It’s always a ripper race but honestly, how good is Saturday’s Newmarket Handicap going to be!? A monstrous field that boasts some of the world’s best sprinters and the opportunity to bankroll the rest of my autumn preparation.
The only thing that I am hoping for now is that a heatwave is predicted, and the card is brought a few hours closer to right now.
I’ve thrown four darts and the results can be found in my 2019 Newmarket Handicap Tips below.
Osborne Bulls is a fitting occupant of the top line of Newmarket Handicap betting and with even luck, he’ll be winning. He’s been an absolute revelation for Godolphin throughout the last year – from getting everyone home in the Get Out Stakes several times in autumn to running third in The Everest in spring, he just keeps getting better. He was a bit unlucky not to have won the Lightning down the Flemington straight first-up, but the extra furlong he’ll get on Saturday is perfect. He’ll also by ridden by this exciting up-and-comer Hugh Bowman.
He shook off the cob webs with a decent effort for fourth in the Lightning first-up and with the mouth-watering combination of 51kgs and William Pike in tow, Graff can make a real race of it in the Newmarket Handicap. This colt has been oozing class since he debuted in April last year and he has plenty of upside ahead of this race. If he musters his giant turn of foot, I think he’ll be particularly difficult to hold out.
Osborne Bulls’ stable mate is another lightweight hope in the Newmarket and you’ll be able to hear me anywhere in the country if he completes this trifecta at those odds. By Lonhro and out of Guelph, his class has obviously loomed since he was foaled and while he has been a pretty consistent performer throughout his career, he really does look like he’s come into his own even more this prep. His last-start second in the Oakleigh Plate was as good a sprint as any this year and with any improvement, he can fight out the finish.
The facts and figures well and truly put Santa Ana Lane in the finish of the Newmarket Handicap and while I think he’ll beat most of them home, I just wonder if a couple of them will prove too sharp first-up. The four-time Group 1 winner could be the best sprinter going around at the moment and if he can replicate his VRC Sprint Classic performance, he’d be hard to beat.