Newbury Tips: Spirit to be tested on Thursday

There are seven UK and Irish race meetings heading our way on Thursday and there is a six-race card at Newbury to look forward to. I've taken a good look at the runners and riders across the day's action to pick out my three best bets for you to consider.

Check out my Newbury Tips for Thursday, July 24 below.

19:02 Newbury - Strength Of Spirit @ 5/1

This Class 4 nursery handicap is where I begin my picks for the day. There seven runners declared for this one over 7f  and there are a couple with decent claims. One of them is STRENGTH OF SPIRIT, who is set for his first visit to Newbury.

This will be his fourth start and his last two runs have been very promising - a victory at Chester over the same distance in June, before a second-place finish at Beverley on July 5 over 7 1/2f.

His experience has come in listed races so far but he is in good shape ahead of his nursery handicap bow. Trainer Karl Burke will be pleased with his start to life in racing but this will be a real test of his progress, and I do think the colt can rise to the occasion.

19:33 Newbury - Captain Brett @ 11/2

A shorter field awaits for my next selection, with just six declared for this Class 5 handicap over 2m. CAPTAIN BRETT is the one who catches my eye in this one, having shown improvements in stepping up from 1m 4f to 1m 6f.

The three-year-old landed his maiden success when odds-on at Yarmouth in June, holding off Radical Design by two-and-a-half lengths. It looked like he was going to go back-to-back following his run-out at Bath last Wednesday, but he was demoted to second because of a controversial finish in which he bumped into Iwantmytimewithyou in the final furlong.

It was a disappointing ending to a positive performance, but trainer David Simcock and connections will be hoping he has more to offer in this latest step up in trip. He's placed in each of his past five starts so he arrives at Newbury in good shape and will be a force to be reckoned with here on Thursday.

20:33 Newbury - Meleri @ 6/1

MELERI for Jim Boyle's yards rounds off my selections in the final race of the day, which is a Class 5 handicap over 1m 4f. The mare has been improving since her last visit to RG14 a year ago, when she finished fifth of 11 over 1m 2f.

The six-year-old's season started brightly in April as she posted a second-place finish at Lingfield (AW) over that same distance. Meleri then landed a success over today's trip in her following visit to Lingfield (AW), beating Solanna by one-and-a-half lengths on June 3.

Her last showing was a third of four at Newmarket which did feel like a setback, but her two previous efforts should have Boyle and connections thinking she can be in the mix at Newbury.

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