All-Weather Finals: Seven tips for Newcastle joy on Friday

The All-Weather Championships Finals Day is staged at Newcastle for the first time on Friday and with more than £1 million in prize money up for grabs, it is the richest all-weather day staged in Europe.

Our tipster Ross Millar previews each race.

1.30 - Listed Stakes, 1m

It’s hard to see beyond the Andrew Balding-trained Imperial Fighter here. His is by far the best form on offer and he has already finished comfortably in front of Dubai Poet in the Autumn Stakes at Newmarket.

He ran to a good level on that occasion finishing just two lengths behind Coroebus, the current second favourite for the 2000 Guineas, while his season ended with a creditable fifth in the Vertem Futurity at Doncaster, and truthfully if he’d have lined up in this week's Craven Stakes he wouldn’t have been out of place.

This is significantly easier than that and I expect him to get his season off to a winning start. The only concern is the switch from turf to the all-weather, however his sire, The Gurkha, has a healthy strike rate of 12% on the all-weather and his dam-line also contains winners on a synthetic surface, so any concern is minimal.

Selection: Imperial Fighter @ 2.56

2.00 - Championships Conditions Stakes, 1m

My Oberon ran with great credit on his last start in Meydan and while he failed to make the frame, being beaten just five lengths by the high-class Lord North was a decent effort.

He has already shown he has the capability to operate on the all-weather with a comfortable win at Southwell on his penultimate start. Providing his trip to Dubai and back hasn’t taken too much out of him, he should be hard to beat in this.

Selection: My Oberon @ 3.1

2.35 - Sprint Championships Conditions Stakes, 6f

There is no disputing that Ejtilaab put up an impressive display when winning on his last start at Kempton, showing good speed and looking classy. However, he was certainly the recipient of a good ride by Callum Shepherd who made good use of the favoured low draw at Kempton. On the straight six at Newcastle, such an advantage will not be as big a factor.

While Venturous may well be advancing in years he has arguably never been in better form, comfortably winning his last two starts, both times here at Newcastle. That pair of wins means he now has four wins from seven starts at the track so we can safely say it suits him. Added to that, his regular partner Connor Beasley is once again in the saddle. All his best form has come off a break of at least 30 days so the fact he’s arriving here fresh boosts confidence. I think he’ll go close at a decent price.

Selection: Venturous @ 14

3.10 - Three-Year Old Championships Stakes, 6f

El Caballo has certainly progressed with each run and it would be no surprise if he were to extend his winning sequence to five in a row. He showed good course form on his penultimate start when he comfortably accounted for Canonized, while conceding her 2lb. She’s a solid yardstick and he wasn’t fully extended to beat her.

However, I prefer Space Cowboy from the Richard Spencer yard. He has less experience than El Caballo but he too beat Canonized over Newcastle on the same terms with the same relative ease. That line of form would suggest there isn’t much between them both, yet Karl Burke’s charge is significantly shorter in the betting. For that reason, I’m inclined to side with Space Cowboy at a bigger price.

Selection: Space Cowboy @ 6

3.45 - Fillies and Mares Championships Stakes, 7f

When looking at the official ratings it’s easy to see why Highfield Princess has been installed as favourite given that she is upwards of 4lb clear, however she’s without a win since July last year and therefore I’m keen to oppose her.

In contrast, Internationalangel had been in scintillating form winning six in a row before coming up short at Wolverhampton last time, where having missed the break she never looked entirely comfortable finishing a well-beaten seventh. I’m always prepared to overlook one poor run and if she can bounce back to the rich vein of form she was in prior to that Wolverhampton run, she can give the favourite a real battle.

Selection: Internationalangel @ 3.05

4.15 - Marathon Championships, 2m

Earlofthecotswolds has looked like a revelation since being redirected to the all-weather but ultimately found both Sleeping Lion and Rainbow Dreamer a step too far on previous meetings. It’s hard to see how he can change the outcome here especially given that it could be argued his best form over jumps has come when going right-handed.

Rainbow Dreamer surely wasn’t at his best when well beaten by Sleeping Lion at Kempton last time. He’s now reunited with Hollie Doyle who has been on board for his last two wins. If that, combined with the return to Newcastle where he’s previously ran well, can see him return to form then he is well capable of winning this.

Selection: Rainbow Dreamer @ 6.8

4.45 - Middle Distance Championship Stakes, 1m2f

Tyrrhenian Sea had a rough passage through the race last time at Kempton - every time Jack Mitchell tried to extricate himself and get a run he would find himself blocked off yet again. It was all the more frustrating given that Mitchell had sacrificed track position from a nice inside draw. That Tyrrenhian Sea was still able to finish so close to higher-rated horses, despite being unable to fully extend suggests that his ability is way in excess of his official mark of 99.

The long straight at Newcastle should give ample opportunity for him to find a run this time and I fully expect him to win this.

Selection: Tyrrhenian Sea @ 1.62

Recommended bets

Imperial Fighter @ 2.56

My Oberon @ 3.1

Venturous @ 14

Space Cowboy @ 6

Internationalangel @ 3.05

Rainbow Dreamer @ 6.8

Tyrrhenian Sea @ 1.62