Friday Racing Tips: Lahab the one to follow at Newcastle

There’s plenty of varied racing action on offer on Friday, with five meetings taking place across the UK and Ireland.

Exeter’s six-race card is probably the most eye-catching fixture of the day and their highlight is an intriguing four-runner novices’ handicap chase. Some low grade but competitive racing at Ayr and Leicester complete the day’s jumping action.

Dundalk and Newcastle provide a couple of eight-race all-weather cards which will take us into the evening. We have three major fancies on Friday that could be worth following, with one from each of Exeter, Leicester and Newcastle.

14:40 Exeter - Moorland Rambler @ 11/2

Jane Williams’ MOORLAND RAMBLER is still finding his feet over fences but he ran a solid enough race when fourth over course and distance in October.

The handicapper has since dropped him to a mark of 99 and if he can produce a similar effort off an 8lb lower mark here, he has to be in with a serious chance. Betfred are also offering an extra place on this race, paying three instead of two.

He won a hurdle race here over an extended two miles back in January 2023 and that comfortable victory came off a mark of 105. The softer ground here may prevent him from getting outpaced as he did here back in October and he’s entitled to be bang in the mix.

It’s unlikely that we’ve seen the best of this horse just yet and he should be winning races at this level sooner rather than later.

15:50 Leicester - Wonder Of The Seas @ 5/2

The lightly raced WONDER OF THE SEAS is one to watch at Leicester on Friday as the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained gelding is well set to get off the mark.

He showed little in four starts over hurdles and connections didn’t persist with them for long. Clearly he’s made for the larger obstacles as he showed significant improvement on his first start over fences at Southwell last time out.

Finishing second that day, a better jump at the second last and a smoother passage up the run-in may have seen him get even closer to the winner. He was only a length-and-a-quarter behind the winner and there were plenty of positives to take from the performance.

It’s highly unlikely that he’s finished there however and there should be loads of improvement to come. This probably isn’t the deepest of races and a small step forward could be enough to facilitate the shedding of his maiden tag.

19:30 Newcastle - Lahab @ 4/1

The Class 4 Handicap at 19:30 is the feature race of the day at Newcastle and it should be closely contested. Betfred are offering an extra place in this race, paying four places instead of three, and it is worth taking advantage of this.

It’s Grant Tuer’s LAHAB that really draws the eye here and the thoroughly unexposed four-year-old should have plenty of improvement in the tank.

He was an easy winner of an albeit weak-looking maiden on the turf at Chepstow back in August and he did it in good style that day. It is worth noting that three subsequent winners have come out of the race, all in a very low grade.

Finishing a close third on handicap debut here over 6f on stable debut in January, the four-year-old is entitled to improve for the run. He kept on well and in a style that suggested he was racing over too short a trip.

Sure to be sharper this time around, the return to a mile should be fine on the evidence of his maiden victory over a furlong shorter.

Find more Horse Racing Tips here at Betfred Insights