Cambridgeshire Meeting Day 2 Tips: Three bets for Newmarket on Friday

It's day two of the Cambridgeshire meeting at Newmarket on Friday afternoon, and Steve Chambers has picked out his three best bets for the action at Flat Headquarters...

14:25 Newmarket - Unibet Princess Royal Stakes

Ralph Beckett's Albaflora produced a sparkling display to finish second to Snowfall in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks last time out, and the top notch four-year-old will look to capitalise on a drop in class on Friday and looks the one to beat in the Group 3 Princess Royal Stakes at 14:25. However, despite her consistency in Pattern company, she's only managed to get her head in front in two of her ten starts, so she maybe worth taking on at the short odds available.

The one to side with Hugo Palmer's GOLDEN PASS, who will benefit from having Ryan Moore in the saddle for this 1m 4f event, and she returns to the scene of her last victory, which was a Listed win over Free Wind at Newmarket in July. She failed to build on that success and was well beaten in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes in her next outing, but she showed signs of returning to form when second in the Group 2 Park Hill Stakes at Doncaster. Free Wind reversed the form with Golden Pass in that Park Hill event, but all the same it's top notch form and like Albaflora she will be dropping to Group 3 company here, so has to stand a magnificent chance.

She will relish the drop back to 1m 4f for this event, and that was the distance her last success came over, so while the likes of Sayyida and Domino Darling will pose a threat along with the aforementioned Albaflora, Golden Pass has a lot going for her, and she can strike gold here.

15:00 Newmarket - Unibet Rockfel Stakes

It could prove to be a very profitable day for jockey Ryan Moore, who has an excellent ride in the Group 2 Rockel Stakes at 15:00. The former champion jockey will team up with Andrew Balding in the two-year-old event and will ride the hugely progressive MAJESTIC GLORY, who is bidding for a hat-trick of wins on Friday afternoon.

Breaking her maiden tag at the third time of asking at Newmarket in a novice event back in July, the daughter of Frankel kicked on from that success in fine style as she went on to roar to a one length victory in the Group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes back at Newmarket in early August. She beat the exciting Wild Beauty that day, and the Godolphin raider has since come out and won a Grade 1 event at Woodbine, so the form has been given a huge boost by Charlie Appleby's star.

It will be Majestic Glory's toughest race to date, as she will take on some smart juveniles in the shape of Girl On Film, Jumbly and Oscula, but having shown she can deliver at Newmarket on the big stage then Balding's starlet can continue her meteoric rise up the rankings and claim Rockfel success.

15:35 Newmarket - Unibet 'You're On' Joel Stakes

There could be an epic battle between two Godolphin contenders in the Group 2 Joel Stakes at 15:35, as Charlie Appleby's Master Of The Seas and Saeed bin Suroor's Benbatl lock horns in the 1m event. The pair dominate the betting, at the time of writing, and it would be a surprise to see the duo both not on the vicinity in the closing stages.

Benbatl was a terrific winner of this race in 2019, while he returned in 2020 and finished a creditable third, but he was not seen for nearly a year, and only made his comeback run in the Celebration Mile last month. He was an excellent second in that event, but he may just take a little more time to reach his peak, so he's worth taking on with Master Of The Seas.

MASTER OF THE SEAS is taking his chance on the back of his absence, as he hasn't been seen since the 2000 Guineas at the start of the season. However, he ran an almighty race when finishing a narrow second to the top-class Poetic Flare in that Newmarket Classic, and a replication of that effort should see him take the prize here. He will receive 4lb from his older rivals in this event, which is a huge positive, and if Appleby can get him firing on all cylinders then he could well use this event as a stepping stone to a Group 1 pot at the end of the campaign.