It’s fair to say that Gary Moore isn’t a frequent visitor to Newcastle. In fact, he’s had just two runners there in the last five years. Therefore, it looks significant that he sends just one runner up there on Tuesday, his first of the season. You can’t blame Moore for not making the journey up very often as its a 672-mile round trip from his Sussex base. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
Cephalus (16-1, Paddy Power) is certainly an all-weather specialist, winning four of his nine starts on an artificial surface. He also has an outstanding record here and is unbeaten in two starts at Newcastle. The last of those wins came back in January 2022 for Charles Hills and he scored by a comfortable margin, off a 9lb lower mark.
Moore’s charge has shown little since joining the yard however and has barely beaten a rival home in four starts. The handicapper has responded accordingly and he’s now down to a very nice mark. A change of fortunes has to be around the corner and it’s possible that coming back to Newcastle can inspire a return to form.
Despite the fact that he’s won three times over a mile, his latest effort would suggest that 7f is a better trip for him nowadays. The stiff Tapeta track here doesn’t suit every horse and the fact that he’s a proven winner here does give him an advantage. Obviously we will need to see significant improvement if he’s to feature but it would be unwise to rule that out.
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