6.45pm Newmarket Tips & Betting Preview 12/05/2016

IN SUMMARY: Indira has been in superb form this month and, given she’s 7lb ahead of the handicapper here, the case for her is obvious. However, she had plenty in her favour when gaining her latest win, at Chester on Friday, and could be worth opposing with GOODWOOD MIRAGE (7/1 Each Way), who had lost his way over hurdles but ran an excellent stable debut back on the Flat when placed in a valuable handicap off today’s mark over C&D at the Guineas meeting. Higher Power shaped as though he’ll be suited by today’s step up in trip when second on his seasonal/handicap debut and is next on the list. Dolphin Village flopped on his reappearance but wasn’t suited by the soft ground that day and might still be well handicapped on turf.

1 Goodwood Mirage – Became disappointing over hurdles when in the care of Jonjo O’Neill but, having joined Michael Bell, ran a big race when third in valuable event over C&D on 1,000 Guineas day; runs off the same mark today and is sure to appreciate the drop in class; good chance.

2 Agent Gibbs – Collected four wins in 2015 (1m2f-1m4f) and quickly bounced back from a disappointing performance when third at Windsor (extended 1m3f, good) recently; can give another decent account here but needs to find something extra to overcome current mark.

3 Saoi – Has slipped to a workable mark but comes here after running very poorly on both starts this year; soft ground probably wasn’t in his favour on the more recent occasion but is still take a huge leap of faith to support him at present.

4 Higher Power – Rather sluggish in the early stages when second of 15 on seasonal/handicap debut at Haydock (extended 1m2f, good) last month but that still goes down as a very encouraging performance and today’s longer trip ought to suit; can make his presence felt.

5 Indira – Been in excellent form this spring and bids to complete quick hat-trick after good-ground wins at Bath (extended 1m3f) and Chester (extended 1m4f) this month; only penalised for one of those victories and is 7lb ahead of the handicapper here; obvious contender.

6 Knight Music – Returned from winter break with AW win at Lingfield (1m4f) in March; didn’t run badly when fifth of 12 back on turf at Epsom last month but the slow ground ought to have suited him there and he needs to produce a new career-best performance to win this.

7 Rhythmical – Back on same mark as when close second on the July course (1m4f, good) here last summer but was struggling before stamina might have been an issue when upped to 2m for last month’s seasonal debut at Ripon; has a point to prove after that performance.

8 Forced Family Fun – Made quite encouraging seasonal/stable debut when fourth at Windsor (1m3f, good to soft) last month, where he may not have raced on the optimal strip of ground; remains on fairly tough handicap mark, though, and may find underfoot conditions too lively here.

9 Dolphin Village – Seemingly revitalised by switched to Jane Chapple-Hyam stable in late 2015 and won consecutive starts over 1m4f on Polytrack in Lingfield; beaten out of sight on soft ground when back on turf after break but will be much better suited by today’s conditions.

10 Jacob Cats – Began 2015 campaign with AW win off mark 3lb higher than today’s and is also suited by fast turf but signed off with a poor performance in November and has also looked out of sorts on both appearances this year; usual visor left off today.

11 Deep Blue Diamond – Scored off basement mark at Beverley (1m4f, good to firm) last summer and finished second on all four subsequent appearances; further progress not out of the question this season but this is a fairly tough assignment from 1lb out of the handicap after 239-day layoff.

myracing Forecast Prices: 5/2 Higher Power, 100/30 Indira, 5/1 Goodwood Mirage, 10/1 Agent Gibbs, Forced Family Fun, 10/1 Dolphin Village, 14/1 Knight Music, Rhythmical, 16/1 Deep Blue Diamond, 25/1 Jacobs Cats, 33/1 Saoi