Newbury, Tuesday 23 June 2026: Tips & Selections

Newbury, Tuesday 23 June 2026: Tips & Selections

Good to firm ground at Newbury under a sunny sky sets up a proper afternoon of flat racing. The going is right up the alley of horses with a quick-surface pedigree, and at a track that rewards front-runners and horses with a high cruising speed, any runner who has shown they relish these conditions gets a significant tick. Three races catch the eye, and there is a strong trainer angle to exploit in the staying handicap.

6:25 — Darley EBF Fillies’ Novice Stakes (7f, Good To Firm)

Selection: Bayside View — 8/15 (Boyle Sports, Betfred, LiveScore Bet)

Five runners, but the market has already told you what the form book says. Bayside View, trained by Michael Bell and ridden by Oisin Murphy, went within a neck of winning on debut at Doncaster, looking composed and assured throughout. A neck at that level, over this sort of trip, on a sound surface, and now stepping up to Newbury for a fillies’ novice is a perfectly logical progression. She handles today’s going, she handles seven furlongs, and the Doncaster run was no fluke.

The concern is Anad, who landed a Wolverhampton debut by a head and arrives under a penalty. Karl Burke’s yard has been in decent nick, going 13 from 49 over the last fortnight. But a penalty for a narrow Wolves victory at this level is not a straightforward plus, and Bayside View showed considerably more physical authority than a head winner on the all-weather.

Bell’s 14-day stats are quiet, but this filly’s form stands on its own. At 8/15 the price is short, but the angle is solid. Back her to win.

8:05 — Pump Technology Performance Under Pressure Handicap (2m, Good To Firm)

Selection: Almuhit — 9/4 (Betfred)

This is the race of the day from a trainer-angle perspective. Faye Bramley has a 19% strike rate at Newbury with an A/E of 1.72, figures that scream the yard knows this track well. Add to that a 14-day form line of 3 wins from 6 runners, and you have a stable that is unquestionably firing right now.

Almuhit, a seven-year-old gelding, won a hurdle handicap by four lengths last time out, travelling with real purpose over two miles on a sound surface. Those are precisely today’s conditions. He is back on the flat off a mark just a pound higher than when he last showed this kind of form, and first-time cheekpieces are a notable addition. Trainers do not reach for headgear unless they believe it will sharpen a horse’s focus.

Taritino bolted up by four and a half lengths at Salisbury last time, but the question of whether he gets two miles on good to firm is legitimate. Baileys Khelstar has been consistently placed but cannot find a way to win. Russian Rumour was beaten 19 lengths on her most recent start and needs to prove she has come back from that.

Almuhit has the conditions, the headgear, and the trainer form. Take the 9/4 with Betfred.

5:17 — BetVictor Fillies’ Restricted Novice Stakes Div 1 (6f, Good To Firm)

Selection: Secret Rival Each-Way — 8/1 (Boyle Sports, Betfred, LiveScore Bet)

Wateera and Big Hitter dominate the market, but there is a genuine each-way case for Secret Rival at 8/1 in a ten-runner field paying three places.

The debut run at Chepstow tells you almost nothing useful. She raced too freely on soft ground and was never in the contest. Those are two immediate excuses that disappear today: good to firm is a completely different surface, and horses that were free and keen on heavy or soft ground regularly settle much better when conditions are quicker. Ed Walker’s yard is going 7 from 37 over the past fortnight, a solid strike rate, and the trainer-comment is explicit that this type often makes a dramatic step forward second time out.

Arabica Queen is consistent but has yet to find the front. Sugar Yes Please has an interesting pedigree and Eve Johnson Houghton has a fine record in these novice contests, so she deserves market watch. But at 8/1 with a plausible excuse for her first run and a yard that is in form, Secret Rival offers genuine each-way value. Three places at 1/5 odds in a competitive field at that price is worth taking.

Today’s NAP

Almuhit — Pump Technology Performance Under Pressure Handicap (8:05, Newbury)
Odds: 9/4 — Betfred (others: 9/4 SP Boyle Sports, 9/4 SP LiveScore Bet)

Faye Bramley hits Newbury at a 19% strike rate with an A/E of 1.72, and her yard has gone 3 from 6 in the last fortnight. Almuhit won a two-mile hurdle handicap by four lengths on sound ground last time, doing exactly what he needs to do today, and first-time cheekpieces add a further reason to be positive. On a mark within striking range of his best and in the hands of a trainer who clearly knows how to place a horse at this track, 9/4 looks a fair price for what is the most compelling angle on the card.