Newmarket and Goodwood feature on the ITV schedule
Spanish Star, Bold Style and King Of Conquest feature in our selections
Expired
William Buick riding King Of Conquest (all blue) win The Howden Suffolk Stakes at Newmarket. (Getty)
The 2024 Guineas Festival begins at Newmarket on Friday, where the Jockey Club Stakes headlines the opening day's action. Along with four races from flat racing HQ, ITV Racing will be showing three races live from Goodwood on Friday afternoon.
British Stallion Studs EBF Restricted Novice Stakes (Class 2) 5f
3:00pm
Newmarket
Epic Boost Handicap (Class 2) 7f
3:15pm
Goodwood
Epic Value Handicap (Class 3) 6f
3:35pm
Newmarket
King Charles II Stakes (Listed Race) 7f
3:50pm
Goodwood
Epic Boost Handicap (Class 2) 5f
4:10pm
Newmarket
Jockey Club Stakes (Group 2) 1m4f
ITV Racing Tips - Friday 3rd May
2:25pm Newmarket - Newmarket Stakes Tips
Endless Victory needed every inch of 10 furlongs to score on his reappearance. Fellow Derby entrant, Caviar Heights and Richard Hughes' Whipcracker stayed on well behind Jayarebe in the Feilden Stakes and both are interesting stepping up in trip. Sayedaty Sadaty ran a cracker on his reappearance at Newcastle and cannot be ruled out either. This one's too close for me to call.
2:40pm Goodwood - Novice Stakes Tips
No bet for me here either. Brosay didn't seem to handle heavy ground on his turf debut at the Curragh and Diego Dias' raider will face similar conditions on Friday. Ellomate and Lady Lightning bring all-weather form to the table and the rest of the field are debutantes.
3:00pm Newmarket - Handicap Tips
With the heavens set to open in the Newmarket area on Friday, the ground should be soft enough for THUNDER BALL (8/1) to produce his best. Paul & Oliver Cole's star ended his three-year-old campaign with an impressive win at Goodwood and has shaped with promise in two huge handicaps so far this term.
Thunder Ball was up with the early pace in both the Lincoln and the Spring Cup, but failed to find an extra gear in the closing stages. Dropping back to seven furlongs on a stiff track like the Rowley Mile seems like a smart move and Alec Voikhansky's mount remains on a decent mark.
3:15pm Goodwood - Handicap Tips
Bishop's Crown has been transformed since dropping back to sprinting and Eve Johnson Houghton's four-year-old can make it three wins from four starts in handicaps. At the other end of the spectrum there's SPANISH STAR (4/1), who can build on a promising start to his nine-year-old campaign at Newbury.
Patrick Chaming's stallwart was sent off at 40/1 on his reappearance, but flew home in the closing stages to win his race on the inside part of the track, crossing the line just a length adrift of Wiltshire. David Probert's mount remains on the same mark and Spanish Star has won four times at this venue, with two of those wins coming on very soft ground.
Bold Style (near) finishing third behind Ten Bob Tony and Boiling Point (far) at Newmarket. (Getty)
3:35pm Newmarket - King Charles II Stakes Tips
Boiling Point and BOLD STYLE (11/4) ran well behind 2000 Guineas runner, Ten Bob Tony here on the Rowley Mile last month. James Doyle tracked the winner throughout on Boiling Point. William Buick, in contrast, ploughed a lone furrow down the centre of the track on Bold Style, who still picked up well to finish a neck behind his rival in third.
Roger Varian said after that race that Boiling Point is a proper fast-ground horse, so Friday's forecast won't fill him with confidence. Bold Style stays further than seven furlongs and Shamaradal's progeny go on all kinds of ground, so I expect he'll deal with conditions just fine.
3:50pm Goodwood - Handicap Tips
No bet for me in this one. I'm finding the quintet hard to separate.
4:10pm Newmarket - Jockey Club Stakes Tips
A runaway victory in the Dubai Stakes helped Time Lock make it two wins from two on the Rowley Mile in September and Ryan Moore hops into the plate again for her reappearance. Castle Way boasts an equally impressive record on this track, having won here on either side of a winter break last season, before a narrow victory over Tower Of London on the July course.
Charlie Appleby also runs KING OF CONQUEST (9/2), who comes into this Grade Two on the back of a solid effort out in Bahrain, where the ground would have been a little quick for his liking. James Doyle's mount won the Suffolk Stakes at this meeting 12 months ago and plugged on well to finish a close third behind Hamish here on heavy ground in the St Simon Stakes. If the rain arrives as expected, then conditions on Friday should suit him perfectly.
Verdict
Friday's Top ITV Racing Tips:
Best Bet1: Bold Style 3:35pm Newmarket @275.00 at Stake.com - 10 Units
Best Bet2: Spanish Star 3:15pm Goodwood @400.00 at Legendz - 5 Units
Best Bet3: King Of Conquest 4:10pm Newmarket @450.00 at dabble.com - 5 Units
Best Bet4: Thunder Ball E/W 3:00pm Newmarket @800.00 at blockbet (NEWBONUS) FT - 5 Units
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