Our form expert has three selections for Saturday's ITV4 action at Newbury and Market Rasen on Weatherbys Super Sprint day.
The Verdict: Saturday July 18
1pt e.w. High Fibre in 14:10 Market Rasen at 11/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4)
1pt win Song Of The Clyde in 15:02 Newbury at 11/2 (Coral, Ladbrokes)
1pt win Vollering in 15:37 Newbury at 9/1 (Coral, Ladbrokes, BetVictor)
Get Fibre in your diet on Saturday
It’s one of the lower-key Saturdays of the season in terms of quality, certainly in the UK, but there’s no shortage of betting opportunities as Newbury, Ripon and Market Rasen form a gentle seven-race package on ITV4.
The best bet could be on the jumps card at Market Rasen as James Owen’s newcomer HIGH FIBRE looks to have an excellent chance under Sean Bowen in the Betway Summer Handicap Hurdle over two miles.
Owen is brilliant at improving horses from other yards and the signs are he’s already working his magic with High Fibre, formerly with Harry Fry, judging by the horse’s debut for his new stable on the Flat at York just last week.
The way he stayed on for third over 1m4f was very encouraging indeed and over hurdles he wants a strongly-run sharp two miles to show his best, so this looks the ideal set up for him.
On his best form for Fry he’d have a chance here off 112 with Bowen on board, but with improvement anticipated now he’s with Owen that chance increases and it looks a major positive the first-time visor is applied.
Owen has a superb record of 21 from 69 at 30.43% with a first-time visor in both codes and that strike-rate increases to 47.06% (8 from 17) when you drill down to his jumpers, so he looks a strong contender here against the more lightly-raced horses like Louis Veron.
Dan Skelton’s five-year-old might well have been let in lightly and he sits at the top of the market quite ominously, but with most bookies going four places I’d rather have an each-way swing against him with the very interesting High Fibre.
The Verdict: Back HIGH FIBRE in the 14:10 Market Rasen
Vollering to get on her bike in Super Sprint
Over at Newbury it’s the Weatherbys Super Sprint and Richard Hughes’ Bint Archange is all the rage here after she burned up the Sandown sprint track to win the Listed Dragon Stakes last time.
That form gives her an excellent chance, but whether she can replicate that level in this very different test is a valid question and I’d rather take her on.
You can make cases for several, but the one I keep coming back to is Archie Watson’s VOLLERING who looks a rapid Sioux Nation filly that might just have the brazen speed to burn up the stands’ rail from stall 26 under Tom Marquand.
She has shown gears in all her starts to date and again displayed pace when just collared in the final furlong by Crownbreaker and Drazinda in a Listed contest at Deauville last time.
On that form she looks well in with a chance off these terms and if the rail is her friend, much like it was for the same stable's Eddie’s Boy in this race in 2022, she can run straight and true which will count for plenty against the more inexperienced two-year-olds.
The Verdict: Back VOLLERING in the 15:37 Newbury
On Song Cox to strike again
Finally, SONG OF THE CLYDE can go in again at Newbury in the Group 3 Hallgarten And Novum Wines Hackwood Stakes over the six furlongs.
Clive Cox has his sprinters in fine fettle and this son of Sergei Prokofiev impressed over the course and distance in May when seeing off Albert Einstein and co in the Carnarvon Stakes with a brave effort from the front.
He couldn’t land a blow in the Commonwealth Cup after that, but he wasn’t beaten far and the early signs are three-year-olds are well capable of putting it up to their elders in this division.
Certainly, the 5lb weight-for-age looks handy against this opposition and the likes of Binhareer and Soldier’s Tree are perhaps vulnerable in a small-field Group race having graduated from the hell-for-leather of the Wokingham.
Indeed, with a tactical advantage in mind, Song Of The Clyde could get into his rhythm up front without too much pace pressure against him which is another thing to consider looking at this market.
The Verdict: Back SONG OF THE CLYDE in the 15:02 Newbury
Preview posted at 15:25 BST on 17/07/26
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