2026 Ripon & Newbury Saturday Tips – DS
2026 Ripon & Newbury Saturday Preview
Last weekend didn’t go to plan but, bar our final selection, they all ran pretty decent races and we weren’t that far off. Dave Stevos is back to try again, his 2026 Ripon & Newbury Saturday preview is below.
1.55 Newbury – D&H Handicap (Class 3)
There is a pretty decent chance that they’ll go hard from the outset in this sprint. Kinswoman, Wheels Of Fire, Regal Envoy and Hucklesbrook are all potential early pace angles and in the hope that they go too hard early, I’m going to side with the Richard Hughes trained 6yo, The Thames Boatman.
He pounced late to win at Goodwood back in May and he has now slipped back down to that same mark of 74. His last two runs have been pretty decent, finishing second off 76 at Salisbury and then filling the same position when going down by 1.75l at Lingfield three weeks ago.
Given his overall record on turf of 1-21, this son of Havana Grey obviously isn’t the most reliable for win purposes but if the pace collapses late here, hopefully he will be staying on stronger than most and he looks a solid e/w bet at odds of 18/1.
2026 Ripon & Newbury Saturday Tip: The Thames Boatman e/w @ 18/1 (4 places) NAP
2.10 Newmarket – Grey Horse Handicap (Class 4)
Everyone loves a nice grey and this race has ten of them. The only one I can make a case for at a half-decent price is the Richard Hannon trained Cayman Tai. He finished down the field in this last season as a 3yo but he was running off 83 and he actually ran better than the bare result when you consider his rider kept him away from the main pack on the near side, tactics which didn’t work.
He is back for another go this year and this time, he’s 11lb lower. On his penultimate run at York over 5f he finished with a right rattle for fifth and then last time, in the Brighton Bullett handicap over 6f, he again finished off pretty strongly down the outside to finish seventh, 4l behind the winner but only 1.75l off third.
This is a relatively nice pot for a horse that is rated 72 and given how he was ridden at Brighton last time, I’m hoping that this race has possibly been targeted. At odds of 12/1, back Cayman Tai e/w.
2026 Ripon & Newbury Saturday Tip: Cayman Tai e/w @ 12/1
2.55 Ripon – Silver Cup Handicap (Class 4)
From what will hopefully prove to be a favourable draw in stall 16, I’ll take my chances with the course winner Roach Power here. This 7yo enjoyed a fantastic season in 2025, winning five races and going from a rating of 54 all the way up to 87.
This season hasn’t gone as well so far but he showed a little bit more last time out in a class 2 handicap at Windsor and he was eased another 2lb for that effort to a mark of 79. That’s the same rating off which he bolted up at Newmarket last October and while that was over 5f, he’s won over 6f (and 7f) in the past.
Roach Power didn’t win his first race of the season last year until his sixth run, this will be his fifth run of 2026 so hopefully, he can get back to winning ways one run earlier. He’s won and finished second in two previous visits to Ripon, hopefully he can add another 1 or 2 to that sequence here at odds of 14/1.
2026 Ripon & Newbury Saturday Tip: Roach Power e/w @ 14/1 (5 places)
3.10 Newbury – Hungerford Stakes (Group 2)
After Sukanya won over C&D on her seasonal reappearance, Jack Channon was bullish about her future prospects. So was I and I stuck her up for the Irish 1000 Guineas on her next start. She ran an absolute shocker that day on her first run over 1m but to be fair, it was a much better effort in the Coronation at Ascot when she finished 4l behind Precise after not getting the clearest of runs.
Channon persisted at a mile on her next start when dropping her into G3 company back at Ascot but she didn’t see it out and I think we can safely say now that the trip is just a touch too far for the daughter of Havana Grey.
Sukanya now drops back to 7f for the first time since winning that G3 here in April and while she has a bit to find on the figures, she gets the 3yo and fillies’ weight allowances and at this time of the season, they can make a big difference. However, my main angle for backing her is the fact that she’s dropping back to 7f and if she repeats the form she showed over C&D earlier this season, she should be able to hit the frame here at odds of 25/1.
2026 Ripon & Newbury Saturday Tip: Sukanya e/w @ 25/1 NB
3.25 Ripon – Great St Wilfrid Handicap (Class 2)
As I mentioned earlier, a high draw is usually favourable here but it isn’t impossible to win from a low stall, as Intervention showed last year when scoring from stall 1. He made all, as did Sophia’s Starlight when winning from stall 6 and Intrinsic Bond was never far away from the early pace when winning from the same stall in 2022.
Last season, It Just Takes Time ran in the Silver Cup and was drawn in stall 6. He ran a cracker off 80 to finish second and while he is 5lb higher here, he has won off this sort of mark (and higher) in the past, including over C&D.
This time, he’s drawn on the far side again in stall 2 and I’m hoping that he breaks well and gets his own way in front. As he showed when winning at Beverley on his penultimate start, this 8yo still retains plenty of enthusiasm and I think this will be the third time I have tipped him at this meeting. Hopefully he makes it third time lucky at odds of 25/1.
