RACE PREVIEW & TIPS (THURSDAY)

18:55 Newmarket

A rare evening meeting on the Rowley mile at head quarters features a four year old plus handicap.

Ten runners head to post for this mile and a half event. Some exposed handicappers in the field including Medalla De Oro who has moved to Tom Clovers yard, he stays well but has had plenty of chances.

The same applies to Rakes Progress and the consistent C’est No Mour, both are definitely up to winning more races but it’s unlikely to be today.

The two standout horses in this race have to be the filly Hameem who carries top weight and also The Pinto Kid.

The former trained by John Gosden was highly progressive last season, she has a beautiful pedigree suited to middle distances and we surely haven’t seen the best of her yet.

Preference however is for the James Fanshawe trained The Pinto Kid. He is another with a stamina laden pedigree,

this long galloping straight should suit him greatly. Fanshawe does well with late maturing types and with a more the satisfactory run under his belt fitness will not be an issue. He is expected to get the better of Hameem on this particular occasion.

THE PINTO KID (WIN)

16:05 York

Although we have two top class Group 2 races earlier on the card we wait until the fifth race on show at York to see today’s selection take centre stage.

A very competitive listed race over the minimum trip sees a total of nine three year old sprinters enter the stalls in which a case could easily be made for at least half of the field.

The likely favourite has to be Soldier’s Call who has achieved far more than any of his rivals with wins in the prestigious Windsor Castle and Flying Childers before mixing it with the best sprinters in the world when finishing 3rd in the Prix de l’Abbaye in France. The classiest horse by far in the race but I’m hoping to find better value with another runner.

At the bottom of the card you’ll find the lightly raced filly Shades Of Blue who did well when finishing 3rd in the Queen Mary last year. A disappointing 3rd placed effort when making her seasonal debut when a short priced, odds on favourite at Doncaster last time out. Dropping back down to the minimum trip looks a positive step and she can put that recent effort behind her with a bold showing today. She looks one of the major players this afternoon but I’m hoping another placed effort is what awaits her.

Breaking a course record takes some serious doing but to do it when making a seasonal debut is very rare. However that is exactly what Garrus did at Nottingham last month. The Jeremy Noseda trained runner looks to have bags of potential but it’s telling that when he stepped up to this level as a two year old he failed to deliver. He may well be a horse who has improved vastly over the winter and if so he’ll be sure to be in the thick of the action. With Ryan Moore onboard he has a great chance but the selection lies elsewhere.

Unlike the aforementioned Garrus, Well Done Fox had a disappointing start to the season when finishing last of seven in his most recent outing. Although that doesn’t look great on the form figures it can be overlooked. Making his reappearance in a race that was dominated by the potential wonder horse in Calyx you can’t grumble too much. The way he ran that day suggests a return to five furlongs will certainly be of benefit and trainer Richard Hannon has been able to grab eight recent winners so has his horses in good order. A former course and distance winner who has champion jockey Silverstein De Sousa in the saddle he’s certainly capable of putting that recent run behind him and return to York’s winners enclosure.

WELL DONE FOX (WIN)

The Cambridge News – PicksfromthePaddock.co.uk:

18:55 Newmarket – THE PINTO KID (WIN)

The Jersey Evening Post – Rory Paddock:

16:05 York – WELL DONE FOX (WIN)

East Anglian Daily Times – Dean Kilbryde:

15:35 York – MUTAFANI (WIN)

Norwich Evening News – Chris Connolly:

15:35 York – FIRMAMENT (WIN)

Ipswich Star – Matt Polley:

17:05 York – PIPES OF PEACE (WIN)