Newcastle best bet: Atrafan shaping up for seventh course-distance success
Newcastle racecourse
A Monday night card in January might not quite be enough to set the heart pounding, but there’s still enough quality in this six-furlong sprint at Newcastle to offer some decent betting options.
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The realistic prospects for this eight-runner field can probably be reduced to five if the three outsiders can be safely discounted.
That said, for anyone who likes a flutter on an outsider, there’s been some support among Tipstrrs each-way aficionados for Colin Teague’s Gunmetal, although the 11-year-old would have to raise his game against his younger rivals here.
One of those youngsters is the Geoff Oldroyd-trained Margot Robbie, who is the kind of low-mileage four-year-old that could thrive in a race of this nature, and today's step up in trip and a re-applied visor should mean she gives Harry Russell a decent ride.
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However, our final nod is going to another relative old-timer in the shape of 10-year-old Atrafan, who suffered a three-year absence early in his career, but has made eight visits to the winner’s enclosure in 31 outings since his reappearance three years ago, six of them over this Newcastle trip.
The last of those course-distance successes came this time last year, but it’s worth noting that that was only four outings ago, as trainer Alan Brown has treated his gelding more gently in his advancing years.
Dougie Costello was on board for both of Aftrafan’s appearances either side of Christmas, the last of which was just four days ago over a longer trip at this venue.
He was hampered a furlong out on that occasion, and then found the extra furlong too much of an ask, so a quick turnaround for this return to his preferred trip might suggest that his connections’ expectations are high for another course-distance success here.
