Thursday's racing action sees two standout selections from Newsboy, with Blue Carpet tipped as the nap at Wetherby and Magical Maggie as the next best at Ludlow. Both horses are fancied to deliver strong performances in their respective handicaps.
Blue Carpet, a six-year-old trained by Dan Skelton, runs in the Join Racing TV Now Handicap Hurdle (4.10) over three miles. Having won on his bumper debut and progressed well over hurdles, he scored comfortably at Wetherby in November by eight lengths. In his first handicap 90 days ago, he chased home Keable by a length and three-quarters. That winner won again last Saturday, and the fourth-placed Kruger Park scored at Fontwell on Boxing Day, boosting the form.
At Ludlow, Magical Maggie (2.42) attempts to follow up her recent success in the Pyoneer Ale Mares' Handicap Hurdle over three miles. The nine-year-old won 22 days ago over 2m5f, her first victory in over two years off an all-time low mark, but it was her fourth win at the course. She stayed on strongly to fend off Masked Dance by a length, and the pair are expected to dictate the pace again. Trained by Alastair Ralph, she remains handily weighted.
Full selections for Thursday include: Wetherby (1.50 Tunisya, 2.25 Pierrot Jaguen, 3.00 Voodoo Angel, 3.35 Largy Force, 4.10 Blue Carpet (nap), 4.45 Laysoft, 5.15 Bo Cruz), Ludlow (1.32 Tales of Bravery, 2.07 Minella Blueway, 2.42 Magical Maggie (nb), 3.17 Kit's Coty, 3.52 Jukebox Joker, 4.27 Thank You Blue), Taunton (1.41 Calvino, 2.16 Cooler Than Me, 2.51 Sherborne, 3.26 Snapdance, 4.01 Fortune Dancer, 4.36 Rices Pool), and Chelmsford City (5.00 Blue Celestial, 5.30 Zoffandia, 6.00 General Assembly, 6.30 Smokey Malone, 7.00 Poetic Jack, 7.30 Thankuappreciate, 8.00 Silkies Sib).
