Eight races will be live across three tracks on ITV on Saturday. Newbury’s meeting is the standout, but the Grey Horse Handicap is always a spectacle from Newmarket, while Ripon also host two terrestrial races.
Matty Sutcliffe is keeping things simple for this Saturday though. He has three best bets for you to follow, with all of them racing on the feature card at Newbury.
Newbury Racing Tips (Saturday 15 August)
The Group 2 Hungerford Stakes is the showpiece at Newbury on Saturday, but Matty Sutcliffe looks to the supporting card, including the Group 3 Geoffrey Freer Stakes, for his trio of top tips.
13:25 Newbury – Highclere Thoroughbred Racing Geoffrey Freer Stakes (Group 3) (Class 1) (3yo+) – Rebel Rocker 14/1 0.5pt EW 2 places
I’m surprised to see the early drift on Rebel Rocker given the record of three-year-olds in this contest of late and as the sole three year old in the contest, he rates a solid each way option to the favourite Dubai Honour who is clear on ratings here and a worthy winner if running to form.
Rebel Rocker hasn’t been seen since the Derby, but he ran a huge race there to finish sixth despite being stuck wide throughout and staying on late despite initially being outpaced once the pace lifted.
I thought it was impressive with how well he finished, pipping the subsequent Irish Derby third Pierre Bonnard for fifth, finishing ahead of the subsequent King Edward VII and Grand Prix de Paris runner up Ancient Egypt.
The Derby form has held up, and I don’t think Rebel Rocker was entirely outclassed. His effort earlier in the Blue Riband Trial when a staying on second to Saxon Street was also good form, as the winner was subsequently a length behind Del Maro who in turn, was beaten a nose at Royal Ascot and a length in Group 3 company at Newmarket.
If the drift is due to the ground, then I’m not concerned as there’s little to suggest in his action that he won’t cope with a quick surface, and his pedigree further backs that up given his dam and half-sister won on the surface, and while his full brother was 0-8 on turf, this best turf RPR came on a sounder surface.
Although he has something to find on the figures, he can still rate higher yet and this extra distance on a galloping track along with an 8lbs allowance will help.
13:55 Newbury – D&H, Excellence In Nutrition Handicap (Class 3) (3yo+ 0-90) – Hucklesbrook 16/1 1pt EW 4 places
Hucklesbrook requires a bit of faith to chance given his recent record (0-7), but this is his second run after a wind op and his first run back over five furlongs since beaten half a length at Sandown in 2024 and given he’s shaped of late that the latter will suit, then along with the former he could be worth chancing to return to form.
He looked to be a sprinter going places when a length winner of a competitive 0-88 handicap at Leicester last season, easily making all to beat the now 111 rated Prince of India. He followed that up when taking the ever competitive and valuable Churchill Tyres Handicap at York which worked out nicely too.
After peaking at a mark of 96, he’s only come somewhat close twice since, beaten a length at Southwell and two lengths at Newbury but as a result, he’s plummeted down the weights and if the aforementioned factors aid improvement, then he’s definitely too well handicapped to ignore.
With Seamus Cronin taking 5lbs off, he’s effectively running off a mark of 80 here, 16lbs below his peak mark, 8lbs below his last winning mark and 6lbs below the mark he was fourth off at here just three starts ago.
14:35 Newbury – TPT Fire Handicap (Class 2) (3yo+ 0-105) – Great Acclaim 5/1 1pt EW 5 places
The last 0-105 Great Acclaim contested was the Buckingham Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot three starts ago off a pound higher mark, where he was beaten half a length into third and this contest it’s far easier, despite the burden of top-weight.
The son of Aclaim has long held his form in several of the top seven furlong handicaps in Britain over the last two seasons, including a third in this years Victoria Cup. While his mark may be on the high side, his sole run carrying top-weight was a winning one so he has the ability to do so and perhaps more crucially, his record in the month of August reads 811212, the sole outlier coming on debut.
The blinkers return and his record in those aids reads 112243, with the fourth coming in the Challenge Cup on Champions day last season and this course winner has to be on the premises.
Matthew Sutcliffe’s Tips for Saturday 15 August
13:25 Newbury – Highclere Thoroughbred Racing Geoffrey Freer Stakes (Group 3) (Class 1) (3yo+) – Rebel Rocker 14/1 0.5pt EW 2 places
13:55 Newbury – D&H, Excellence In Nutrition Handicap (Class 3) (3yo+ 0-90) – Hucklesbrook 16/1 1pt EW 4 places
14:35 Newbury – TPT Fire Handicap (Class 2) (3yo+ 0-105) – Great Acclaim 5/1 1pt EW 5 places
FAQs
What are today’s racing tips?
Matthew Sutcliffe provides his best bets at Newbury on Saturday 15 August.
When were Matthew Sutcliffe’s tips published?
Matty Sutcliffe’s racing tips were published at 10.30am on Friday 14 August.
Who is Matthew Sutcliffe?
Matthew Sutcliffe is GGs newest contributor, often providing a value angle for his tips. He writes weekly columns for the weekend’s racing, as well as taking aim at ante-post markets at the Cheltenham Festival. Follow him on X: @MattySutcliffe
Commercial notice: This article on GG.co.uk contains affiliate links. The offers we promote come from operators that we trust and our experts have first-hand experience dealing with. If you open an account through one of these affiliate links then GG will earn revenue. However, we ensure that the money earned goes back into improving and enhancing our coverage of horse racing and other sports, as we look to provide an excellent service to our growing audience.