Newcastle Saturday

1:35 Jenningsbet 200 Shops Nationwide Handicap 6f

He didn’t fire last time, but Wiltshire made an excellent start for William Haggas when beating Chairmanoftheboard at Newbury and the runner-up was an unlucky loser at Newmarket on his next start, rearing as the stalls opened before rattling home, and the form is rock-solid.

It’s quite possible that he found the ground too lively last time, and that was his second successive below-par effort on firmish turf, but he’s been given a break since and is defending an unbeaten all-weather record, having won both his starts on an artificial surface when with Freddie and Martyn Meade.

The selection is a hold-up performer and there appears to be lots of early pace in this race, with Cross The Tracks and Sophia’s Starlight likely to force it and several others usually keen to press the leaders. That should set it up nicely for Wiltshire, who ought to have more to offer for his current yard.

2:04 Jenningsbet Nun Street Newcastle Chipchase Stakes (Group 3) 6f

It’s been some time since Kinross raced on an artificial surface, but he produced a career-best effort when landing a listed event over a mile at Kempton in 2020, and he simply didn’t stay the stiff mile when behind Kameko in the Futurity Trophy here as a juvenile. He travelled well enough in that contest to trade odds-on in running against the subsequent 2000 Guineas winner.

He was due to run in the Queen Elizabeth Jubilee Stakes a week ago, being taken out of that race due to the ground, and fitness won’t be a concern here.

A proven Group 1 winner, Kinross escapes a penalty here and while an extra furlong would arguably be ideal, he really ought to have too much class for his rivals as long as the pace is brisk.

2:35 Jenningsbet Festival

Northumberland Vase Handicap 2m 56y

Marbuzet has no all-weather form to speak of, but he was given an easy time of things on his only start on Tapeta, that being nothing more than a warm-up for the season, so it would be churlish to judge him on it. What we can say without fear of contradiction is that he has proven both consistent and progressive in handicaps at a mile and a half plus in the past two years, notching up four wins and making the frame on his last dozen starts on turf.

Marbuzet went into the notebook as a surefire winner after his latest run at Thirsk where he finished a keeping-on fourth of 15 over a mile and three-quarters despite twice running short of room in the home straight.

He might well have won with the rub of the green there and a mark of 66 – 1lb lower than at Thirsk – looks there to be exploited. His form figures at two miles since first trying this trip read 23122 with his win by nine and a half lengths, and he’s still fairly unexposed as a stayer.

3:10 Jenningsbet Northumberland Plate Handicap 2m 56y

Trooper Bisdee has to carry a 5lb penalty for a recent win at Pontefract, but he was hugely impressive there and if he hadn’t been eased up late in the day, would have won by nearly twice his official margin of four lengths.

Trooper Bisdee has been well beaten on the all-weather, but those defeats came as a juvenile while getting handicapped and are very easy to forgive, while his half-brother Thapa VC is a multiple winner on Polytrack and Tapeta.

Offspring of Australia have a good record on Newcastle’s Tapeta, winning 19 races against a market expectation of 14.7 at a strike-rate of 15%. In short, it would be surprising if Trooper Bisdee was undone by the surface and this progressive four-year-old makes appeal on numerous fronts.

Sir Mark Prescott landed the Ascot Stakes last week with Pledgeofallegiance and looks to have his strongest team for a long time. Hollie Doyle is an excellent booking for Trooper Bisdee and he is confidently expected to defy a penalty on his way to better things.

3:40 Pertemps Network

Handicap 7f 14y

It’s not always easy identifying pace in handicaps, with tactics often changing and jockeys more aware of published pace predictions and wary of getting into a destructive battle, but if this isn’t an absolute tear-up then all the formbooks will have to go out of the window. There is barely a horse in the field here that doesn’t want to go forward from the start and it’s no surprise that Timeform’s pace prediction is “extreme”.

In such circumstances it’s not always the best plan to go with an extreme hold-up performer, and those who tend to race off the pace here are drawn away from the main action.

My thinking is that the winner will sit in behind the leaders before picking up tiring rivals in the closing stages and the one that appeals most for that role is the unexposed Local Hero who has shown all his best form on artificial surfaces and impressed with how he won over seven furlongs at Kempton last time.

Well away, he was happy to slot into fourth of fifth on the rail that day before quickening to lead a furlong out. Those he beat are no great shakes but the way he quickened was impressive and he had more in hand that the winning margin.

A winner over a mile on his juvenile debut, he won’t fail for stamina if this turns into a test, but it’s his turn of foot which makes him most appealing.

3:25 Plantation Stud Criterion Stakes (Group 3) 7f

None of the blacktype races at Newmarket particularly appeal to me from a betting perspective, but Pogo should give backers a good run for their money and anyone worried about backing an eight-year-old in group company should look at what Charlie Hills has done with Khaadem in the past 12 months.

Winner of this race two years ago and a little unlucky last year, when Audience raced on his own to victory. Pogo was involved in a ding-dong tussle with Jumby on the stands’ side of the track, losing out on the nod.

He ran a cracker when third to Tiber Flow at Haydock last time. That race set up nicely for the winner and Pogo has a chance of reversing form on a track which suits him to a ‘T’.

Wiltshire 1:35 Newcastle – 1pt win 11/2 (Hills, Ladbrokes, Coral)

Kinross 2:04 Newcastle – 2pts win 7/2 (general)

Marbuzet 2:35 Newcastle – 1pt e/w 12/1 (Bet365 – 4 places – min 15/2)

Trooper Bisdee 3:10 Newcastle – 2pts win 13/2 (Bet365 – 6/1 general)