Newton Abbot, Friday 12 June 2026 — Tips & Selections

Newton Abbot, Friday 12 June 2026 — Tips & Selections

A tight seven-race card at Newton Abbot on good ground, and with only three races carrying enough data to form a proper view, the value is concentrated rather than spread thin. Good going at Newton Abbot suits horses that travel fluently and jump cleanly, and the course itself has a way of exposing horses that aren’t fully at the races. Three races stand out. Here’s where the money goes.

7:35 — St. Austell Brewery Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase (3m2f)

Selection: Rickety Bridge at 11/8 (Boyle Sports, Betfred)

Four runners and a strongly-structured race, but the form points one way. Rickety Bridge has won back-to-back, both showings suggesting a horse that has clicked into gear at exactly the right time in the season. Paul Nicholls holds a 28% strike rate at Newton Abbot from nearly a thousand runners, an enormous sample that commands respect, and Freddie Gingell is a live factor here too. Gingell’s 23% course record comes with an A/E of 1.07, meaning the wins aren’t coming at short prices. He’s finding winners at value, and that matters.

Dexperts Opinion won last time out and will attract support at 7/2, but the Bowen yard has fired 3 from 24 over the past fortnight, which is a cold spell by any measure. Court In A Storm has ability but the “F743-2” string is inconsistent. La Pinsonniere for Henderson is interesting given the trainer’s Newton Abbot record, but the recent form reads poorly and a 9 last time out raises questions.

Rickety Bridge is the play. The form is hot, the trainer fires at this track, and 11/8 is a workable price in a four-runner field.

8:10 — Sun Racing Handicap Chase (2m½f)

Selection: Beorma at 4/11 (Boyle Sports, Betfred)

Yes, 4/11 is short. But Beorma has won five races in a row, and that sequence is not soft opposition. The Dan Skelton yard has gone 12 from 23 over the past 14 days. That is a stunning recent run, and when a yard is operating at more than 50% in a fortnight, you follow the horses rather than fuss about the price.

Harry Skelton in the saddle too. His Newton Abbot win rate of 19% looks modest until you factor in the volume, 43 winners from 230 rides at this track. He knows the course and he knows Skelton horses.

First Angel hasn’t run since pulling up, and at a decade old, winning off the back of that is a big ask. Cobbler’s Boy is the Skelton second string at 3/1 with the 5lb claimer, which effectively confirms where the yard’s confidence sits.

Beorma at 4/11 is a banker leg, not a value play. Back accordingly.

5:13 — Alzheimer’s Society Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (2m1f)

Selection: Colegram at 6/4 (Boyle Sports, Betfred)

Nine runners in a mares’ novice hurdle, and the market has landed on Colegram as favourite. The form reads “5/311-” which shows a horse that has learned her trade and won twice in a row before a break. Good ground at Newton Abbot should suit a mare whose best form has come on decent surfaces.

Harry Skelton again, fresh from the analysis above. He and the Skelton operation don’t send horses to Devon without reasons, and the course record speaks for itself.

The biggest danger is Dancing Dame at 5/2, trained by James Owen who has been in good nick recently at 6 from 53 over the past fortnight. Jonathan Burke’s Newton Abbot record is strong at 23% with an A/E of 1.14, above expectation. So the each-way case for Dancing Dame at 5/2 is genuine in a nine-runner field.

Lady Kara at 10/3 is interesting too. Richard Newland’s mare has won three of her last five starts, showing progressive form, and Rian Corcoran’s 5lb claim is a useful allowance in a race like this.

Colegram at 6/4 is the selection. The consistent form line and the Skelton booking make it the most solid call on the card below the banker price in Race 2.

Each-way interest: Dancing Dame Each-Way at 5/2 makes sense as a saver in a nine-runner field, three places paid at 1/5 odds. Burke has form at this track and the trainer is in decent shape.

Today’s NAP

Beorma — Sun Racing Handicap Chase (8:10, Newton Abbot)
Odds: 4/11 — Boyle Sports (others: 4/11 Betfred, 1/3 LiveScore Bet)

Five wins on the bounce, a trainer who has sent out 12 winners from 23 runners in the last fortnight, and Harry Skelton, who knows Newton Abbot better than most, in the saddle. Yes, the price is short, but Beorma is in the form of her life and faces a non-runner-reduced field of three. This wins or something has gone very wrong on the day. Banker it, and use the return to fund the each-way interest elsewhere on the card.