| Friday, December 1, 2023 6:30 PM

Saturday’s Horse Racing Tips: Newcastle, Newbury, December 2nd

Stephen Harris

Today’s Racing Tips – December 2nd

Saturday’s ITV action covers the pick of the jumping action from Newbury and Newcastle, with the reappearance of the Champion hurdler Constitution Hill very much the highlight in the Fighting Fifth at 1.55pm. There are also some ultra competitive handicaps across both cards, with the ground likely to be pretty testing once the frost covers are removed in the morning (minus 3c forecast overnight on Friday). Both tracks will have to survive early morning inspections to get the go ahead.

In this article:

Today’s Daily Nap
Today’s Value Angle
Saturday’s ITV Racing Tips

Today’s Daily Nap

Brentford Hope

Newbury 2:15 (UK time)

Harry Derham has his team in blistering form at the moment (5w/16r in the last fortnight), and this progressive handicapper escapes any punishment for winning conditional jockeys contest over this course and distance earlier in the month. He is a smooth traveller on soft ground, and is likely to be cruising over these rivals under the red-hot and much improved Paul O’Brien.

Odds: NA

Today’s Value Angle

Old Painless

Newcastle 2:30 (UK time)

Tim Vaughan’s new arrival from Harry Whittington remains open to loads of improvement over fences after just 5 career starts for his previous yard, and the step back down in trip to 2m4f should suit ideally. He goes with zest from the front, will appreciate the soft ground expected, and can take these Class 4 rivals out of their comfort zone early under Alan Johns.

Odds: NA

ITV Racing Tips – Saturday December 2nd

Time (UK)	Track	Horse	Analysis
1:55	Newcastle	Constitution Hill	Nicky Henderson’s superstar is being kept over hurdles this season, and is likely to be an unbackable price on each occasion before he reaches Cheltenham in March to defend his crown. He has a faultless record at the highest level, and is unlikely to need to come off the bridle against a tiny field of inferior rivals.
2:15	Newbury	Brentford Hope	Harry Derham has his team in blistering form at the moment (5w/16r in the last fortnight), and this progressive handicapper escapes any punishment for winning conditional jockeys contest over this course and distance earlier in the month. He is a smooth traveller on soft ground, and is likely to be cruising over these rivals under the red-hot and much improved Paul O’Brien.
2:30	Newcastle	Old Painless	Tim Vaughan’s new arrival from Harry Whittington remains open to loads of improvement over fences after just 5 career starts for his previous yard, and the step back down in trip to 2m4f should suit ideally. He goes with zest from the front, will appreciate the soft ground expected, and can take these Class 4 rivals out of their comfort zone early under Alan Johns.
2:50	Newbury	Complete Unknown	Paul Nicholls has a brilliant record in these valuable Saturday handicaps, and his progressive young chaser could be at a fitness advantage over most of these useful rivals after winning in style on his seasonal reappearance in October. He is a strong travelling, sound jumper, who will relish the expected eased decent ground under the red-hot Harry Cobden.
3:05	Newcastle	Elvis Mail	Nick Alexander’s stable star is a much more settled model these days, seeing out 3m2f in game style when making a winning return at Kelso. He is a smooth traveller who relishes testing ground, and can defy a career high mark at Newcastle on Saturday under regular rider Bruce Lynn (with the presence of the classy Shiskin giving this handicap a very lopsided look).
3:25	Newbury	Real Stone	Dan Skelton’s progressive chaser routed his rivals with a brilliant display of jumping at Haydock last weekend, in command at halfway and coming home alone. He has been turned out quickly under a penalty for this Class 2 contest, and will surely take plenty of holding if the quick turnaround is no issue under Harry Skelton.