Newmarket Spring Meeting Tips Day 1

It’s a busy week for racing, as York’s Dante meeting has been underway since Wednesday and the action shows no signs of stopping with Newmarket’s three-day Spring Meeting set to kick off on Friday.

Friday's card runs from 14:23-16:55 and it features some competitive handicap action. Ground conditions are currently described as good to firm and you’ll be on the lookout for horses with proven form in quick conditions if that persists.

We’ve assessed all six races on the card and selected our best bet for each. These include an impressive last-time-out winner for David O’Meara who can continue progressing.

14:23 - Trustatrader Apply Today "Hands And Heels" Apprentice Handicap (7f)

ANOTHER THOUGHT is still finding her feet in handicaps and it’s certainly premature to give up on her just yet. Already a winner, she got off the mark when scoring by a narrow margin at Lingfield on just her second start.

It’s fair to say her two efforts in handicap company thus far have been pretty underwhelming, but we haven’t seen the best of her just yet. The handicapper has responded accordingly and those two runs have led to a 5lb drop in the weights.

Her latest effort at Lingfield earlier this month was her first first start for 319 days and she’s entitled to improve for the run. Better is expected here and she should become competitive again sooner rather than later.

Selection: Another Thought

14:53 - Trustatrader Novice Stakes (1m)

Perhaps not the most imaginative of selections, Charlie Appleby’s CREATIVE STORY could prove very hard to beat if replicating the form of either of his two efforts to date.

The son of Too Darn Hot only just failed to catch Frankel’s half-brother when beaten by a neck in a good maiden here over 7f when last seen.

There’s also plenty to like about his pedigree as he’s a half-brother to Group 1-winning juvenile Quorto, who also represented this yard. His two narrow defeats suggest it won’t be long before he gets off the mark, and this is a good opportunity to do so.

The return to a mile should suit as he was gaining with every stride at the end of the seven furlongs last time.

Appleby is usually one to follow at Newmarket and the trainer has maintained a 30 per cent strike-rate here over the last five seasons.

Selection: Creative Story

15:23 - Trustatrader Fully Vetted Tradespeople Handicap (1m)

This is a fascinating three-year-old handicap despite the fact that only six runners have been declared, and it could prove to be a hard puzzle to crack. Andrew Balding’s SPUN TO GOLD catches the eye here, despite an underwhelming effort here over 7f on handicap and seasonal debut.

In his defence, he didn’t have the smoothest of passages that day and he was stuck waiting for a run until the final furlong. The step up to a mile is likely to suit and he’s also entitled to come on for the run.

Possessing an outstanding pedigree, he’s out of a Group 1 winner and his sire Justify is having plenty of success on these shores in the last year or so. There’s plenty to come from him and he can get back on track here.

Selection: Spun To Gold

15:53 - Juddmonte EBF Restricted Novice Stakes (6f)

GOLD MEDALLIST showed plenty on debut in a decent race at Goodwood last month and the step up to 6f should be a massive help on that evidence. The ground conditions will be very different here, but it’s obviously unfair to suggest he won’t go on better ground without having raced on it.

This son of Acclamation probably won’t need to find much in order to come out on top here, but improvement seems likely on just his second start. Eve Johnson Houghton is winless from 19 runners in the last fortnight, but it would be no surprise to see Gold Medallist stop the rot.

Selection: Gold Medallist

16:25 - Trustatrader Approved And Reviewed Trades People Handicap (1m4f)

IRON LION could hardly have been more impressive when getting off the mark for the season at Doncaster last time out. David O’Meara’s four-year-old travelled strongly throughout the race and the result never looked in doubt.

Pulling clear to win by four-and-a-quarter lengths in a canter, an 8lb rise is very fair on the evidence of that effort. He can continue progressing this season and should be winning plenty of races before the handicapper catches up.

Selection: Iron Lion

16:55 - Trustatrader You Can Trust Our Traders Handicap (6f)

DIVINE BREATH was an eye-catching second on her debut at Chelmsford in January and she was just outstayed when a narrow second over 7f.

Ralph Beckett’s filly confirmed the promise she showed that day when getting off the mark in good style over 6f next time out.

The daughter of Harry Angel has been allotted a very reasonable-looking opening mark of 71 on her handicap debut here and connections could have plenty of fun with her this year. There could be any amount of improvement to come and a big run is anticipated.

Selection: Divine Breath