Following a 5/1 winner yesterday, Steve Ryder is back with three tips for today's racing.
13:15 Newmarket
The Michael Dods trained GALE FORCE MAYA (best priced at 4/1) goes back up in class to a listed race following her reappearance victory in a handicap but I do feel that race-fitness advantage over her rivals could make her hard to beat. The six-year-old has form figures of 23121 over this course and distance in her career and has a further placed effort on the July course too.
The mare ended last season in good form with two wins at Pontefract and over this course and distance off marks of 92 and 95 before finishing 2nd over this course and distance in a listed race. She was only beaten a short head that day by the winner She Do and he made a winning reappearance over this course and distance by a nose off a mark of 98. With a rating of 100 Gale Force Maya has a few pounds to find with both Flotus and Umm Kulthum but they are returning from 217 and 343 days off the track and hopefully Gale Force Maya can sneak this early season listed race.
13:50 Newmarket
The Eve Johnson Houghton trained JUMBY (best priced at 15/2) is another with good course form with form figures of 3113 on the Rowley Mile with that most recent effort coming in the Group 3 Abernant Stakes on his reappearance. He had previously won two handicaps here last season off marks of 95 and 104 and he is now only rated 2lbs higher than that success in September.
William Buick has a good record on Jumby with two wins and a place and I expect the son of New Bay to run well with up to seven places available.
15:40 Newmarket
There is no doubt that Native Trail holds a favourites chance in the 2000 Guineas this year following his two Group 1 victories in the National Stakes at Dewhurst Stakes but he looks a short price for a classic and I think LUXEMBOURG (best priced at 11/2) is the obvious each-way bet against the favourite. Aidan O’Brien has won this race a record 10 times and the son of Camelot comes here having won all three starts as a two-year-old.
Luxembourg justified favouritism in the Vertem Futurity Stakes at Doncaster and bids to follow in the footsteps of Kameko, Magna Grecia, Saxon Warrior and Camelot who all went on to win the 2000 Guineas the following season on their reappearance.
