Dave Massey is back to preview all 3 days of Newmarket’s Guineas Meeting 2025 – read his best bets ahead of the first British classics of the new season.
Newmarket’s Guineas Meeting 2025: Friday, Day 1
This writes itself, doesn’t it? FIFTY NIFTY (3.30) to win the Betfred Nifty Fifty Handicap? I mean, come on, they’re even giving you clues. Okay, perhaps backing horses simply because they’ve got the same (or similar) name to the race title is probably a fast way to the poorhouse, but you have to say Fifty Nifty has an excellent chance of taking this 7f handicap.
Guineas Meeting 2025: Nifty Nifty (3.30) – Back
Tom Clover’s 4yo faces some pretty exposed opponents here, whereas Fify Nifty has only had the five starts, winning two of them and that includes a win on the July course here on quick ground last August. He holds both Jumby and Alzahir on that form, even at today’s revised weights, and has little to fear from them.
Made a short-priced favourite on his reappearance here a fortnight ago, not a lot went right for him, pulling quite hard and then not finding room as the race developed. In finishing a neck second, he’s still taken another step forward and that form looks strong – winner Ten Pounds is an improver himself, having won three handicaps last year, and both the third and fourth had won their previous starts. You could argue the handicapper could have been harsher than a 2lb rise, and 13-8 looks a perfectly acceptable price.
Guineas Meeting 2025: Ambiente Friendly (4.05) – Take On
The Jockey Club Stakes looks a match on paper between Silver Knott and AMBIENTE FRIENDLY (4.05), but I’ll have the Andrew Balding pair onside as well – both of whom could yet do better again – and just lay Ambiente Friendly instead. He looked a horse going places quickly when taking the Lingfield Derby Trial and off the back of that, finished second to City of Troy in the Derby, and third to Los Angeles in the Irish version in June, both excellent efforts.
However, it all went downhill a bit from there; a poor effort behind City Of Troy in the Juddmonte International was explained away by the horse making a respiratory noise, the horse having got his tongue over the bit, but a hood and tongue tie combination on his next start in the Prix Niel produced no more than a satisfactory effort. For all the trip would have been on the short side for him in the Earl Of Sefton on his reappearance those keen tendencies hadn’t gone away, and he disappointed again. The question marks are just starting to stack up a bit, for all he’s clearly got the talent to win this, and I’d rather have the other three running for me here, all of whom look a bit more straightforward. A lay at 2-1 and under.
Guineas Meeting 2025: Marvelman (2.20) – Each Way
There aren’t many each-way opportunities on Friday at Newmarket but I don’t mind having a fiver each-way on MARVELMAN (2.20) at 20-1 and bigger for the King Charles II Stakes.
He’s a lot to do on the figures, being the lowest rated of these, but you always felt he was going to make a much better 3yo than two, and for all he hit the frame a couple of times last year, it was a good step forward to win on his reappearance at Kempton over 7f, making all of the running and strong in the closing stages, going right away from his field late. He should continue to progress as he goes up in trip this year as he’s bred for further, but if he’s allowed his own way up front again and Oisin Murphy can get the fractions right, he could be hard to get past.
By Dave Massey
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