Daryl Carter's Tips: Haggas 3yo expected to star at Newcastle and a 12/1 chance to consider

• Two Tuesday selections

• Back Star to make a dramatic turnaround

• Chance AW specialist now finally returned to the AW

16:15 Newcastle - Back Dramatic Star @ 3/14.00 1pt

Many of these rivals are exposed or on the decline, and that leaves the door wide open for the three-year-old Dramatic Star - 3/14.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - to get back on track following a down-the-field effort in the red-hot Melrose Handicap at York last time.

I mentioned in the Melrose column that I felt Dramatic Star's form had been overegged for a race with the prestige of the one at York, but the market held him strong as the 5/16.00 favourite. I am still of that opinion, but this is no Melrose, and he is so lightly raced that there must be more to come from him.

There is little doubt that he held significant promise, and his penultimate run at Haydock is easily forgiveable. The switch to the AW is a positive on his pedigree, with his Dam a perfect 2-2 on this surface, and today's long home straight will give him enough time to get rolling. He isn't the quickest, and he was comprehensively outpaced at York on fast ground, but he did plug on under tender handling, leaving him a little better than the bare result.

Much relies on the switch to today's surface and the gelding operation working to bring out further improvement, but after just a handful of starts, the percentage call is to give him the benefit of the doubt.

La Pulga is solid and goes well here, while Get Shirty is interesting. However, most are tough to make strong cases for. 3/14.00 is the bottom price to take.

20.25 Newcastle - Back Pockley @ 12/113.00 1pt

It takes a leap of faith to back Pockley - 12/113.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - given he has only beaten two rivals in his last six starts, but the facts are he is 0-31 on turf, and today he moves back to the AW for the first time since March 2024 and thanks to a mark that has fallen from 77 down to 50 in that time he contests a Class 6 0-60 contest.

Instead his record on the AW surface reads 6-29 but he has finished in the first three on 15 of those and all six wins have come here at Newcastle. Today is the lowest class AW race he has run in and he had previously shaped much better when returned to the this sphere from turf.

There are reasons to expect a more positive run from Pockley, who I have been waiting to see return to Newcastle.

He looks worth a win-only flyer at any double-figure odds.

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