Kevin Stott’s Blog: Perdika the pick of my rides at Newcastle

It’s set to be a busy weekend for me in the North, with five rides at Newcastle on Friday and another five at Musselburgh on Saturday.

I’ve had a fairly good week with lots of my rides placing, so let’s hope I can go one better this weekend with a couple of these.

Newcastle, Friday

Perdika is first at Newcastle (1.50pm). She was four-from-four in the UK over the winter, all at different All-Weather tracks so she has proven how versatile she is. She did well in Dubai and won a Listed race in France recently so has shown she is continuing to improve. I’m delighted to be back on board and she has a huge chance.

Next is Fleurman (2.25pm), who could easily be underestimated. I’m sure he can go close. He won well here previously and then ran a huge race in defeat behind Earlofthecotswolds in a muddling race on a track that doesn’t play to his strengths. I’m really looking forward to returning to Newcastle and remain confident he can go well.

Thirdly, I’ll ride Chichester in the 3.35pm. He produced a seriously impressive course and distance win before a solid second at Chelmsford when he didn’t quite stay the 10 furlongs. He loves it here and is in great form. He has a bit to find on ratings, but he could easily go close.

Then I’m on River Pride at 4.10pm. I won on her at Wolverhampton last time and she has been really consistent through the winter since joining George Boughey. She has plenty to find on the ratings but this race is worth a try, with good prize money on offer.

Last of the day is Witch Hunter at 4.45pm. He didn’t enjoy heavy ground at Doncaster last weekend but had been running well on the All-Weather prior to that. He could run better than his odds suggest, providing Doncaster didn’t take too much out of him. Stepping back to a stiff six furlongs may help too, although seven furlongs looks his optimum.

Musselburgh, Saturday

My first ride of the day at Musselburgh is Metahorse in the 1.50pm handicap. This is his first run since being gelded, which might help him out in reproducing some of his results from last season, when he was pretty consistent. He ran okay last year at some decent meetings, but then was disappointing at York towards the end of the summer. He’s had plenty of time to solve any niggles since then, and could easily run a big race here.

Then I’m on Pleasant Man in the Queen’s Cup at 3.35pm. He’s been jumping lately, but just failed to get his head in front and probably wasn’t in love with the jumping game. He had previously made some decent progress on the Flat with Roger Charlton and the hope is that he enjoys going back to it. He’s got a high mark of 95 and the ground should be ideal, so plenty in his favour.

Next is Treasure Storm (4.10pm). This two-year-old filly has a nice high draw which is perfect over five furlongs at Musselburgh. She’s nicely bred and her dam is well related, meaning she cost enough at 145,000 EUR as a yearling. Her home work has been good, but this will be her first day on the track, so we’ll see what she can do.

Lady Lade follows at 4.45pm. This is her first run of the season, and this is a filly who was consistent and competitive last year over five and six furlongs. Despite running well last season, she slipped to a mark of 72 which she should be able to win off. A decent draw of 14 is good news for her, and Keith Dalgleish’s horses have been in good recent form.

Lastly there’s Beltane (5.50pm). This is his first run of the season and he wasn’t the most consistent last year, coming in and out of form. What he has in his favour, though, is that he has gone well fresh in the past. Coming here he has hit a career-low mark of 70, which he should be able to do well from.

Sunday, France

Sparkling Beauty, an Amo Racing filly, is due to run in a Group 3 in France on Sunday. This’ll be my first ride in France of the year, which is very exciting. She was a really nice filly last year, coming second in a Group 2 at Deauville having won on her second start at Goodwood. She’ll have every reason to improve here, and she isn’t up against a big field. I’d be hopeful for a big run.