Preview and tips ahead of Saturday’s action at Newbury Racecourse
The second day of action at Newbury Racecourse this week is day two of the Dubai Duty Free International Weekend and is a bumper eight-race card on Saturday.
The Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes, worth £100,000 this year, is the highlight of the day and of the meeting, part of an eight-race card on offer on Saturday which also includes the £75,000 Class 2 Dubai Duty Free Handicap and an £85,000 Group 3 sprint.
Read below to discover the latest tips and a full meeting preview of Newbury’s card on Saturday courtesy of BoyleSports, who offer the latest horse racing odds throughout the season.
Saturday’s card kicks off at 1.30pm and there is no messing around as it’s a Group 3 contest to kick things off - a class one stakes over the five furlong sprint trip and a prize pot of £85,000 up for grabs. Annaf was a Group 2 winner in Saudi Arabia earlier this year for trainer Mick Appleby and escapes a penalty for that success heading to Newbury off a dosa[pointing run at Haydock, but excuses can be made for that. Back down in class here, the five-year-old is the one to beat, with Albasheer the next best having won at Ascot in July and following up with two runners-up finishes and a close fourth in the Portland at Doncaster last week.
Race two of the afternoon (2.05) sees a field of 15 head to the start for the Autumn Cup Handicap, a class two race held over the one mile and five furlong distance. Lieber Power has been progressing nicely for trainer Andrew Balding since moving up in trip, scoring at York and Chepstow earlier this season to add to a three seconds during the campaign so is very much of interest here. Waxing Gibbous has plenty to offer for trainer David Menuisier and rates the next best being a previous course winner.
The third race on the card is a class two handicap over the one mile and two furlong distance (2.40) with 11 runners set to tackle it. Preference here heads the way of Flying Frontier for James Tate, a winner at Sandown three weeks ago and bouncing back from a poor outing at Yarmouth prior to that. He takes on Involvement once again for the Simon and Ed Crisford team, third in the aforementioned Sandown race and is arguably the main danger to Tate’s runner for a second straight race.
The Mill Reef Stakes is the highlight of the card and marks race four of the afternoon at 3.15, with ten two-year-old runners declared to race over the six furlong trip. Below, Sky Sports Racing presenter Callum Helliwell previews the big race:
“Shadow Of Light has a massive chance here. Powerful Glory has a chance too but I don’t think that was the strongest of races when he won at Pontefract on debut, I could be proven wrong but I would be aiming for Shadow Of Light who arrives here off three very good runs.
“He was second to Cool Hoof Luke, and a good second at that, in the Gimcrack and any horse that comes second to that runner over this six furlong distance is one to keep an eye on. Shadow Of Light has already got that form with Symbol Of Strength, who won a Group 3 at Kempton last time out but Shadow Of Light hasn’t done anything wrong in his career and has got the beating of all of the field.
“One other runner I do have an interest in is Andesite, the Pinatubo colt trained by Karl Burke. He was very impressive on debut and has some fancy entries coming up as well. The Gimcrack run was disappointing and he re-opposes Shadow Of Light and Symbol Of Strength again so I think form could come to light, but as an each-way player he has a shout though I won’t get mad about him.”
The action doesn’t stop after the Mill Reef as race five on Saturday sees 11 runners head to the start for the division one novice stakes in class four (3.50). Jamie Osborne’s The Fingal Raven looks the one to beat here, getting off the mark in a 13-runner novice at Kempton on his last spin and further progress is expected here under a penalty. Of his rivals, Stem is one of interest on debut for Richard Hannon, a €120,000 Calyx colt and is intriguing thanks to booking of superstar jockey Ryan Moore on board.
Ten runners will line up for division two of the same discipline to mark race six on Newbury’s card (4.25). Hannon and Moore team up again in this race on One More, who was a promising second on debut in a Kempton novice 17 days ago and is certain to improve for that run here. The King’s Falcon, trained by William Haggas and aptly owned by HM The King and The Queen, is one to keep an eye on making debut, a well-bred Dubawi Colt who can make his presence felt.
The penultimate race of the weekend is a class three handicap over seven furlongs (5.00) where plenty have chances but a case can be made for City Of York for trainer David Simcock, who is likely to go off at a big price but was completed a hat trick last season on this card and posted a season-best outing in 2024 when second at Southwell earlier this month.
Finally the weekend draws to a close with a 14-runner handicap in class four over the mile distance (5.35), with preference in the finale heading the way of the improving Kodi Lion for trainer Charlie Fellowes, a scorer at Ascot in July and backed it up with a second in a Racing league contest at Southwell on his last run.
Newbury selections - Saturday
1.30 - Annaf
2.05 - Lieber Power
2.40 - Flying Frontier
3.15 - Shadow Of Light
3.50 - The Final Raven
4.25 - One More
5.00 - City of York
5.35 - Kodi Lion
