Race Week 5 Preview - Chapman cautious as chasing teams fancy Newcastle chances

Matt Chapman is not counting his chickens as London & The South looks to hammer home its advantage on night five of Racing League at Newcastle on Thursday, August 21.

London & The South boasts a 95-point lead over The East after a stellar display on home soil at Windsor last week, when Chapman’s side racked up its biggest ever nightly points total of 202.

However, Newcastle promises to be the most competitive fixture of season five so far, with all seven teams fielding full squads of 14 runners. 

Chapman said: “Racing League is one of those competitions where you would be lying if you said you did not want to be in front, but we know from our performance at Windsor last week, and on a couple of other occasions in the past, that teams can get 200 points or more in a night.

“There could be a huge swing at Newcastle towards one of the other teams, so by no means is this over. Some of the other mischievous team managers will paint the picture that this is London & The South’s to lose but maybe that means mathematics is not their strong suit.

“I am really looking forward to the two we run in Race 31 – Bragbor for George Scott and Telepathic for Simon & Ed Crisford. George thinks Bragbor has huge promise going forward, while Telepathic finally learnt how to settle last time when winning at Doncaster.

“We only had one entry in the five-furlong sprint, Race 33, but thankfully within 10 minutes we were able to bring in Jessica Macey’s Jenever, who goes well at Newcastle. Richard Hannon sends three talented horses, headed by Witch Hunter in Race 32, who is basically Group class over seven furlongs. Al Rufaa is also worth a mention in Race 34 as he was just beaten off the same mark at this meeting last year.

“All in all, I would be very disappointed if we do not notch between 70 and 100 points, which should keep us top of the table. If we don’t do well, I would obviously rather the bottom teams have a better night than Charlie Fellowes and The East.”

The East will look to take inspiration from Ireland, who overturned a 72-point deficit with Wales & The West in the final two fixtures of Racing League in 2023.

In addition, London & The South led Wales & The West by 48 points heading into the penultimate meeting in 2022 and ended up losing out to Jamie Osborne’s side by 92 points.

Team manager Charlie Fellowes said: “95 points is a lot but, as we have seen with this competition in the past, it is not over until it is over. We hope to give it a good go because we are sending a strong team up to Newcastle. We just have to hope that Chapman’s team stumbles and lets us back in. If we can be within 40 points heading to Southwell, we will have a shot because I expect us to be very strong there as well.

“I have only had a quick glance but, from what I could see, our draws at Newcastle appear to be very favourable. On the straight track you want to be drawn high, while lower draws are usually favoured on the round track, so that is a nice bonus.

“I think you can make a good case for most of our runners but James Fanshawe in particular has three very strong chances, with Salamanca City [Race 31], Miss Nightfall [Race 32] and Leadenhall Street [Race 35].

“Sir Mark Prescott runs Synergism under a penalty in Race 29, while my horse Ivatt is a couple of pounds well-in in Race 30, although that arguably looks the most competitive race on the card.”

Scotland is a further 40 points behind The East in third and is able to call upon Paul Mulrennan, who has been the leading jockey at Newcastle over the last five years.

Team manager Alex Steedman said: “I am looking forward to Newcastle, given the depth of squad we have compared to recent weeks. It has been a different challenge for me because, in five of the seven races, we had at least seven entries. That meant I had to let a lot of trainers and owners down, which was unfortunate because many of those horses would have had genuine chances.

“I think we look strong in Race 29 with Sax Appeal and Chillhi. Sax Appeal stepping back up to two miles should be a plus, while his Beverley form looks strong after Charging Thunder won for us at Wolverhampton. Chillhi is improving and could be dangerous from further down the weights.

“The two sprint handicaps, Race 33 and Race 35, could be good for us. Bonito Cavalo and Lion’s House both have winning form at Newcastle, while Jim Goldie is sweet on Oriental Prince in the latter race.

“Titled Kilt could be dangerous under Paul Mulrennan in Race 34. He was an eye-catching third behind Mr Swivell at Wolverhampton and is 1lb lower now. Although he has lots of weight, Nikovo looks a good contender in that race as well because he tends to save his best form for Newcastle.”

Race and winner graphics from Windsor are available here

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