Summer racing preview at Newton Abbot

Summer jumping continues at Newton Abbot Racecourse this week with a six-race card on Friday afternoon. 

The action kicks off at 1.58pm with a two mile and five furlong maiden hurdle in class four before coming to a close at 4.53pm as a field of nine head to post for the class five handicap chase over the marathon three miles and a furlong distance. 

Read on for a preview of Newton Abbot's card courtesy of Betano, who provide the latest horse racing betting. 

Only three runners will line up for the first race of the day at Newton Abbot (1.58) and it will be very tough to look beyond Isle Of Sark for the Tony Carroll yard, who arrives here after some spins on the Flat so is race fit, including a third last time out at Lingfield and makes a debut here for his new team. 

The field isn’t much bigger for the second race on the card (2.33) with only four runners set to line up for the two mile and five furlong novices’ handicap hurdle. Keel Strand is thriving for top trainer Paul Nicholls and is another one who is tough to go against, winning a novice and a handicap contest at this track last month and a 7lb hike in the weights is unlikely to stop him in his bid for a hat-trick.

A better field of nine will take on the two kile and five furlong mares’ handicap hurdle at 3.08 to mark race three on the Newton Abbot card. Kenmya represents another top yard with Dan Skelton and a good second last time out at Bangor suggests the first win is not far off arriving and that could be on Friday. Miss Popalong was a runner-up at Ffos Las six weeks ago and provides the main danger for the Philip Hobbs yard.

A class four handicap chase over the two mile trip is up next at Newton Abbot (3.43) and the Warren Greatrex-trained Shillanavogy looks the way to go in this wone, resuming winning ways at Cartmel five weeks ago and can defy a 6lb rise in the weights to score again in the West Country, while the penultimate contest of the afternoon (4.18) sees Get The Value get the nod in the class three handicap hurdle, a winner of two straight hurdle contests earlier this season and second last time out over course and distance. 

Finally, the card comes to a close with a handicap chase at 4.53 in class five and preference in the finale heads the way of Backinaction for trainer Evan Williams, a winning point-to-pointer on the Irish scene and was second over course and distance last month to bounce back to form.