Newcastle Good Friday

ALL-Weather Finals Day now has its established slot on Good Friday, although for the first time there is also a consolation meeting at Lingfield alongside the main card at Newcastle, while the races themselves are now largely handicaps rather than conditions races.

As a result, both meetings, as well as a third at Chelmsford, have seen competitive racing throughout. In a time when British racing has been under fire for its competitiveness and a perceived reluctance to adapt, the evolution of Good Friday racing shows that – granted an achievable vision and a willingness to break from tradition – the BHA is capable of producing a compelling programme. Credit where it’s due.

Easter Classic

The most valuable race on Newcastle’s card, the £200,000 Easter Classic, was made to look straightforward by David Egan as he set out to make all the running on Adrian Murray’s Elegant Man.

The son of Arrogate was sent off a well-backed 11/4 favourite and had no trouble justifying that support, getting to the front early from his high draw and then coming across to the stands rail in the straight to maximise his track position.

He was hard ridden late on, but runner-up Penzance never looked like bridging the gap despite being well placed throughout and was a length and a quarter adrift at the line. French raider Hooking was third, beaten a length and three-quarters in total.

Egan has made a bright start to his job as retained rider for Amo Racing and was following up his winning ride in last week’s Lincoln in the same colours.

Marathon

Prydwen (George Scott) ran out a 10/1 winner of the Marathon Handicap, although intended rider Benoit de La Sayette got stuck in traffic, and his misfortune allowed Danny Tudhope to come in for a fortuitous winning mount.

Tudhope settled Prydwen on the shoulder of pace-setting Palace Boy, and that positioning allowed the jockey to make a beeline for the stands rail in the straight, in a move that proved decisive. Prydwen went clear on the rail over a furlong out and saw the two-mile trip out well to win by three and a half lengths from Duke Of Oxford, with Spartan Army a head behind that rival in third.

Three-Year-Old Championship

Fire Demon (Andrew Balding/Oisin Murphy) came with a strong late run to reel in Cross The Tracks in the 3-Year-Old Handicap.

The well-supported 9/4 favourite looked to have plenty to do when Cross The Tracks kicked on at the two furlong pole, but the son of Dark Angel found plenty when asked, picking up the leader late before scoring by a cosy length, with a further length and a quarter back to Blue Prince in third.

Murphy said: “I was in the perfect spot and this race suited him. He came here in good form, looked great in his coat and Andrew was very sweet on him.

“A stiff six probably does suit him. He’s all there now as a three-year-old and it’s great that Juddmonte are good supporters of Park House Stables.”

Clifford Lee produced a beautifully timed run to win the Fillies’ And Mares’ Handicap aboard the James Tate-trained Cloud Cover, who was produced with extreme confidence to sweep past her rivals after being steadied at the start.

The pace was not overly strong, and Lee did well to get Cloud Cover to settle in a first-time hood. Just A Spark made most of the running and still led inside the final furlong, but Cloud Cover - a 10/1 chance - had made impressive headway on the bridle and pounced on the hard-ridden leader well inside the final furlong to win impressively.

“Cloud Cover has to come late,” said Philip Robinson, representing winning owner Saeed Manana.

“When Clifford came into the paddock and asked what his orders were, I said: ‘ride as if you want to be placed and then try to win the race; just don’t get there too soon’. Clifford got it absolutely perfect.”

FIVETHOUSANDTOONE gave Andrew Balding and Oisin Murphy a big-race double when coming from last to first to win the Sprint Handicap in scintillating style. A course and distance winner as a two-year-old, the winner hasn’t always been the most consistent, but the fitting of a visor has seen him right back to his best of late, and he was building on a recent Lingfield success to gain his most valuable success to date.

In a race run at a modest tempo, several runners, most notably favourite Cover Up, spoiled their chance by failing to settle, but Murphy put the 8/1 winner to sleep in the early stages and when he asked his mount to quicken, the result was visually startling.

Murphy said: “It was a little bit competitive in the middle stages of the race when people were jostling for position, but I was able to ride him quietly and when I asked him to go, he picked up well.

“He was very good at two and then lost his way a little bit, but Andrew and the owners have been patient. He’s won his last two and that was a good performance, so hopefully he’ll build on it.”

There was a 33/1 shock in the concluding mile handicap with Richard Hannon’s Talis Evolvere scoring under the impressive Joe Leavy.

The winner was disappointing in a qualifier for the Easter Classic on his previous run, but his record over 1m on the all-weather now reads 12121.

THERE were Irish trained winners at all three Good Friday meetings. At Lingfield’s “Vase” meeting the Jessica Harrington-trained Raknah won the fillies’ handicap at 6/1 under Shane Foley, while Denis Hogan and 7lb claimer Keithen Kennedy were on the mark at Chelmsford when 11/2 chance May Night took the 7f 0-65 handicap.