Some thrilling races are in focus on All Weather Finals Day at Newcastle, headlined by the Easter Classic and the Easter Plate. There is over £1 million in prize money up for grabs on Good Friday – look out for our NAP of the day, one of five expert All Weather Championships Finals Day tips.
Good Friday Horse Racing Tips – Al Najashi to be Three-Year-Old King
While Lingfield stages the consolation races, Gosforth Park takes centre stage with a seven-race card. The day kicks off with the £100,000 Listed Burradon Stakes, before the three-year-old-sprinters begin our Finals, and that’s where we find our NAP of the day.
We’ve swerved the older horses’ Sprint – a basket case of a race – and instead focused on five strong selections. Having shopped around and spread the love, our Good Friday horse racing tips are priced up by five of the best bookmakers around.
| Race | Horse | Odds | Bookmaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:50 (3YO Sprint) | Al Najashi | 4/1 | Betway |
| 2:25 (Fillies' and Mares') | Stateira | 7/4 | Ladbrokes |
| 3:00 (Mile Championships) | Chancellor | 13/2 | BetGoodwin |
| 4:10 (Easter Classic) | Royal Ulixes | 11/4 | Betfred |
| 4:45 (Easter Plate) | Dramatic Star | 7/1 | William Hill |
Odds correct at 15:15 GMT on 01/04/26. Odds subject to change.
About AW Championships Finals Day
This is the showpiece event of the all-weather horse racing season, bringing together the top performers from Deauville, Dundalk, Kempton, Lingfield, Newcastle, Southwell, and Wolverhampton. There are six Finals on a high-quality Good Friday card, packed with elite handicap racing.
AL NAJASHI, 1:50 (3 Year Old Sprint Championships) – 4/1 with Betway
There’s an even spread of pace for this six-furlong event, one featuring our Newcastle NAP of the day. Al Najashi is drawn in stall four, and that should be the perfect position for the man about to be crowned champion all-weather jockey, the outstanding Billy Loughnane.
Ollie Sangster’s colt did nothing but improve over the winter. Having already won two in a row, he simply destroyed his field over seven furlongs at Wolverhampton in February, before landing another easy win at Newcastle six days later over the same trip.
Al Najashi is back down to six furlongs now, which should be ideal, and he should have too much for Three Non Blondes, Ten Carat Harry, and Northern Empire.
STATEIRA, 2:25 (Fillies’ and Mares’ Championships) – 7/4 with Ladbrokes
The fillies’ and mares’ race is run over the straight seven furlongs, with most of the pace being on the far side. That’s not great for Archie Watson’s Paris Babe (stall 9), who looks like an otherwise overpriced and interesting recruit from France.
All things considered, Stateira is rock-solid as the next of our Friday Newcastle racing tips. Andrew Balding’s four-year-old simply skipped away with the course and distance trial back in mid-January, and wisely, they’ve kept her fresh for this assignment. She’s once again ridden by champion jockey Oisin Murphy.
CHANCELLOR, 3:00 (Mile Championships) – 13/2 with BetGoodwin
A lot is said, too much sometimes, about avoiding top-weighted horses in handicaps. The point of handicaps is finding a horse who looks to be significantly ahead of their rating, no matter the weight they carry, and that is the case with John & Thady Gosden’s Chancellor.
Having had breathing surgery in May, followed by a gelding operation in June, Chancellor eventually returned to the track in November when he won over seven furlongs at Kempton. He has since finished second in a Listed race behind the talented Holloway Boy, won a similar race easily at Southwell, and ran second in the Winter Derby over an inadequate mile and a quarter.
The son of Kingman can still be a Group horse yet, in fact it’s likely, with his mark of 109 not the thing that will hold him back. He has first-time cheekpieces on to help him concentrate and can take this race under Rab Havlin, though it’s deep, with First Principle, Blue Rc, Tyrrhenian Sea, and The Lost King all in with place chances.
ROYAL ULIXES, 4:10 (Easter Classic) – 11/4 with Betfred
Prize money moves up from £150,000 to £175,000 for the final two races of the day. The Easter Classic is run over a mile and a quarter, featuring a fascinating contender in the shape of Gaucher.
Gaucher represents jump racing’s top man, Willie Mullins, who in recent times has taken top Flat races at Royal Ascot, York, and at the Breeders’ Cup in the States. Billy Loughnane has been booked, and it would be no surprise to see a huge run, but we think there’s one in the field even better handicapped.
Enter Andrew Balding and Oisin Murphy once again with their four-year-old Royal Ulixes. When winning a trial race at Lingfield in February, this horse really looked the part. He was given far too much to do at Wolverhampton last time, the one-mile trip didn’t help either, and now he remains well enough handicapped to see these off.
DRAMATIC STAR, 4:45 (Easter Plate Marathon) – 7/1 with William Hill
Our Newcastle horse racing tips are rounded off by William Haggas’ Dramatic Star in the two-mile Easter Plate, but this really is a tight race. Our horse has done well enough on the all-weather over the winter but has been running over shorter distances and will surely appreciate this step up to the Northumberland Plate distance.
Cieren Fallon takes the ride, and he’s good enough to stalk Beylerbeyi, Artisan Dancer, and Duke Of Oxford in the straight before making his challenge late on.
The fun doesn’t stop after Good Friday. We have more information to come on our regular Saturday Horse Racing page for the upcoming action at Musselburgh and Haydock.
