Newcastle Friday
All-Weather Finals
ANDREW Balding won the BetMGM All-Weather Three-Year-Old Championships Handicap with Desert Cop in 2023 and Fire Demon 12 months ago, and he brought up a notable hat-trick at Newcastle on Friday when Berkshire Whisper (Oisin Murphy) made the most of his stands-rail draw to avoid trouble as rivals got in the way of each other.
Always handy, Murphy eased his mount to the front at halfway, utilising the rail, and that move looked crucial in quite a rough race.
Murphy said: “Berkshire Whisper is learning on the job and getting more impressive with each start.
“I was able to fill up and he went through the line well. He has a lot of size, and we hope he can progress. Paul Spickett is a lucky owner – Andrew trained a Coventry Stakes winner for him, and I am sure he would like another Royal Ascot winner.”
Andrew Balding gained his second winner on the card when 5/2 favourite Storm Star (Jason Watson) completed a hat-trick of course and distance victories with a gritty effort in the BetMGM All-Weather Championships Mile Handicap.
Owned and bred by Balding’s longtime supporter Jeff Smith, the son of Night Of Thunder was eligible for a £15,000 bonus having won a couple of qualifiers earlier in the year.
Always in a good position on a day where it paid to race handy, Storm Star tracked Valiant Force before striking for home at the quarter-mile marker. Roi De France (John & Thady Gosden/Oisin Murphy) stayed on strongly in the latter stages but was still a length and a quarter in arrears at the winning post.
Apiarist, second to Storm Star over track and trip in January, was a neck further back in third.
GLITTERING Legend (James Fanshawe/Dan Muscutt) was following in the footsteps of half-brother Megallan by winning the Listed BetMGM Burradon Stakes.
Muscutt held the 9/2 winner up in the early stages and cruised into contention before having to battle to see off market leader Bowmark (John & Thady Gosden) by a neck, with the pair racing wide apart in the closing stages.
“I am absolutely delighted,” said the winning trainer. “Glittering Legend is a star horse. Mark McStay bought him at the Somerville Sale. He was very naughty to begin with but, now he is getting it together, he is a really useful three-year-old.
“I told Dan to get some cover because we thought there would be some pace, but it didn’t look like they were going that quick. He is tough, experienced, and that probably stood him in good stead today.
“He came there travelling beautifully and I just hoped he’d seen the Gosden horse up the middle. That’s the thing in these sorts of races at this time of year, you don’t know what you are taking on. I think it was quite a way back to the third as well. The question now is whether we step him up to a mile and a quarter. I’ll speak to Mr Ho his owner and we’ll come up with a plan from there, but I would say he will end up at Royal Ascot.”
Muscutt and Ho double
On a great day for owner Boniface Ho Ka Kui and rider Dan Muscutt, the pair achieved a double on the card when Wonder Legend ran out an impressive winner of the Marathon Handicap for trainer James Ferguson.
A winner at Wolverhampton in March when having too many guns for Plage De Havre, Wonder Legend again looked a high-class stayer as he cleared away from the Ado McGuinness-trained Tribal Star (Jamie Powell) with Heathen best of the rest in third. The winner was returned at 4/1 and the distances were four and a half lengths and a length.
ONCE again, it was imperative to hold a good early position in the Sprint Championship Final Handicap, and the pair who dominated the finish were in the first two positions from very early in the race, with We Never Stop (Kevin Ryan/Shane Gray) making almost all to beat Run Boy Run (Richard Spencer/George Wood) by a head.
Marshman fared best of those to come from off the pace in third, a further length and a quarter away. The winner was following up a victory over the same trip at Southwell and was returned at 14/1.
200/1 boilover
The Filly & Mare Championship Handicap produced a huge shock as Tracy Waggott’s Heavenly Heather (Amie Waugh) beat Aramis Grey (Jack Jones/Rossa Ryan) by half a length at odds of 200/1. The Shamardal filly was 20lb out of the handicap and had finished well held on her only previous handicap start in a modest 0-70 contest.
EARLIER in the week, Kevin Coleman had combined with Shane Gray to score on another raid to Scotland when Only Spoofing (4/1) won a five-furlong handicap, just getting up on the line by a short-head. The 11-year-old bids for a quick follow up today back at the same track.