30th June 2012

Newcastle Betting: Trainer Michael Dods could have the Remedy for Newcastle slog

3.55 Newcastle: Betfred Bonus King Bingo Handicap (Class 2) (7f)

The big Northumberland Plate meeting at Newcastle has been given the green light after some horrendous weather in the area and we have a terrific card which includes a tricky class 2 handicap at 3.55 with 11 runners declared. It’s a wide open market with three horses disputing favouritism but Memory Cloth is just heading most lists and is 4/1 with Stan James at the moment.

Trained by Brian Ellison who loves coming the short trip to Newcastle to bag these handicaps, the 5yo has been running over longer trips and is certainly not a 7f specialist. The ground will be very heavy and his stamina will come in handy and ran here recently over a mile in similar conditions and was a fair third to Swiftly Done who has gone on to win again. He runs off the same mark here and Dale Swift takes 3lbs off his back this time.

Bryan Smart’s Dubai Hills is the second favourite; he won last time out at Redcar in soft ground and is raised 4lbs for that effort. That was his third run of the season and although he did go in the ground that day I’m not sure he wants it this soft. Mark Johnston continues in fair form and he saddles Fulbright another last time out winner, he won a class 3 event at Newmarket over this trip an he too gets a 4lb hike in the weights. He’s a speedy sort and today will stretch his stamina to the full.

Dr Marwan Koukash always has plenty of runners on Saturday’s and he runs two here at the top of the handicap. Lincoln winner Brae Hill carries top weight, he has ran well in every race this season but went off too quick in the Hunt Cup last time and trailed in a well beaten horse, we can forget that run although he does look a few pounds too high at the moment. Gramercy is the owners other runner, he’s yet to find any form this season but steps up to 7f for the first time since a good second to Smarty Socks at Ascot last September, he was also a good fifth to Deacon Blues in the Wokingham on soft ground so wouldn’t surprise me to see him run better today.

David O’Meara is having a fine season and he saddles Roker Park, normally a 6f horse and you would have doubts about his stamina in this ground while a similar comment could be aimed at Alejandro from the Fahey yard. The bottom weight Fieldgunner Kirkup is interesting, the 4yo has a course and distance win to his name in soft ground and that’s a big advantage today, it was low grade stuff that day but did it nicely and is now 7lbs higher but the yard are going well and he could run into a place.

One I like is Osteopathic Remedy from the in form Michael Dods stable, he has winning form in heavy ground and at this track and is slipping down the handicap and now races off a mark lower than his last victory. He has met trouble in running the last twice and hopefully today will get the breaks and his ability to stay a mile is a big plus. At around 12/1 he looks the value in the race. A saver on Memory Cloth looks a sensible bet also.

Selections;

1pt EW Osteopathic Remedy 12/1 Boylesports

1pt Memory Cloth 9/2 Skybet