Best bets for the horse racing at Newbury for the Dubai Duty Free Spring Trials Friday

It has been an up and down sort of month so far but hopefully, I have a couple of winners up my sleeve for the next few days as we have the first of the 'trials' for this season classics to enjoy. The going is officially described as soft good-soft in places as I write on Thursday evening for the Dubai Duty-Free Spring Trials at Newbury.

The first race of interest to me is the 2m2f Compton Beauchamp Estates Ltd Silver Bar Handicap at 3.05. Festival Of Ages is a very lightly raced 5yo, only raced five-times, and I have tipped him twice; he finished second on both occasions! The first of those runs was behind Stargazer at Newcastle in December and then in January when behind Aircraft Carrier. His race record now reads 2, 1, 1, 2, 2 and I honestly think he will be picking up some prizes this season. I have a bit of the 2-1 about him getting back to winning ways here.

John Gosden has had the 1m2f conditions stakes at 4.10, which he has farmed over the years, in mind for Turgenev for a while reportedly. The colt will though have to give the opposition 3lb and may be vulnerable to an improver. Space Blues won on debut over a mile pretty impressively on his sole start at two (tipped on here) and hasn’t been seen since that Nottingham win in November. form working out with the second, third and fourth all winning since. As I said last year he is a half-brother to winners including the G.2 and G.3 winner Shuruq and should prove pretty decent.  He is the one that could be anything as they say and if there is one to stop the Gosden winning again he is it. As a member of my Dirty Dozen this year hopefully this will be the first of many victories in the coming months as I am on at 6-4; I am told Bet365 went 5-2 very briefly early but if you even had the chance to get on that (they'd have offered me about 50p probably) you’re luckier than me!

Be lucky