NEWBURY

1:15

Gallyhill (Nico De Boinville)

I was really hoping he would be our star novice chaser this year but unfortunately things haven’t gone accordingly to plan (as yet) and while his most recent form figures don’t look inspiring there are very legitimate explanations for each. It was a big ask in a Grade 1 Hurdle at Aintree last April and then on his Chase debut at Exeter his palate sort of got stuck over the windpipe so we got his wind done straight after that and then unfortunately he got brought down at the first at Doncaster last time, so his form figures don’t really tell the whole story. We said about three weeks ago that we are running out of time and races so it was a case of coming here with or without Bravemansgame who I must admit has looked very good all the way through. From a Handicap point of view we have a mountain to climb but we have to go somewhere and the step up in trip is a big plus. He is a good ground horse and at least after this we’ll all have a fair idea as to where we stand for the rest of the year.

Unibet’s 15 To Go offer is available on this race

3:35

First Street (James Bowen)

He put up a good performance off top weight at Kempton last time, which was probably a little too good because he’s now up to 141 in a more competitive race, but he deserves to take his chance and  I’m hoping there will be plenty of pace, which isn’t guaranteed, because, along with Broomfield Burg, he can run quite free; however, I’ve been happy with his work at home and he’s not out of it by any means.

Broomfield Burg (Nico De Boinville)

He deserved to get his head back in front last time off the back off an unlucky defeat at Cheltenham and the horse he beat at Kempton has since come out and won so the form has a pretty strong look to it. He is very similar to First Street in the sense that they are both novices and can be quite keen so a good gallop would really suit but I seem to remember they went pretty steady last year which won’t be ideal for our runners. We’ve won this race five times before, the latest being dear old My Tent Or Yours in 2013 and while this horse carries the same silks as Tent, he has quite a way to go to achieve what he did, but he’s definitely going the right way and I’d like to think he will be very competitive off his mark.

Unibet’s 15 To Go offer is available on this race

4:10

King Ottokar (Nico De Boinville)

He was rated quite highly on the flat and stayed well so a stiff two miles over hurdles around here should be right up his street. He’s been to jumping school and has been very good but is obviously up against horses with hurdling experience and I wouldn’t want him racing too keen, like he often did on the flat, because he won’t get home, but the ground won’t be an issue and everything he’s done has been very nice. He’s a likeable horse and an interesting contender.

WARWICK

1:35

Marie’s Rock (Aidan Coleman)

Everything went wrong for her at the second flight in the Lanzarote Hurdle and we knew our number was up pretty early so I’m happy to draw a line through that and concentrate on her easy win before because she was very good that day and it was fantastic to see her bounce back to her best. Two and a half is her trip and under these race conditions there’s little between her and Indefatigable.

3:15

Falco Blitz (Aidan Coleman)

He put up a good performance at Kempton last time and I must admit it has done his confidence the world of good because he’s been in great form at home since. Despite winning at Kempton, he is slightly better going left handed so the track is a big tick and the ground will suit also so he must go there with a very realistic chance.

Unibet’s 15 To Go offer is available on this race

4:25

I Am Rocco (Aidan Coleman)

We’re starting to get a lot of our bumper horses out now because they’ve all done plenty of work and it’s a case of seeing exactly what we’ve got with them all. I Am Rocco is a very nice horse, in fact he WILL be a nice horse because he’s a big scopey individual will get better in time. I must admit I haven’t had a proper look at the quality of the race so there could be a superstar lurking in there somewhere but he’s a nice horse who will definitely come on for the run but still might be good enough to win first time out.

A lot of you have asked about Russian Ruler who made his seasonal debut at Doncaster last month when finishing third. It was his first run since May so he was entitled to improve for it but unfortunately he didn’t come out of the race particularly well so we’ve taken it very steady with him since. He’ll do his first piece of work tomorrow and, all being well, we’ll look for a race within the next ten days or so.