NAP of the Day: Bay City can get his season rolling

This week has been excellent on the racing front and that continues into the weekend, with Newmarket's Guineas Festival. The three-day fixture gets underway on Friday with a thoroughly competitive card and we also have Day 4 of the Punchestown Festival.

Read on for my NAP of the Day on 01 May 2026.

15:30 Newmarket Odds

Newmarket's seven-race card is set to take place on the Rowley Mile, with the ground officially described as good and the main event is the Group 2 Jockey Club Stakes. The 1m4f race has been won by some smart horses and seven runners are set to line up.

Our strongest fancy of the day runs in the aforementioned Jockey Club Stakes and the horse in question was a very impressive winner on his final start at three. Perhaps there's more to come from the George Scott-trained colt as a four-year-old.

While there would normally only be two places on offer for this seven-runner race, Betfred are offering an extra place, which is a big plus for any each-way plays. Scott has booked the excellent Billy Loughnane to ride his runner and a big run is expected.

BAY CITY ROLLER produced some very smart form as a two-year-old and managed to win all three starts in 2024. He won a couple of weaker races at Sandown and Chelmsford, before extending his unbeaten record in the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster.

Big things would have been expected as a three-year-old and he started off with a solid second behind Charlie Appleby's hugely talented Opera Ballo over a mile. Clearly that trip was plenty short enough for him though, as his best form has come over 1m4f.

A trip to France then beckoned and he ran an absolute screamer to finish second to subsequent Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Daryz in a Group 2 at Saint-Cloud. It's fair to say that the form of that particular race has worked out well!

He had a busy end to the season and wasn’t far behind the winner when second in the Prix Niel, a recognised Arc trial. Connections opted for the Prix Dollar on Arc weekend and he was a valiant second once again, despite failing to get his head in front.

The best was yet to come, however, as he made the trip over to Munich for the Group 1 Preis von Bayern in November. Making all the running on that occasion, the chasing pack could get nowhere near him in the end and he kicked seven lengths clear of the second.

Lion's Pride was an impressive winner of a course and distance Listed contest in September, but his performances since have been a little underwhelming. Group 3 winner Eydon has it in him to run a big race, but it's hard to know which version of him is going to turn up.

This means Bay City Roller is the obvious choice and, if he can produce a similar performance to his most recent effort, there will only be one result here.

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