4 days ago
Horse racing tips: Friday, August 15
Harry Reynolds's selections
NAP:
Flowerhead (4.45, Newbury) 1pt win @ 5/2 with Tote ⭐⭐⭐
Next best:
Emerald Coast (5.15, Newmarket) 1pt win @ 2/1 with Tote ⭐⭐
Others:
Butterfly Beach (3.15, Newbury) 1pt win @ 5/2 with Tote ⭐⭐
Mr Chaplin (7.00, Newmarket) 1pt win @ 10/1 with Tote ⭐⭐
Odds provided by Tote and correct at the time of writing. Stars denote strength of selection (max 5).
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3.40 Newbury – Fillies' Novice Stakes (Class 4, 6f; Sky Sports Racing)
BUTTERFLY BEACH holds an entry in the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket next month, and the daughter of Acclamation should be winning this if she's to take that engagement up.
That entry alone shows connections think an awful lot of the bay filly, who made a pleasing debut when second at Newmarket at the end of June. Following a decent break, she can be expected to improve significantly and looks to have the most upside of anything in this field.
The main danger could be Likeness, but Butterfly Beach is crucially proven on turf, whereas the former has only been tested on Kempton's all-weather surface.
4.45 Newbury – St Hugh's Stakes (Listed, 5f; Sky Sports Racing)
It's fair to say that things didn't go to plan for FLOWERHEAD (NAP) in the Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot last month, finishing a never-nearer fifth having failed to land a blow in the race.
However, dropped into the calmer waters of Listed company and returning to the minimum trip, Charlie Clover's filly is fancied to land a second win this season for owners Amo Racing.
Flowerhead showed terrific form when second behind True Love at Royal Ascot in June, having been sent off at a huge price of 100/1. That is rock-solid form, and a reproduction of that effort would be more than good enough to win this, with the vast majority of the field requiring massive improvement.
5.15 Newmarket – EBF Restricted Novice Stakes (Class 4, 7f; Racing TV)
Most of the runners with experience in this novice race have shown very little to write home about. As a result, it looks as if EMERALD COAST has found a great opportunity to get off the mark at the second attempt.
The daughter of Sergei Prokofiev receives weight from all her rivals as the only filly in the race, and crucially gets 13lbs from chief-rival Sudbury Hill who's penalised for winning last time out. It would take an incredible performance to concede that much weight to Emerald Coast, particularly given the promise she showed at Chester on debut.
Emerald Coast certainly knew her job that day and tried to make all the running, and the half-furlong drop in trip may benefit her in seeing it out this time.
Hugo Palmer is bringing this filly on a 330-mile round trip from Manor House Stables, and you would think he's not making that journey anticipating defeat.
7.00 Newmarket – Stevenage Handicap (Class 2, 1m; Racing TV)
This selection requires a little more faith but, if MR CHAPLIN can show any of his juvenile form, he may return to the winners' enclosure off a mark of 92.
The son of Without Parole was gelded following his final run of 2024, and he has had three disappointing efforts so far this campaign. He ran respectably in the Group 3 Acomb Stakes last term, so you suspect connections would've had higher hopes for him than this.
That being said, Mr Chaplin won a handicap at Glorious Goodwood off a mark of 88, and he effectively drops to 87 here with his rider's handy 5lb claim.
Most importantly, the 98-rated favourite Elarak has it all to do from that mark. His two wins look to have been vastly overrated, with the form worth very little, and he looked to have no excuses when last of seven over course and distance on his most recent appearance.
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Friday's UK and Irish racing
Flat
Dundalk (1.45-5.45, Racing TV)
Epsom (2.05-4.50, Racing TV)
Yarmouth (2.15-5.05, Sky Sports Racing)
Newbury (3.05-5.57, Sky Sports Racing)
Newmarket (5.15-8.00, Racing TV)
Thirsk (5.25-8.10, Racing TV)
Jumps
Tramore (5.00-8.19, Racing TV)
Star ratings explained
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - confident selection
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - strong fancy
⭐⭐⭐ - fair claims
⭐⭐ - tentative choice
⭐ - minimum confidence
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