A full twelve-race card of open race action at Newcastle which has the look of an Angela Harrison benefit meeting. The local trainer has an incredibly strong kennel strength and they are on full show here on Wednesday.
Velvet Juliet is a veteran these days and has not been seen since May but she still makes most appeal for Harrison in the 20.12. The winner of 17 open races in her career, she is a remarkably consistent type with the ability to burn the candle at both ends.
She has a race where there is early pace aplenty but she is not reliant on a lead, more than capable of giving this field a start and a beating. A repeat of her 28.41 success here in May would set a strong standard for the others to aim at.
Droopys to Dazzle Them
A draw in red looks to be suiting Droopys Dazzler these days having generally preferred to be drawn more in the middle in his younger days. An impressive win at this track in June and at Sheffield earlier this month from this slot have been among his better runs.
Harrison has him in sparkling form at present and he can use his size to sneak up the inside of a field who have very similar sectionals at the opening turn. Having made some room for himself he can kick on to glory down the far side at 20.46.
Wide Running Rebel Is a Hardy Type
A fascinating clash at 19.58 with top and bottom looking the pair to concentrate on. Hardy Rebel is the six, the winner of five of his last nine starts at this track for Harrison.
Formerly with Mark Wallis for whom he kept smart company in the south of the country, he has settled in really well in his new surroundings and can gain enough of a lead to hold off the strong-running Denmark in trap one.
Tricky Draw but Bani Has the Class
Trap four is not a plus for Coolavanny Bani in the 19.26 but she has a huge engine. Capable of flying times over both this 480m trip and six bends, she is smart enough to be able to plot a course round the opening turns.
She does not have masses of early to clear so one of her normal breaks can see her turn on the shoulders of the leaders and get Harrison off the mark for the night.
Janerio Set to Duke It Out
Duke De Janerio has not got his head in front since a flying 28.39 display at Shelbourne in January but it would be harsh to judge him just on that. The company that he has kept in this country has been very smart over the Derby period at Towcester.
He shaped well on his first look at this track last week, entitled to come on for that initial outing. He won’t get quite such a clean look at the bunny here with the quick starting two outside him but his class can out for Gary Ferguson at 18.51.
*All odds correct at time of writing