Tony Calvin: An early look at Friday's ITV Racing action at Newmarket

• Three meetings and nine races on ITV Racing on Friday

• Tony Calvin gives his thoughts on Newmarket's five races

• Gushing Gold came closest to being a 10/111.00 tip

I don't think I have ever seen a Friday on terrestrial TV with nine races from three different tracks, but that is what ITV are serving us up with this week.

Some may question the quality of their output - I've largely stopped watching in truth, as is the case with the two dedicated channels - but you cannot fault the quantity. Racing has never been better served on the latter front.

So I thought I better get an early start with looking at those races on another empty Sunday morning, as the Sportsbook have priced up five of the contests.

Return of NH Racing and of course Paul Nicholls

The first version of the "proper start of the National Hunt season" is unveiled at Chepstow - the jumps posse will still be saying that at the Greatwood Hurdle meeting at Cheltenham in November - and of course that the means the return of Betfair ambassador Paul Nicholls to racing's centre stage.

He loves to get an early roll on at this two-day meeting and he has Danny Kirwan in the veterans' handicap chase at 13:35 and Cheltenham bumper third Captain Teague and Matterhorn in the Grade 2 Persian War at 14:10, both on the box.

My eldest son is called Teague, and that got me wondering where my life is currently at.

Both of my boys will be in Las Vegas on Monday in a working capacity - both are in the betting business, too - while I will be sat at home, looking at the four walls in my study.

Hardly the famous George Best line, but where did it all go wrong?

Anyway, dry your fake tears, and we won't dwell on Chepstow either, as, understandably perhaps, no-one seems to have priced up their main two races on Friday. The odds-compilers have to ease their way gently into the jumps as well, it seems.

By the way, the going at Chepstow is primarily good and they have been watering to maintain (no amounts given, tut tut) but up to 40mm could land on Thursday and Friday according to the main site I use (others suggest less).

The two ITV York races haven't been priced up by the Sportsbook yet either - the going there is good to soft, with a fair bit of rain due on Wednesday and Friday - so let's go to HQ.

Strong early hand for O'Brien in Cornwallis

It is on the quick side at Newmarket (good to firm, good in places) but the same site also suggests the weather will turn on Wednesday, and the forecast is for 24mm on Friday alone, so that chucks in a rather big unknown.

Especially as the course was watering last week and, as we all know, it doesn't take a lot of rain on watered ground to see big going changes.

I'd look to ground-versatile horses, to be on the safe side.

All five Newmarket races are priced up by the Sportsbook, and first up is the Cornwallis at 13:50, which has 20 entries, five of which are trained by Aidan O'Brien.

All bookmakers have unsurprisingly priced this up defensively (that said only four firms have bothered to) but I don't have much issue with Flora Of Bermuda heading the market at 5/23.50 and Inquisitively at 4/15.00.

The latter would not want that significant rain (he got pulled out of the Flying Childers because of the soft ground) but the former, whose two outstanding efforts came in soft ground, certainly would.

Gold looks a decent price in Oh So Sharp Stakes

It is a shade worrying to see the Group 3 fillies' 7f Oh So Sharp Stakes at 14:25 attract only nine at the five-day stage (the each way terms are ¼ 1,2) and, surprisingly, none of them are trained by an O'Brien.

That said, I was amazed to see Aidan hasn't won the race since 2005, his sole success in the contest.

Dance Sequence and Skellet are the 5/23.50 joint favourites in what looks a low-quality affair going into the race.

Sure, we are dealing with lightly-raced fillies and three haven't got an official mark, but Chic Colombine and Gushing Gold are the top-rated fillies in here on a perch of just 95. It underlines just what a poor year it is for UK-trained juveniles, Vandeek and Fallen Angel apart.

I think Gushing Gold at 10/111.00 is the best price available, as the experienced filly is ground-versatile and could have bumped into a really good one in the shape of Dancing Gemini in the Flying Scotsman at Doncaster last time (and the fourth ran well in defeat next time), while I can fully see why there was Sunday morning money for Chic Colombine from 6/17.00 into 9/25.50.

Jumby appeals at double figures in the Group 2 contest

We only have nine in the 7f Group 2 at 15:00 as well, and a lot of familiar faces are set to lock horns once again.

