Ben Linfoot free horse racing tips for ITV racing at Goodwood and Newmarket Friday May 3

The Verdict: Friday, May 3

1pt win Sayedaty Sadaty in 2.25 Newmarket at 6/1 (General)

1pt win Zouky in 3.00 Newmarket at 12/1 (Coral, Ladbrokes)

1pt win Live In the Moment in 3.15 Goodwood at 14/1 (General)

1pt win Desperate Hero in 3.50 Goodwood at 11/2 (bet365)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

Take Zouky in HQ handicap

There are seven races on ITV on Friday including the first day of the Guineas meeting at Newmarket, as well as a first look at Goodwood this Flat season, and single-figure fields dominate the afternoon’s sport.

The outlier is the William Hill Epic Boost Handicap over seven furlongs at Newmarket, all being well, with 13 runners set to go to post, and a strong pace is forecast with prominent racers like Lethal Levi, Thunder Ball, Love De Vega and Dark Thirty in the field.

That decreases the likelihood of one horse making all, something we saw a lot of at this track at the Craven meeting, and while there’s always the possibility of something getting on a roll up front on the Rowley Mile, I do like the claims of the usually held-up ZOUKY at 12/1.

Charlie McBride’s filly likes to make her challenge from off the pace, but the key to her is getting her rolling in space on a straight track and things could drop nicely for her in this regard on Friday.

All three of her career wins have come on straight tracks, while she’s hugely unexposed over seven furlongs after running over the distance only three times, from which she gained a first and second in handicap company and a half-length fifth in a Listed race at Ascot.

Those three efforts give her a chance in this race from a mark of 92, while she looked in good heart at Kempton in the Listed Snowdrop Fillies’ Stakes on her reappearance over a mile where she led the field with just over a furlong to go.

A strongly-run seven furlongs looks perfect for her and she can go well here if she gets the breaks.

The Verdict: Back ZOUKY in the 3.00 Newmarket

Say the word in Newmarket Stakes

The rest of the Newmarket action consists of trappy small-field affairs and I have no strong view on either the King Charles II Stakes at 3.35 or the Jockey Club Stakes at 4.10, where the top of the market looks to have found the right horses.

Earlier on the card, though, in the Listed William Hill Newmarket Stakes, I’m more than happy to take on the short-priced favourite Endless Victory who comes out fourth best on form in a field of five.

He could obviously improve a great deal being an unbeaten Godolphin colt with two wins under his belt, but he’s priced up like such progression is a formality and I’m not sure that’s the case.

I would much rather back Andrew Balding’s SAYEDATY SADATY at 6/1, a colt who we know has improved a great deal from two to three after his highly encouraging second in the Listed Burradon Stakes at Newcastle on All-Weather Finals day.

Oisin Murphy’s forcing tactics on the front end almost paid dividends that day and he deserved great credit for sticking to his task when it looked like he might be swamped two furlongs out, Karl Burke’s Cuban Tiger just beating him by a neck after a sustained battle.

The pair were three lengths clear of the 103-rated Orne and there’s no reason why this son of Anodin won’t translate this improvement to turf, while there is a reasonable expectation of further progression now he goes up in trip to 10 furlongs given he’s a half brother to a handful of horses who stayed a mile and a quarter.

On paper this has the look of a tactical race, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Murphy took the bull by the horns again and there are few better jockeys to have on your side when a little bit of reactive nous is required.

The Verdict: Back SAYEDATY SADATY in the 2.25 Newmarket

Two sprinters appeal at Goodwood

Down at Goodwood it has been very wet and heavy ground prevails for its first meeting of 2024.

I don’t think the going will bother LIVE IN THE MOMENT too much, a soft ground winner who ran a cracker at this track in testing conditions last Glorious Goodwood, a day where his effort in fourth can be marked up given he raced in a two-horse group on the stands’ side with the other nine racing far side.

That’s not his only piece of Goodwood form as he won here last September, making all to end a long losing run off just a 1lb lower handicap mark than the one he races off on Friday.

Blinkers looked to help him that day and it looks significant the same headgear is on for his seasonal reappearance, perhaps a sign he’s ready to roll.

That’s not a given as he has needed a run his last two seasonal reappearances, but he’s worth chancing at 14s with plenty else in his favour.

I also want to back Jack Channon’s DESPERATE HERO half an hour later in the William Hill Epic Boost Handicap over five furlongs.

He’s the only horse in the field who has won a race on heavy ground before and I thought he shaped well at Bath in such conditions on his reappearance last month, showing speed to lead them into the closing stages of the race only for him to weaken late on. He should come on plenty for that.

There’s every chance David Probert will get to set the fractions in this field and in conditions he likes he could be hard to catch for a yard who remain in good form.

The Verdict: Back LIVE IN THE MOMENT (3.15) and DESPERATE HERO (3.50) at Goodwood

Preview posted at 1515 BST on 02/05/24

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