Full preview as the Lockinge returns to Newbury Racecourse
One of the highlights of the Flat racing season arrives on Saturday at Newbury with the BoyleSports Lockinge card.
The Group 1 contest, worth more than £200,000 to the winner, is the feature of the whole weekend at 2.35pm but the stacked card also has the Group 3 Aston Park Stakes and two Listed contests as well in a belter of a meeting.
Read below for a full preview of the Newbury card on Saturday, plus selections for each race courtesy of Sporting Life.
The action kicks off at 12.50 with the first group race of the day, the Group 3 Aston Park Stakes, and eight runners are set to take it on.
Al Aasy won this race for William Haggas in 2021, landed a Group 3 at this track last summer and gained another big win in the Gordon Richards stakes at Sandown three weeks ago so is of huge interest in the opener.
Race two on the card is the Listed Carnarvon Stakes (1.25) and 11 runners will tackle the six furlong trip.
This can go to Ides Of March for powerhouse Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien, who got back on the up when second on his reappearance last month and may have more to offer yet.
Hold A Dream and Sayidah Dariyan both arrive on the back of improved efforts and are feared most.
The London Gold Cup is up next in race three of the afternoon (2.00) over the mile and a quarter trip and ten runners will head to post.
Always a strong three-year-old handicap, Circus Of Rome shaped well in what was likely a good handicap at Sandown last month and might be worth chancing with the Richard Hughes team continuing in form.
The Harry Charlton stable has a good record in this race so Wave Rider has to be interest now moving into his first handicap on the back of three promising runs in novices over shorter trips.
The big race of the weekend is up next at 2.35 as a field of nine line up for the BoyleSports Lockinge, held over a mile for horses aged four and older and a huge £226,840 up for grabs to the winner.
This year is a cracking renewal and although Richard Hannon’s Rosallion’s three-year-old campaign was curtailed by a respiratory infection it means last year's Irish 2000 Guineas and St James's Palace hero returns with relatively few miles on the clock and he can put down an early marker in this division and prove too strong for last year's 2000 Guineas winner Notable Speech. On more favourable terms, the David Menuisier-trained Tamfana can turn around last month's Sandown Mile form with Dancing Gemini and prove best of the rest.
Tamfana’s trainer told horse racing odds: “She's in great form. I think the run in April at Sandown was very good. We left a bit to work on, obviously. We only work on the bridle at home, we don't do too much, we never go on grass and we only train on the woodchips.
"She was ridden hands and heels. It was the perfect prep. She had a good blow and will come on for that. The Lockinge to me seems a very obvious race to go for.”
Up next is the Listed Childwickbury Stud Fillies’ Trial Stakes (3.10) with £42,532 heading the way of the victor. Sand Gazelle was having just her second career outing for the John and Thady Gosden yard when running well in a similar contest at Newmarket earlier this month and looks likely to improve again so she can land the spoils here, with Qilin Queen the main danger off the back of a third in a Listed contest at Newmarket last time out a fortnight ago.
Dorney Lake has looked a handicapper on the up for trainer Michael Bell since being gelded by new connections, winning twice before having excuses when bidding for the hat-trick last time as he aims to get back to winning ways in race six at Newbury (3.45) while the penultimate race on the card (4.20) can go the way of the very well bred My Cloud, who made a mockery of his opening mark when running out a most impressive winner on handicap debut at Ascot 17 days ago and a subsequent 10lb hike in the weights may not prevent him going in again.
Finally, the card comes to a close at 4.55pm with the World Pool Handicap, a three-year-old contest over the mile trip in class three and preference in the finale heads the way of Shameful, whose reappearance defeat at Kempton may have been viewed as somewhat disappointing at the time but that certainly isn't the case now as the winner went on to chase home a potentially classy colt in a listed race at Newmarket and, taking that into account, so Clive Cox’s charge could be on a very good mark for this handicap bow.
Newbury selections - Saturday
12.50 - Al Aasy
1.25 - Ides Of March
2.00 - Circus Of Rome
2.35 - Rosallion
3.10 - Sand Gazelle
3.45 - Dorney Lake
4.20 - My Cloud
4.55 - Shameful
