Caribbean Coral can become the first winner to emerge from the Royal Ascot at York meeting at Newcastle tomorrow night.
The target for the gelding, trained at Settrington near Malton by John Quinn, is the £30,000 Northern Rock Gosforth Park Cup, a race he won twelve months ago and which looks within his scope once again.
A talented sprinter, Caribbean Coral ran a blinder on Knavesmire last Saturday to finish seventh to Iffraaj in the Wokingham Handicap over six furlongs.
Caribbean Coral is better over five furlongs, the distance of his task tomorrow.
All he needs is a bit of luck, which deserted him two outings ago at Epsom on Derby Day when he met all the trouble going in the Vodafone Dash, a race he had also won last season.
Primed to get his head in front this time, Caribbean Coral is napped to get the better of Out After Dark, a Beverley winner earlier this week, and Tim Easterby's Dazzling Bay, who looks to be coming back to top form.
Quinn, who won the big sprint at Ripon earlier in the week with Zomerlust, can also land the Hargreaves Group Handicap with Harrys House.
The three-year-old, also to be ridden by Neil Callan, looks to be on a good mark now and he can be forgiven his latest effort at Ayr last weekend when he was badly hampered. It would not be a surprise to see him bounce back here.
Quinn has another chance of success with Jake Black in the cantorspreadfair.com Handicap for amateur riders.
The five-year-old is a previous winner over this course and distance and looks sure to go well in this modest contest.
In the Betfred Sprint Series Handicap (Qualifier), Inter Vision has a better chance than most.
Allan Dickman's gelding fulfilled previous promise when scrambling home by a short-head at Catterick on his latest start.
This stiffer course should suit him even better and, with useful apprentice Mark Halford again taking the mount, he should make a bold bid to follow-up.
The promising Nazaaha (7.45) and seasoned campaigner Tony Tie (8.20) are also worth noting on a programme which is a tasty prelude to Saturday's Northumberland Plate.
At Folkestone, Campbeltown is expected to go well in the Barry Denis Maiden Stakes. Eoghan O'Neill's juvenile has finished second in his last two starts. He is overdue a winning turn and is from a stable in cracking form.
Friday's tips:
Newcastle
6.45 Jake Black, 7.15 Caribbean Coral (Nap), 7.45 Nazaaha, 8.20 Tony Tie, 8.50 Inter Vision, 9.20 Harrys House.
Folkestone
2.30 Campbeltown, 3.00 Arous, 3.30 Nisr, 4.00 Cape Unknown, 4.30 Icannshift, 5.00 Beauchamp Twist.
Tomorrow's other race meetings are at Market Rasen (afternoon, National Hunt), Newmarket (evening, Flat) and Wolverhampton (afternoon, Flat, all-weather track).
Updated: 14:42 Thursday, June 23, 2005
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