Nap of the Day: Getting patriotic in Newcastle

Day two of the Ebor Festival at York gets underway on Thursday but with that already covered here on Betfred Insights, I am looking elsewhere for Thursday's Nap of the Day.

There are six other race meetings taking place across the UK and Ireland and it's the all-weather action at Newcastle that catches my eye because of one of Jane Chapple-Hyam's runners. Check out Thursday's Nap below.

20:15 Newcastle Odds

If you're a patriot then boy do I have the horse for you. FLAG OF ST GEORGE is the runner in question who I like the look of heading into Thursday. The four-year-old son of US Navy Flag has been in decent form ahead of his first visit to Newcastle.

He landed his second career success at Ascot on July 12 as he made all, before following up with another victory at Chepstow on his latest appearance on August 7 - beating Wobwobwob by three lengths.

Fast Racing Results

The gelding steps back up in trip to 1m for this Class 3 handicap in Newcastle, hoping to show more than his previous three performances over this distance. Two of them came at Southwell and one at Chelmsford (all AW), with one run at the former yielding a placed finish (third).

He was competitive on all three of those outings but he will need more if he is to make it a hat-trick of victories and a first over one mile.

Flag Of St George's past five appearances have come over 7f and he has been in a great run of form which reads: 23211. There are 13 rivals to consider on Thursday but based on recent appearances, Chapple-Hyam's gelding boasts one of the best recent form records and will be one of the strongest claimants.

The lack of familiarity with this course could be a concern, but he is heading here with plenty of momentum behind him and he looks better-equipped for this distance than he did so for the first time in January.

He's had a recent habit of showing off his stamina in the last couple of furlongs and this could stand him in good stead in NE3. Joanna Mason has been charged with this ride, and she may be feeling the pressure given the form Flag Of St George is in - but she is dealing with a big player after all.

EXTRA PLACE RACE - Betfred are paying four places instead of three.

Nap Of The Day from Betfred Insights.