Ginger Joe’s Weekend Best Bets in Horse Racing

• Persica – 7/4
• Oceans Four – 4/1
• Al Zanati – 11/2
• Arabian Light – 6/1
• Silawi – 6/1
• Midak – 25/1

We have the Steventon Stakes to kick off the day at Newbury and I have quite a solid fancy in the opener. Oceans Four is a nice horse for the Brian Meehan team, and receiving the weight for age allowance will be helpful. But he comes up against tough seasoned horses here, and I think he is likely to find one or two of his opponents to be too good.

Godolphin are represented by two in the race, and William Buick has opted to ride the three-year-old Al Zanati, and that may offer a statement about what they think of him The three-year-old allowance will be welcomed for this colt, and don’t be surprised to see him put in a big effort here. Silawi was only a couple of lengths behind Opera Ballo in his penultimate start and that brings him into this mix here, too.

However, I am going to just about give the edge to Persica who will be absolutely primed for this. This is a meeting that Richard Hannon targets every year with the Super Sprint taking center stage here at Newbury, and I think this is the time to catch Persica. He has run really well this season without getting his head in front, but I think this is where we will see the best of him.

I think that will be enough to get his head in front at the line. A hard horse to catch right, but on a day when the yard are aiming big, his time could be now.

• Binhareer – 3/1
• Soldier’s Tree – 3/1
• Symbol Of Honour – 9/2
• Song Of The Clyde – 11/2
• Jasour – 9/1
• Mitbaahy – 10/1
• Noble Champion – 22/1

We have a strong renewal of the Group 3 Hackwood Stakes, and you can make a case for plenty of the runners. I’ll start with the current market leader Binhareer, who represents William Haggas and Tom Marquand.

This progressive four-year-old rounded off last season with a convincing success at York. He then returned to the same track on his seasonal reappearance, where he finished an excellent second in a competitive 22-runner handicap after being sent off favorite. It was an encouraging effort given he was returning from a break, suggesting there was still improvement to come.

He backed that up with another solid run at Ascot, finishing just over three lengths behind the progressive Double Rush. Binhareer is clearly a talented sprinter, and there’s every chance he still has more to offer. However, off a mark of 103, he probably needs to find another small step forward to come out on top in a race of this quality. He is certainly capable of doing that. But at his current price, you’re paying for that improvement to materialize, which makes him a little short in the betting given the depth of opposition.

Noble Champion is the highest-rated runner in the field off a mark of 112, but his form this season has been way below expectation, and you would need instant rejuvenation to see this colt back in the winners’ enclosure.

Song Of The Clyde is a really likeable three-year-old, but the age statistics for this race are hard to ignore, and they do temper my enthusiasm here. The older horses tend to be stronger, more physically mature, and better equipped for a contest like this, which leaves me with slight reservations about his chances as the sole three-year-old runner in the field. That said, he does have the advantage of already being a course and distance winner. This is certainly a positive in his favor.

Jasour and Mitbaahy are two horses that could bounce back at any minute, but trying to catch them right has proven difficult, so they do feel hard to trust at the same time. While Symbol Of Honour hasn’t kicked on as four-year-old, but he is one for one here at Newbury.

I’m going to side with Soldier’s Tree here for the red-hot James Owen yard. This is a progressive gelding which still looks firmly on the upgrade, and his form this season has worked out exceptionally well. On his seasonal reappearance, he finished less than a length behind Almeraq, who gave the form a huge boost by landing the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes on his next start. That makes Soldier’s Tree’s effort look particularly strong.

The five-year-old has had just two starts for James Owen this season and only five career starts in total, so there’s every reason to believe he has plenty more to offer. With so little mileage on the clock, a mark of 108 could underestimate his true ability, and he has the profile of a potentially smart sprinter who is still some way from reaching his ceiling.

• Velvet Rhythm – 9/4
• New Vega – 11/4
• All Moonshine – 10/3
• Lightning Polka – 11/2
• Brisk Symphony – 7/1
• Tavana – 14/1

The finale on the card is a fillies handicap over 7 furlongs, and again, a nice and competitive race here.

Velvet Rhythm has been on a roll this season, and she will get a nice confident ride here from Saffie Osbourne in search of a three timer. However, this race is significantly tougher, and she has again gone up in the weights. 9/4 does feel like a fair price, though.

All Moonshine was on a roll herself, but her first attempt on turf was quite underwhelming, and I expect she could be a bit of a drifter on the day, whilst Lightning Polka looks set to run her race once more.

New Vega gets the vote here though. She makes her handicap debut and looks like a horse with plenty of upside. I actually think she will do better when she goes out in trip, but coming here unexposed off a mark of 92 surely has her bang in the mix. The long layoff is the only concern, but every other box is ticked for her here to run a big race. Hopefully, she lands the finale for us.