AN eight-year-old, Red Galileo is the oldest horse in the Betfair Exchange Northumberland Plate at Newcastle today, but that may not prevent the Godolphin horse from running a big race. He has had plenty of racing in his career, he was with Ed Dunlop until the end of his four-year-old season, but he has been a fine servant for Saeed bin Suroor too.

He raced exclusively at Meydan last year, and he was busy in Dubai again this spring, running some fine races in defeat. Seventh on his first run in Britain this year, in a Race To The Ebor Handicap at York that is working out really well, he stepped forward from that last time in a first-time hood to win a good handicap at Newmarket.

Never far off the pace that day, he stayed on strongly through the final two furlongs to come away from Speedo Boy and Proschema, both of whom re-oppose today.

Penalty

He has to carry a 5lb penalty today, but he won with plenty in hand. Also, although he is eight, that was just his second run back in Britain since 2017, and it was his first run in a hood, and that run was up there with the best runs of his life. He could come forward again from that, with the hood retained again today.

Older horses can do well in the Northumberland Plate. Bay Of Islands won it as an eight-year-old in 2000, Mirjan won it as an eight-year-old in 2004, Arc Bleu won it as a seven-year-old in 2008, and four of the last 10 winners were six.

Red Galileo will race off a mark of 109 today, but Thomas Greatrex reduces that to an effective mark of 104, and reduces his burden to 9st 4lb. Six of the last seven winners have carried 9st 1lb or more, and five of them have carried 9st 3lb or more.

Finally, the Dubawi gelding is one for two on all-weather, he won a novice stakes at Kempton as a two-year-old. He stays well and he goes into the race on an upward curve.

Catch Cardsharp

Some 20 minutes earlier at Newmarket, Cardsharp could out-run his odds in the Group 3 Randox Health Criterion Stakes. Mark Johnston’s horse was well beaten last week in the Royal Hunt Cup, but it is very difficult to make all in the Hunt Cup (Zhui Feng’s performance in 2017 notwithstanding).

By contrast, Newmarket’s July Course is a course that rewards pace, at which his prominent style of racing is a positive, and the drop back down to seven furlongs is a positive.

The Lonhro gelding was prominent from early when he won a good seven-furlong handicap at York on his penultimate run off a mark of 107. A 3lb hike for that takes him up to a notional mark of 110, which leaves him as the joint second-highest rated horse in today’s race, just 3lb behind Limato, from whom he receives 5lb. Even on ratings alone, he has a big chance.

As well as that, in two runs on the July Course, he has won the Group 2 July Stakes over six furlongs as a juvenile, and he has finished fourth in the Bunbury Cup, over today’s course and distance, when he was beaten just a length by the winner Burnt Sugar.

Limato is classy and Glorious Journey is progressive, but Cardsharp could represent the value. If he can get into a nice racing rhythm out in front, he could take a lot of catching.

Recommended

Red Galileo, 1 point each-way, 3.35 Newcastle, 12/1 (generally)

Cardsharp, 1 point win, 3.15 Newmarket, 7/1 (generally)