Don’t miss 32Red ambassador Jamie Spencer’s latest column on his weekend rides at Newmarket
Jamie has some good chances at Newmarket and reflects on a mixed weekend in Canada
The multi-award winning online casino 32Red are the most prolific sponsor of British Racing. Every week at the you can read Brand Ambassadors Jamie Spencer, Josephine Gordon and Luke Morris’ thoughts on their prominent rides and the hot topics in Flat Racing, as well as get unrivalled access to Jump’s biggest names in Paddy Brennan and Adrian Heskin.
I'M back on familiar territory with a busy day at my local track today after a trip to Canada last weekend.
I’ve got five rides at Newmarket with some nice chances so I’m hoping it will work out better than the first day at Woodbine.
It turned into a bit of a nightmare. They usually go steady on the turf track there so we were expecting it to be ideal for Hawkbill. It didn’t pan out that way.
Lord Glitters had a treacherous journey getting there, he got stuck in Amsterdam for three days.
He never settled down. He ran his race beforehand. He was tense going to post and wasted energy.
It all worked out in the end as I won a Grade 1 on La Pelosa for Charlie Appleby the following day.
RACECARDS Get all the form you need to help you find those winners
Today I kick off on a well-bred filly called STORMY ROAD (2.10).
She ran well first time out when runner-up at Newmarket and then won her second start at Brighton.
She is giving away a 3lbs penalty but hopefully her experience will cover that. I’ve not sat on her but I’ve seen her a few times and she’s going well. The mile will suit and she’s a nice stayer in the making.
AMANDINE (3.20) has been placed a lot and that’s means she’s on a career-high handicap mark.
She went up another couple of pounds for running well at Ascot last time.
David Egan thought she would have won had she not hit the front too soon. That was a deeper race so hopefully we can time it right.
HANDIWORK (3.55) hasn’t run since April but that doesn’t bother me. He seems to do his winning after a break.
He has been difficult to train and Steve Gollings has done well. His last two wins came in the same race at Doncaster a year apart.
He’s up in the weights but we know two things about him, he stays and he can run well fresh.
The one to beat is Golden Spear but we’ll give it a good shot.
SAVING GRACE (5.00) was disappointing when favourite at Leicester last time. I rode her and she was as flat as a pancake.
We didn’t go that fast and she was struggling to lay up, she was beaten a long way out.
She’s a big filly so maybe she was just going through a growing phase.
I galloped her on Wednesday and she feels in good shape. She’s had a break since her last run so hopefully she can get back on track.
Her half-sister was placed in the Oaks so she’s bred to be better than this.
HIGHLAND ACCLAIM (5.35) is only one pound above his last winning handicap mark. He was a little disappointing at Chester last time but had a wide draw and has been dropped a couple of pounds.
The race fits the horse but I’d prefer it if he was running at Epsom. He’s got some great form around there and Newmarket is the polar opposite to Epsom.