Friday Racing Tips from Architect

BUGLE MAJOR (best price 11-1) hasn’t really kicked on since winning last January but Richard Hughes’ charge has become dangerously well-treated and finds himself ten-pounds lower than when a half-a-length second over course-and-distance to Fancy Man, who’s rated 109. He was giving the winner plenty of weight that day too and can enter this grade for the first time here. He’s drawn out wide but that shouldn’t pose a problem as George Rooke is likely to drop him out the back of the field early on as there’s bound to be a lot of pace on offer. If the first-time cheekpieces have a positive outcome, the top-weight looks fair value to showcase his class and get himself involved with four places widely available. 

The Andrew Balding-trained NAPPER TANDY (best price 7-1) also makes plenty of appeal in the opener. He hasn’t been able to go on since making it two-from-four when scoring on handicap debut at Newcastle but he hasn’t been beaten far in any of his starts since despite not being at his best. All of those efforts have either been in class two or three events and he drops into this grade for the first time since bolting up off a mark of 84 last spring. His prominent style of racing should allow him to get a good position from the box seat in stall 1 and, with Harry Davies taking off a valuable 7Ib, the four-year-old looks a really solid each-way bet in this class with four places generally on offer. 

IMPERIAL FIGHTER (best price 15-8) was highly-tried in a high-class company throughout last term in which he won nicely on debut before finishing second in a pair of Group 3 events prior to signing off his campaign with an excellent fifth in a Group 1 event. He’s clear of these on official ratings at 110 and should take to this all-weather surface. His trainer has an excellent 27% strike rate at this venue and this promising three-year-old comes out best on these terms. If anything, he should be a lot shorter for this, especially when you take into account his brilliant second to leading 2,000 Guineas contender Coroebus in which he was only beaten a couple of lengths. In that event, he had Dubai Poet comfortably held in third and with fitness unlikely to be an issue-based upon his easy debut success last term, he should have too much quality for these in the opener. 

Charlie Fellowes has long had this race in mind for EJTILAAB (best price 7-2) since returning from Dubai and that can pay dividends with another victory while the iron is hot. This ultra-likeable sprinter produced a career-best performance when easily beating Tommy De Vito from the front at Kempton last time and is the highest-rated runner in the field at 112. If ratings are anything to go by, he should undeniably be a tad shorter in the betting for this event. The six-year-old has proven to be the horse for the big occasion when needed, as shown when winning on Derby day before giving weight and a beating to some good horses over course-and-distance three weeks later. He’s clearly seen to best effect when ridden prominently and that’s likely to be the case here as he’s drawn perfectly well in stall 12 so, with a lot of positives to draw upon while at the peak of his powers, he should make another bold effort under David Egan. 

The Roger Varian-trained ZAMEKA (best price 11-4) shaped promisingly in his first couple of starts to reach the frame before opening his account in emphatic style at Wolverhampton back in January. That was a relatively weak contest but it was hard not to be impressed with the way he quickened up off the home bend and put the race to bed in a matter of strides. This is obviously a lot tougher, but an opening mark of 81 appears to be very lenient and the form of his close-up second at Newcastle on his penultimate outing looks really smart form as the winner Tiber Flow has won again since and is well-fancied to run well at Newcastle today too. Jack Mitchell, who has a good record on this surface, is booked to ride and while his mount is up against a couple of other last-time-out winners, he’s taken to showcase his tactical speed over this shorter distance and follow-up. 

Tiber Flow has been well found in the market and is seeking a four-timer but if ratings and general form is anything to go by then surely EL CABALLO (best price 2-1) should be clear favourite here. Karl Burke is full of confidence about his chances and has described him as a potential group horse in the making. Since finishing a good runner-up on debut to the high-class Armor, he’s won four consecutive events, including when he showed a lot of speed and battling qualities to see off a decent field in a listed event last month. He previously impressed on his sole visit to this course when winning over course-and-distance very comfortably and is drawn well in stall eight to attack from an early stage. It’s possible William Haggas’ charge, who’s rated 94, is a really good horse and could blow the field away but Karl Burke’s sprinter is drawn a lot better, is rated 13Ib higher (107) and is the one I want to side with at the morning odds. 

This appears to be a very good opportunity for the smart HIGHFIELD PRINCESS (best price 15-8) to return to the winner’s enclosure. She enjoyed a productive campaign last term, where she won at Royal Ascot before claiming a Listed event last term at Chelmsford which could hardly have worked out any better. She beat subsequent Group 3 winner Double Or Bubble that day and ran well over a trip short of her best last-time-out which should have put her spot on for today’s event. She is clear of these based upon ratings and having already been in front a few of these previously on worse terms, John Quinn’s mare gets the vote to resume winning ways.