On Wednesday all the winners were race fit apart from Klassleader and significantly the two narrowly defeated runners Kinswoman and Binhareer were making their seasonal debuts
The predicted ‘Good’ ground expected at all of the fixtures – now looks less likely with torrential rain at York and in the Berkshire area on Thursday. Both Divine Knight at York and Indhaar at Newbury are now Non Runner‘s on Friday.’
On Thursday Sea Force looked beat after the first couple of furlongs and my fear that the third race within a month would be too much for the 4yo was probably the reason for the no show rather than ground conditions. Expect him to be put away until the Autumn.
Morshdi was disappointing running far too freely and then not looking likely to last home over the 10f+ trip – the yard suspected stamina beyond 10f maybe an issue and on this evidence even 10f looks too far. The disrupted preparation following the Chester debacle may also have been a factor.
These possible scenario’s/reasons were all factored in before the race and the bets struck – there are no excuses.
Pierian was a welcome winner on the day for the yard and we move onto Friday with some high quality horses going to post.
Back to Friday and the Somerville Lodge team are down to a squad of 7 in every case bar one they are making seasonal reappearances. Hence the cautious approach for betting purposes.
They include two horses Lilt and Extremely Zain who are considered possible Group 1 horses this year.
I will deal with all 7 starting with 3 at York ridden by Tom Marquand:
Lilt 14.20 York
It’s shame there are only 7 runners in the Listed Michael Seely Stakes because the opening show for Lilt of 10/1 is very similar to the opening show for the filly in the Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket. When she was withdrawn 1 hour before the race she was 9/4 !
Now the declarations have been made, whilst this looks tougher than the Pretty Polly that price is very generous and I cannot let her go off unbacked.I will monitor the race closely and look to have a saver on one of the more favoured runners at the head of the market on race day. There is no doubt that Lilt is considered by everyone at Somerville Lodge as a Group Class filly.
Synchronicity is the early market leader and although she was impressive in beating the Haggas filly and subsequent winner Sea of The Clouds – Lilt is rated a better prospect than Sea of the Clouds.
Recommended Bet 0.5pt win Lilt 10/1 Bet 365
Divine Knight 14.55 York NOW NON RUNNER
Desert Treasure 16.55 York
Owned by the very lucky owners Jon and Julie Aisbett ( Godwinson, Johan ) there is a possibility that Double Treasure is very well handicapped off a mark of 83 and has been given the Timeform big P rating which suggests significant improvement is expected. Drawn in 6 that looks fine after the Day 1 results. These Class 2 and 3 3yo only handicaps come with a wealth warning at this time of year at odds of around 5/1 I am going to sit this race out for betting purposes.
No Recommended Bet
Weheedd 17.15 York
The 3yo maiden is the only runner on the day to be race fit and was a big eye-catcher when second behind the John Gosden trained Organise at Yarmouth on debut. The betting suggests a similar result will follow on Friday, as he will be second favourite behind the Gosden trained Portcullis who was an impressive winner of the Wood Ditton Stakes and will be odds on to follow up. I wasn’t convinced about the value of that win and the initial form of the race looks weak.
It would be no surprise to see Portcullis drift and there be significant support for Weheedd. the early price of 5/2 is a rare piece of good value for a runner from Somerville Lodge and I have had 1pt Win
Recommended Bet 1pt win Weheedd 5.15 York Friday.
There are 2 at Newbury ridden by Cieren Fallon :
High Degree 14.40 Newbury
High Degree is in the Haggas camp of 4 and 5yo’s racing over 8-10f Haggas rated in the high 80’s – low 90’s that are expected to win high value races at Grade 1 tracks this season. He is stepped up to 10f on Friday having performed with great credit over a 1m in Class 2 handicaps in the Autumn of 2025.
Over a 1m he was prominently ridden but is likely to restrained over the 10f on Friday in a race that looks likely to be ran at a strong pace. Similar types such as , Eternal Force, Sea Force, Bullet Point and First Principle have been better for their first race and whilst the horses are now much fitter a selective approach is still required for betting purposes.
No Bet Recommended
Extremely Zain 15.53 Newbury
The son of Hello Zoumain was the final winner of the 2025 season for Somerville Lodge winning a 6f maiden at Newcastle by over 6 lengths.
The win received plenty of attention which focused on the style of victory and a stride pattern that indicated he would be ideally suited to a mile, the speed he showed suggesting that he could be top drawer.
He was given time to develop over the spring and he starts his season in this Class 4 Novice which has attracted a large field of 16. He is the only winner in the field and has to give 7lb to the remaining runners. He has been given an entry in the Group 1 St James Palace stakes but will be short and the No Bet Novice and Maiden rule will still apply.
No Bet Recommended
Finally the 2 at Newmarket:
Bayaann 13.57
Follows the path of Extremely Zain by trying to give weight away to a field of Novices in the Class 4 8f novice stakes at 13.57. Once again there are several very well bred newcomers lining up and at short odds, our No Bet Novice and Maiden stakes rule is applied.
No Bet Recommended
Magic Box 16.53
The tough 3yo filly has been ready for a run for several weeks and starts off in a small field Class 3 handicap from bottom weight of 9’1 from a mark of 76. Even in a small field that draw in stall 1 is not ideal and it is the same with Bayaann in the Novice race. Somerville Lodge runners seem ill-feted to have that stall with Sky Majesty and Needle Match suffering the same misfortune on Guineas day.
No Bet Recommended
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