Finals Day heroine Cloud Cover is among the headliners as Newcastle hosts the first of two All-Weather Championships Trials Day meetings this afternoon with the first due off at 14h25.
Cloud Cover winning on Finals Day (Pic – Grossick Racing Photography)
The winner of each £45,000 handicap on the card will be eligible for free entry to the corresponding Finals Day race at Newcastle, as well as a £15,000 bonus should they go on to win on Good Friday.
Lingfield Park stages the other All-Weather Championships Trials Day on February 28. Any horse that wins at both Trials Day meetings in the same category and goes on to win at Newcastle on Finals Day will be eligible for a total bonus of £35,000.
Cloud Cover heads nine runners in the Best Odds Guaranteed At BetMGM Fillies’ Handicap as she looks to follow up her victory in last season’s BetMGM Fillies’ And Mares’ Championships.
The five-year-old arrives at the top of her game, having recorded a first Listed success last month in the Prix Miss Satamixa at Deauville.
Trainer James Tate said: “Cloud Cover is in tremendous form. This run qualifies her again for the final, which she won last year, and that is the main reason for running. She is proven over the course and distance, it is a £45,000 race, and it would be nice to win if we could.
“The plan after this is to have her covered by Kingman. Then she could run in the Snowdrop Stakes at Kempton in late March and potentially the final, as there is a nice gap between the two races this year. They are two nice prizes to aim for and then she will have done more than her fair share.”
Progressive sprinter Heathcliff takes another step up the ladder in the Weekly £5 Free Bet With BetUK Handicap over six furlongs. James Fanshawe’s runner captured a Racing League event at the track in August and was a comfortable winner of a seven-furlong handicap at Kempton Park last time out.
Misty Grey heads the weights with a mark of 108, making him the highest-rated runner on the card. His trainer David O’Meara also saddles stable debutant Noble Truth, who captured the Gr3 Jersey Stakes for Godolphin in 2022.
O’Meara said: “Both horses are coming back from absences and Noble Truth in particular will probably be rusty and need the run, whereas Misty Grey has done quite a bit of work. A rating of 108 is a stiff mark for a handicap but this is step one in getting him qualified for Finals Day.
“Noble Truth is not the easiest horse to train as he is quite hot and keen in his work. Today is about getting him back on track, blowing the cobwebs away, and hopefully he will come forward for the run.”
A maximum field of 14 also features three other last-time-out winners in The Caltonian for Linda Perratt, Mark Loughnane’s Coachello and the Jack Channon-trained Cajetan.
Andrew Balding’s Storm Star and Michael Herrington’s Nikovo are chasing further course and distance success in the BetMGM: It’s Showtime Handicap over a mile.
Apiarist makes a quick reappearance for Kevin Ryan after taking the feature handicap at Chelmsford last weekend, while last season’s Mile final third Fantastic Fox lines up for Roger Varian.
Ex-Godolphin runner Kind Of Kiss is an intriguing contender for Kevin Philippart de Foy, having won one of this three starts in France for Andre Fabre.
Northern Ruler, an impressive novice scorer at the track last week, makes his handicap debut for Karl Burke in the Extra Winnings With BetUK Acca Club Handicap over 10 furlongs.
The lineup also features Midnight Lion (Jim Goldie), who has won his last three starts over Newcastle’s 10-furlong course, and recent dual Wolverhampton scorer King’s Code (David Evans).
Three-Year-Old contenders go in the Weekly Free Bets With BetMGM Extra Handicap over six furlongs, with James Ferguson’s Cyclonite impressing on his latest start at Kempton Park.
Newbury Listed fifth Dubai Bling (Hugo Palmer), Marchogion (Andrew Balding) and Motawahij (Karl Burke), who have all showed promise on the turf, return from absences of more than 100 days.
Talented stayer Wise Eagle faces six rivals for Adam Nicol in the Win £1M With BetMGM’s Golden Goals Handicap over two miles, having recorded a pair of wide margin hurdle victories so far this winter.
The opposition includes the Ian Williams-trained Zealandia, who won this race last year, and Hugo Palmer’s Roaring Legend, a six-length winner at Wolverhampton last time out.
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