Preview and tips for Newbury’s Flat season finale

The final Flat meeting of the season arrives at Newbury on Saturday with a seven-race card on offer for punters heading to the track which includes the Listed Radley Stakes and two Group 3’s - the Horris Hill Stakes and the St Simon Stakes.

The action kicks off at 1.25pm with a six furlong nursery contest in class four before the campaign comes to a close at 4.50pm as 13 runners tackle the amateur jockeys’ handicap over one mile and four furlongs.

Read below to discover the latest tips and a full meeting preview for Newbury’s card on Saturday courtesy of Sporting Life.

The opening contest on the Newbury card sees a nine-runner field head to the stalls for the class four nursery over six furlongs (1.25). Jr Climbs was third in a competitive nursery at this track 36 days ago which maintained a steady improvement for trainer David Evans and another bold bid looks on the card here. Empress has been in good form of late with two second places on deep ground so the underfoot conditions won’t hold any fear for the Brian Millman-trained runner, who rates the main danger to the selection.

Race two on the card (2.00) sees the two-year-old take centre stage in the Radley Stakes over seven furlongs. There are plenty in this race that can take a big step forward of the last time out winners and one of them is Too Much Heaven, who impressed on her course and distance debut to win last month for trainer Richard Hannon and she is the selection to follow up. Of her rivals, Supermodel hails from the powerful William Haggas yard and looked a good prospect when winning in the mud at Haydock last time out a month ago.

A field of 13 will take on the one mile and two furlong handicap in class three to mark race three on Newbury’s Saturday card (2.34) and it’s a tough one to unpick. The Alan King-trained Nap Hand just gets the nod, a return to this longer trip should suit having needed a stronger gallop when fourth of 14 in a Kempton handicap 24 days ago. Ed Walker’s Sir Lowry’s Pass rates the chief threat pitched into handicaps for the first time, a winner of a Goodwood novice in September and solid third at Epsom last time out.

The midway point of the card at 3.10 with the Group 3 Horris Hill Stakes, which has a cool £31,190 up for grabs to the winner. The only knock against Benevento is if he can handle the ground at Newbury but should Raphael Freire’s charge cope with the testing conditions then he will prove incredibly tough to beat off the back on winning a Listed contest at Doncaster last time out. Bob Mali for trainer Ollie Sangetr should be on the premises as he bids for a four-timer and does have a better run on this type of ground having won on heavy ground at Salisbury, while the conditions also won’t faze French Listed winner Yaroogh in what looks a wide open Horris Hill.

The feature race of the day is up next at 3.45 as a field of six take on the St Simon Stakes in Group 3. The clear class of the field is Al Aasy, a hugely talented seven-year-old from the William Haggas team that landed a Goodwood Group 3 and the Geoffrey Free at Newbury earlier this summer, added a fine second in the Cumberland Lodge three weeks ago at Ascot to his resume, so is very much the one to beat here. The Ralph Beckett-yard has the next best in this contest with Max Vega, who won this race in 2022 and has been off for six months following a disappointing ninth in John Porter Stakes but for an in-form yard, can’t be discounted.

The penultimate race of the Flat season at Newbury is a a class four novice stakes over one mile and seven furlongs (4.19) and That’s Amore ticks plenty of boxes for the Beckett team and is taken to make a successful start to her career under rules, while the finale of the campaign (4.50) can go the way ultra-consistent Warning Sign, back up in trip after four straight second-place finishes and is given the nod to get over the hump for the Gary Moore yard.

Newbury selections - Saturday

1.25 - Jr Climbs

2.00 - Too Much Heaven

2.34 - Nap Hand

3.10 - Benevento

3.45 - Al Aasy

4.19 - That’s Amore

4.50 - Warning Sign