Now, if you knew this was the plan, Pogo would have appeared a ridiculously big price at 16/117.00 with the Sportsbook first thing on Sunday morning.

I appreciate he probably wouldn't even run if entered if Newmarket got the worse of the forecast, as connections clearly think he wants it good or quicker, but 16s was surely huge, nonetheless.

Someone agreed as he was cut into 10/111.00 at 11.15am.

The other potential negative is we don't know how he has come out of his Group 1 Prix de la Foret on October - some of these have raced even more recently, such as Saturday runners Quinault and Jumby - but he wasn't far off his best when finishing fourth there (ignore the official good to soft ground, it was good to firm) and he was very good when winning this race last year.

The 10/111.00 remains a decent price, and you could easily be on a 5/16.00 chance on Friday if he rocked up on decent ground.

Fillies Mile a difficult race to weigh up

Nine is the magic number on Friday obviously, as that is how many are also entered in the Group 1 Fillies Mile at 16:10.

I can't play in the race as Opera Singer would be nearer 4/61.67, if that, rather than her current 7/24.50 if she made an unlikely quick turnaround after her stunning success in the Boussac.

She is currently 5.69/2 on the lightly-traded exchange market and I can't see her running myself - apparently The Breeders' Cup is on her agenda - but why would they bother confirming her for this if it wasn't an option of sorts.

The 5/23.50 poke Ylang Ylang would seem, by some way, the most likely Ballydoyle runner over a mile trip that would appear highly likely to suit her, but who knows?

As such, it is a very difficult race to bet on at the moment.

However, the 5/42.25 favourite Shuwari wouldn't massively appeal to me at a point bigger, for all she was given a Barry Crocker last time, a race in which Ylang Ylang was also given a nice sighter for the future.

Basically, find a runner and you'll almost certainly be on at a good price and, to that end, the May Hill runner-up See The Fire could be the best ante-post play at 10/111.00 on the fixed-odds front, and 11.010/1 on the exchange.

Lucky Fifteen of interest in Old Rowley Handicap

No Friday bets so far then, but we have the 1m4f Old Rowley Handicap at 15:35 to get stuck into. Again though, we only have 19 entries for a race that could have accommodated a maximum field of 25 on the day.

This race is tricky to dissect too, as we obviously don't have the Saturday and Sunday entries at this stage, so weekend double-entries are impossible to factor in.

However, I personally can rule out (rightly or wrongly) seven of the 19-strong field at this stage from an ante-post betting perspective, as Laafi, Struth, Shadow Dance, Tenerife Sunshine, Knockbrex, Urban Outlook and Insanity are entered in the 1m6f handicap at York on Friday.

Perfect Play and Lucky Fifteen declined the option of running at Leicester on Tuesday, so they are still live players for the race, but I would struggle to see Cloudbreaker turn out again after a poor run at Newmarket on Saturday.

Hopefully, the fact that is a 120k pot for a race already short on numbers will see the field size hold up, at least to double-digit levels.

I'll be honest, when I looked at the betting, I couldn't place the 3/14.00 favourite Humanity and the reason why is that his recent impressive win in a good time came at Kempton at 7pm on a Wednesday night.

I was probably watching Channel 4 news instead.

Looking at the replay though, it was rather impressive, and he is actually 8lb well-in under his 6lb penalty, so he is the obvious favourite. And Alsakib is a rightful 5/16.00 chance, given his hugely progressive profile.

I can't be playing at those prices six days out from a race though, and Lucky Fifteen is the horse outside of that pair that interested me most, as his pedigree strongly suggests the step up to 1m4f for the first time will suit.

Unfortunately, the Sportsbook odds-compilers think the same and only offer him at 10/111.00 - he is as big as 16/117.00 and 14/115.00 elsewhere - which is plenty short enough considering he hasn't raced since disappointing badly in the soft at Goodwood in late August.

I've drawn a Friday blank then, though the Andrew Balding pair of Gushing Gold and See The Fire, both 10/111.00 chances, nearly got the nod.

In the case of Gushing Gold, very nearly so, so if you want a Friday interest then she is your girl at the double-figure price.

I am not pulling the betting trigger myself though, so no tipping dice. I suspect the 10s would go very quickly if I did put her up anyway, and I wouldn't go any lower than 7/18.00 for her at the moment.

Have a good day.