.30 Newmarket – Old Rowley Cup Handicap (Heritage)

We’ve already backed Spyce this season to no avail but I think he’s going to relish the step up to 1m4f here. Trained by Alan King, this son of Too Darn Hot has run respectably on two of his last three starts at 1m2f, the only slightly below par run coming when he was ridden closer to the pace than usual at Royal Ascot.

The last two races he’s been ridden patiently in, at Newbury (1m2f, good) and at Doncaster (1m2f, gd-sft) he’s kept on well to be beaten around 3.5l and in both those races, he’s shaped like this sort of trip would suit.

The handicapper generously dropped him 3lb for his latest 3.75l sixth at Donny so he’s 4lb lower than when he was a 3.5l fourth at Newbury in May when he didn’t get the clearest of runs. Rossa Ryan gets another shot at the title today, hopefully he takes his time and if he can time his challenge correctly, Spyce is capable of running into the money here at odds of 14/1.

2026 Newmarket & Chepstow Friday Tip: Spyce e/w @ 14/1 (NAP)

3.43 – Persian War Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2)

Another big field for this Grade 2 novice, hopefully that’s a recurring theme throughout the NH season. Lord Byron, who just failed in a G1 at Punchestown, is the top rated by some distance and he’s had a prep run on the flat. If he runs to his mark, he’s going to take a lot of beating.

To be honest, it is hard to make a solid case for any of the outsiders here. I thought Moulin Rouge was a horse with a future when he was runner up at Leopardstown last Christmas and he won his maiden well at Wexford when last seen in April but he’s got a long absence to overcome and Paul Nolan hasn’t got the best of records with his overseas runners.

We have plenty of bets already so I am going to sit this race out. No bet.

2026 Newmarket & Chepstow Friday Tip: No bet

-DaveStevos