Friday's UK racing tips come your way from Musselburgh and Thirsk on 11 August 2023.
Musselburgh
Race 2 – Majestic Beauty 9/4
Majestic Beauty is expected to maintain her unbeaten record in the British EBF Ruby Anniversary Novice Stakes at Musselburgh.
Trainer Alice Haynes is in double figures in terms of juvenile winners this season and this daughter of Havana Grey certainly looked the part on her racecourse debut at Catterick in May.
Majestic Beauty was short odds to make a successful start to her career at the North Yorkshire track and soon recovered from a tardy start to win comfortably by two and a half lengths.
Hindsight tells us that form is not too shabby by Catterick standards, with the runner-up Specific Times since landing a nursery at York and third-placed Harvanna now a dual winner.
Assuming Haynes has her filly fit enough to do herself justice after nearly three months off the track, she should prove very hard to beat.
Race 3 – Idilico 6/1
Idilico can open his account for the season in the Stobo Castle Ladies Day Gold Cup Handicap.
Dianne Sayer’s eight-year-old is a regular visitor to Musselburgh and has been placed twice already this term.
He was disappointing over hurdles at Perth on his most recent outing, but a return to Flat on a track that suits may yield a return to form. The booking of Joe Fanning suggests connections mean business.
Race 4 – Poet’s Magic 16/1
Not many trainers have their horses in better form than John Quinn and Poet’s Magic is taken to continue the trainer’s hot streak in the Gaynor Winyard Trophy Handicap.
The seven-year-old is only 1lb above her last winning mark and is tipped to put a below-par first run of the season behind her.
Nibras Angel is out to double her tally in the Robert (Bob) Vickery Memorial Novice Stakes at Thirsk.
Trainer Ismail Mohammed is no stranger to handling high-class fillies, having saddled Zain Claudette to win both the Princess Margaret and the Lowther Stakes a couple of years ago.
Thirsk
Race 4 – Nibras Angel 11/10
Nibras Angel, who carries the same colours as her stablemate, made a big impression when scorching clear on her Lingfield introduction last month and the subsequent success of the third Time’s Eye gives the form a solid enough look.
Mohammed’s filly holds a Group One entry in the Sun Chariot later in the year and while that may be pie in the sky at this stage, she can keep the dream alive with a second victory.
May Blossom can complete her hat-trick for David O’Meara in the Best Odds Guaranteed At Vickers.Bet Handicap following back-to-back wins in July, while Haydock punters should side with Karl Burke’s Mannerism in the oakflooringman.com EBF Novice Stakes.
The Caravaggio gelding was beaten just a length when third on his introduction on Merseyside three weeks ago and while the winner Paladin did not cover himself in glory at Goodwood last week, Mannerism’s stablemate Ice Max, who finished fourth, outclassed his rivals at Catterick on Tuesday.
With Tom Marquand in the saddle, Mannerism can add to Burke’s considerable juvenile haul.
