Newton Abbot evening racing: preview and tips for tonight’s card

The summer jumping action at Newton Abbot Racecourse continues with a seven-race card on offer on Friday.

The card kicks off at 5.35pm with a mares’ handicap hurdle over the two-mile and two-furlong trip before coming to a close at 9.00pm as a field of seven tackle the two-mile bumper. 

Read below for a preview of the action at Newton Abbot on Friday courtesy of BoyleSports, who offer the best Royal Ascot odds for the showpiece meeting next week. 

The first race of the meeting is at 5.35 and, somewhat disappointingly, it’s a match race with just two runners set for the off in the two-mile and two-furlong mares’ handicap hurdle. Of the duo, Seeyouinmydreams has less miles on the clock than Arclight so it is Paul Nicholls’ runner that shades the vote in what is a pretty even contest despite the incredibly low turnout. 

Spectators of the second race will see six runners at 6.10 as the field size is upped a bit for the mares’ novices’ hurdle over the extended two mile trip and the Dan Skelton-trained Belle Le Grand could be the way to go here, an Irish bumper winner that made a successful debut over hurdles in a Warwick maiden last month and followed up in easy fashion at Cartmel, so looks very tough to beat. 

A three-mile handicap chase is up next at 6.45 and it’s another disappointingly small field as just four runners will line up for the class three contest. Art Of Diplomacy, trained by Michael Bowen, could taste success over fences for the first time here having been a triple-winner over hurdles for previous connections and has been placed in six of seven starts in this sphere. The Nicholls’-trained Hugo’s New Horse rates a big threat however, having opened his chase account at Plumpton in April and remains well-treated despite a 4lb rise in the weights.  

Miss Popalong looks the way to go in race four on the card (7.20), less exposed than most in this 11-runner handicap hurdle field in class five for trainer Phillip Hobbs, a good second last time out as well at Ffos Las behind only a massively gambled-on winner, while race five (7.55) sees  Magic Seven get the nod for the Jonjo and AJ O’Neill team, a winner of hurdles in November at Exeter and shaped well on debut over fences at Huntington just under three weeks ago, finishing second. 

Multiple all-weather scorer Hill Station gets the vote in the penultimate race on the Newton Abbot card (8.25) and was only narrowly denied at this track nine days ago so a repeat of that performance could see him go one better. Battle Of Omdurman rates the next best, an encouraging second on return at Worcester last time out. 

Finally, the meeting comes to an end at 9.00 with the bumper contest over the two-mile trip and of the seven runners set to take it on, preference in the finale heads the way of the Henry Oliver-trained Three Pikes, second at Chepstow when last seen in March and then sold on for £50,000 to new connections so has a good chance on yard debut here. 

Newton Abbot selections – Friday
5.35 – Seeyouinmydreams
6.10 - Belle La Grand
6.45 - Art Of Diplomacy
7.20 - Miss Popalong
7.55 - Magic Seven
8.25 - Hill Station
9.00 - Three Pikes