Mick likes the look of The Changing Man in the big race of the day at 14:55 at Newbury.
Mick Fitzgerald’s Saturday ITV Racing Tips
13:40 Newbury – French Ship
14:00 Newcastle – Constitution Hill
14:15 Newbury – Live Conti
14:55 Newbury – The Changing Man
15:15 Newcastle – Cruz Control
15:35 Newbury – General Medrano
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
The 2m 4f handicap hurdle sees an interesting jockey booking where FRENCH SHIP will be ridden by Harry Cobden. He won very nicely at Cheltenham last time at the October meeting, and the subsequent hike in the weights is justified.
Royal Rambler could come forward a lot from his Cheltenham run earlier this month when fifth to Lavender Hill Mob and may be one for the places.
The Fighting Fifth Hurdle looks a belter and is literally a mini Champion Hurdle with the first three in the market for the March showpiece all set to line up.
CONSTITUTION HILL has been away for a couple of racecourse gallops, and connections are happy that they have him in a good place for his seasonal debut. The tactics are going to be fascinating, and I’m not going to desert him. C’mon Constitution Hill.
The Gerry Feilden Handicap Hurdle looks a good test, and LIVE CONTI will be suited by any rain that falls. He was second to Murcia at Aintree in the Grade 1 Juvenile Hurdle when last seen in April and looks a big player on his handicap debut.
The feature race of the day, and one of the biggest contests of the early jumps season, is the Coral Gold Cup.
Myretown has to be a major player in this race, but the only thing I don’t like about him is the price. He was a really good winner of the Ultima Chase and Cheltenham last March, and this has been his early-season target since then, according to connections.
One who may be a bit more valuable is THE CHANGING MAN, who chased home Henry’s Friend at Ascot and won the Reynoldstown Chase at the same venue as a novice. He wears cheekpieces to help him focus more, too.
The 2m 4f Rehearsal Chase could go the way of CRUZ CONTROL, who is a course and distance winner and is versatile, so will handle any ground conditions. He’s only 4lb higher than his Aintree win last Spring, and Tom Lacey’s runner ticks a lot of boxes on seasonal debut.
Last year’s winner GENERAL MEDRANO looks set to go very close again in this contest. He’s 8lb higher this time, but you can argue that he would have won the race last year off his current mark anyway, given that he scooted in by nine lengths.
Emma Lavelle’s runner had a nice prep over fences when fourth to Teddy Blue at Ascot earlier this month over 2m 4f, so looks primed for a bold attempt to go back-to-back in this 2m chase.
Mick Fitzgerald’s Saturday ITV Racing Tips
13:40 Newbury – French Ship
14:00 Newcastle – Constitution Hill
14:15 Newbury – Live Conti
14:55 Newbury – The Changing Man
15:15 Newcastle – Cruz Control
15:35 Newbury – General Medrano
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
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