1:30 Newcastle – Implementation (each-way)
The All-Weather Championship finals card kicks off with a very competitive 3-year-old Listed contest, but the French Raider IMPLEMENTATION makes a lot of appeal. The Brandt team are very adept at placing their horses and he would not be coming all the way to Newcastle for the day out and the Brown Ale. A winner on his comeback at Chantilly in February, he finished 2nd to Machete in the Listed Prix Maurice Caillault last month, when he stayed on strongly from the rear in what looks to be a very hot contest. We know that he handles an artificial surface and the stiff finish at Newcastle could be exactly what he needs. On the balance of their form, Dubai Poet in the Autumn Stakes and in the case of Imperial Fighter, the Vertem Futurity stakes, these 2 set the standard and it would not be a surprise if they both develop into Group horses as 3-year-olds. Implementation does have a fitness edge and experience on the sand to perhaps give him an edge and he looks to be a good value each-way bet to get the better of one or both.
4:45 Newcastle – Charlesquint
The card concludes with the middle-distance series final. A case can be made for the likes of Al Zaraqaan and Tyrrhenian Sea, who were both unlucky on their final starts at Kempton, but neither leap off the page with the conditions of this race. CHARLESQUINT is another French raider who will perhaps be underestimated in the market, but he looks to have the perfect profile for Newcastle and could prove to be some excellent each-way value. A strong traveler, he was last seen winning a good Class 2 contest at Chantilly, where he beat the 99-rated Chachnak amongst others, giving him 8lbs in the process. He is no back number and would not need to find too much improvement to feature in an open race.
