Newmarket Craven Meeting Wednesday Tips – DS
Newmarket Craven Meeting Wednesday Preview and Tips
Bring back the jumps!! We had a shocker on Tuesday. Lucy Lightfoot was far too free and she’ll learn loads from that run. I’m not sure what sort of a ride Ostilio was given and he finished last. There was no early pace in Chichester’s race and it turned into a sprint. Romantic Time pulled like a dog for 2f so it wasn’t a bad effort from her in 6th. She should improve plenty for that run. It is Craven day on Wednesday, hopefully its not another day where shorter priced horses dominate. Check out our Newmarket Craven Meeting Wednesday tips below.
1.15 – Maiden Fillies’ Stakes (Class 4)
Not a race to be getting carried away with. Ameynah is the favourite on the back of her 2nd to Ribbon Rose on debut here. That form took a knock on Tuesday though and Roger Varian is 0/11 in the last two weeks. The Haggas and Gosden newcomers are both around the 7/2 mark and they are both very well bred. Queen Of Comedy ran okay in a couple of races at the backend of last season but she didn’t show enough to suggest that she’ll be up to winning a maiden.
Brian Meehan’s pair are 16/1 and on jockey bookings, it looks like Gulf is his main hope. Eagle Path has experience and she ran nicely on her debut at Doncaster (7f gd). That is ordinary form though and she was far too keen on her next start when well beaten on the July course (7f gd/fm). She looks more of a handicap prospect. The market leaders will likely dominate this so I am going to leave it alone. No bet.
Newmarket Craven Meeting Wednesday Tip: No Bet
1.50 – Bet 365 Handicap (Class 2)
If he is held up and ridden patiently, Robjon is capable of running big here. Trained by Richard Hannon, this son of Mukhadram is in off a mark of 93 today. He started the season rated 95 after an excellent effort in Listed company at Newbury on his final start in 2021. He was 2.25L behind Bayside Boy and Masekela. The winner, Masekela, went on to run a big race in the G2 Royal Lodge and is rated 107. Bayside Boy went on to be placed in two G1s and is now rated 114.
When you consider that Robjon was off level weights with those two, he surely looks well handicapped now off 95. Yes, he didn’t run to his best on his comeback at Kempton under a 7lb claimer but you’d imagine that was a run to tee him up for a return to the turf. Rossa Ryan takes over now and Hannon won the opening race here on Tuesday.
The drop back to 6f should suit this fella well. A strongly run race would be ideal too and he should get that with the likes of Object, Dig Two and Loves Me Likearock all horses who like to be up there from the start. Hopefully their lack of a recent outing counts against them late on and Robjon swoops late to pick up the pieces. At odds of 22/1, Robjon is worth backing e/w.
Newmarket Craven Meeting Wednesday Tip: Robjon e/w @ 22/1 NAP (5 Places Hills)
2.25 – Wood Ditton Maiden Stakes (Class 3)
Just like the opener yesterday, this is a bit of a guessing game. In recent renewals the bigger yards have tended to dominate but not necessarily with the most obvious horses. Charlie Appleby has two of the three market leaders, one by Dubawi and one by Shamardal. They both have attractive profiles but at odds of 25/1, so does American Flag.
Trained by Ed Walker, Bjorn Neilsen bred this son of Sea The Stars. A mile looks like the perfect trip for him to start over. He is a half brother to Auriferous, a horse who finished in the first three in eight of his nine runs as a 3yo. His dam won four races at around 10f but she is also related to plenty of horses that were effective over shorter.
Richard Kingscote rides and he is 1/10 with six top 4s when riding for Nielsen, a frame hitting strike rate of 70%. His record for Ed Walker is also decent, 23 winners and 52 top 4s from just 151 rides. Only connections know how well this colt is moving at home but there are enough positives on paper to justify a small e/w interest at odds of 25/1.
Newmarket Craven Meeting Wednesday Tip: American Flag e/w @ 25/1 (4 places)
3.00 – Abernant Stakes (Group 3)
Eight are due to go to post for this 6f Group 3, hopefully they all stand their ground tomorrow. We backed Ebro River when he won at the Curragh (6f yld) over this trip last season. He wasn’t quite as good over 7f on his final two runs so dropping back to 6f looks the right move. His 4L 3rd behind Native Trail in September (7f gd) is arguably the best bit of form in this race and if he is fully wound up and ready to go, he could be hard to beat. Any rain would be in his favour.
At slightly bigger odds, Double Or Bubble looks a fascinating contender. Trained by Chris Wall, this horse has an excellent record when fresh. She has won on her seasonal reappearance for the past two years in a row. In 2020 she landed a maiden at Sandown and in 2021 she scored in a handicap over 7f at this meeting.
She added a Listed race at Pontefract (6f gd/fm) subsequently before running with real credit in G3s at Goodwood and Doncaster. She does have to give weight to Ebro River but the 3yo allowance becomes more significant later in the season. With a rating of 105 she has nothing to find with Jumby (106) and Garrus (110) and she gets 3lbs from those two. At odds of 7/1, Double Or Bubble is worth chancing each way.
Newmarket Craven Meeting Wednesday Tip: Double Or Bubble e/w @ 7/1 NB
3.35 – Craven Stakes (Group 3)
This race is all about one horse…Native Trail. Trained by red hot Charlie Appleby, this son of Oasis Dream was unbeaten in four runs as a 2yo. Those four wins included three Group races, the last two being Group 1s at the Curragh and over today’s course. Will he get 8f? On the evidence of his Curragh win you would think yes.
However, there are mixed messages in his pedigree. Oasis Dream has produced plenty of horses that have won at 8f but he has covered seven Observatory mares in total and while they have won 18 races between them, none of them won over any further than 7.5f. If he is going to win he’ll need to buck that trend and even with just seven runners, I think he might be worth taking on at odds of 2/5.
Stamina Assured
One horse whose stamina is assured is Zecheriah. Trained by Martyn Meade, this son of Nathaniel took a while to get the hang of things last season. He finished 6th and 8th on his first two outings but he left those runs behind at Sandown (7f gd/fm). After a slightly slow start he needed a bit of encouragement but once he hit the front a furlong out he pulled clear to score by 3.5L. Five of the horses that finished in behind him have won since.
Meade stepped him up to a mile next time in a class 2 conditions race at Newbury. This time he broke well and made all, beating Westover by 2.25L. He was beat a neck in a Listed race next time and the third ran well in a couple of races in Meydan (rated 88). Okay, it’s not Group 1 form but a couple of the shorter priced ones have only run in maiden/novice company. He has already won over a mile too, unlike the majority of his rivals.
Martyn Meade also has an excellent record at Newmarket. On the Rowley course he has had 77 runners and 15 winners with a further 22 top 4s (+£132.40 to a £1 stake). The yard had a winner last week and Rob Hornby rode that one to victory. He gets the leg up on Zecheriah too and at odds of 20/1, hopefully he makes a bold bid from the front.
