Good Friday Racing Tips: Kevin Blake backs Base Note to outrun his odds

• Kevin Blake's two to back on Good Friday

• AW at Newcastle take centre stage

• Base Note backed in the big race

Good Friday racing has been one of the more welcome additions to the British racing calendar in recent times. The three meetings that will take place all boast huge prize money pots and will produce a very good mix of highly-competitive and classy action.

My main focus will be on the All-Weather Championships Finals Day at Newcastle which will take centre stage on ITV Racing.

Earl is coming to the boil at the right time

The first race of interest is the All-Weather Marathon Championships Conditions Stakes (14:25) and I reckon it could see a repeat win for the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained Earlofthecotswolds.

The nine-year-old has long been established as a smart hurdler and chaser, but he added a completely new string to his bow last winter when revealing a notable talent for all-weather racing. He won three of his five starts in that sphere, hammering the subsequent Group 2 winner Coltrane at Kempton prior to grinding out a game victory in this race.

The nine-year-old has been raced sparingly since then, but one can be sure that getting him back to Newcastle for this lucrative pot has been his main aim for much of the last six months.

His form profile backs up that notion too, as he has made run-to-run progress with each of his three outings since returning from a break in January, with him producing a season-best effort to win a Fast-Track Qualifier at Wolverhampton last month.

That form was right up there with his very best efforts and he looks to be coming to the boil at just the right time. While he might have some competition for the lead from Withhold, my pick is drawn lower than that rival and may be able to get the lead without having to work overly hard for it. He looks to have a very good chance.

The main event on the card is the BetUK All-Weather Easter Classic Middle Distance Championships (15:00).

It may have only attracted six runners, but it represents a notably tricky puzzle with some doubts connected to the John and Thady Gosden-trained pairing of Forest Of Dean and Harrovian that dominate the market.

Forest Of Dean has clearly been a challenge to train and it is a worry that he checked out of the Winter Derby as tamely as he did last time. Similarly, Harrovian's finishing effort was weaker than might have been expected.

With the two of them being far from sure to run to their mark, I'm going to take a chance on one with a progressive profile in the shape of the Simon & Ed Crisford-trained Base Note.

The four-year-old has improved 12lb on the all-weather in the last six months and may not be finished improving yet. He produced a quite spectacular performance to overcome trouble in-running when winning a handicap at Lingfield back in January. He can be forgiven a defeat at Wolverhampton last time as he got no luck in-running and was struck across the face by a rivals whip.

One of his main attributes is his turn of foot and, with progeny of Shamardal usually expected to be better at shorter trips than the mile-and-a-half he has largely been contesting, it wouldn't be at all surprising if he proves even better suited by the return to this shorter trip.

He likes to be ridden handily and should be well positioned if this turns into a tactical affair. All told, it wouldn't surprise if he produces a career-best effort and outruns his odds.