Sunday Racing Tips: Kevin Blake is backing Man and Sam on 1,000 Guineas day

• A win and an each-way bet from Kevin on 1,000 Guineas day

• Has this been the target for Firstman for some time?

• No surprise if Sam found improvement to contned

The second Classic of the season is upon us as attention turns to the Qipco 1000 Guineas card at Newmarket on Sunday.

At the time of writing, there remains some uncertainty about how much rain will fall between now and then, but we'll do our best to focus on those that are not overly ground dependent.

Back man to come First

Newmarket, 13:50 - Kev's Tip: Firstman to Win @ 11/2

The Howden Handicap (13:50) is a very deep heritage handicap and I reckon it might go for export with the Irish raider Firstman looking to hold a strong chance.

The six-year-old really came alive in the second half of last year, winning four times on the Flat and improving a total of 31lb. However, his two most recent runs on the Flat suggest that he might have more to come.

Firstly, he bumped into the rejuvenated Bowerman at Dundalk and that rival has significantly franked the form since. Next, he ran in a conditions race over two miles at Dundalk in which he was quite wrong at the weights and still ran a stormer to finish second. His handicap mark escaped that run unscathed and he looks fairly treated based on it.

His trainer Tony Martin is no stranger to winning big handicaps under both codes in the UK and he has enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent seasons after going quiet for a few years.

Given that he comes into this on his return from a break of two months, one can assume that Martin wouldn't be bringing him over to the UK for such a competitive contest unless he had the screws tightened.

Indeed, it wouldn't be a surprise if this has been a target for quite some time. He looks to have a big chance.

Smart prospect can find necessary improvement

Newmarket, 14:25 - Kev's Tip: Sumo Sam e/w @ 8/1

The other race that is of interest from a betting perspective is the Howden Pretty Polly Stakes (14:25).

This is choc-full of promising fillies that are open to a great amount of improvement over this trip. While there is a danger that this might come a little early in her development for her to show her full potential, the Paul and Oliver Cole-trained Sumo Sam is a very interesting prospect.

The daughter of Nathaniel is very much bred to excel over middle-distance as a three-year-old and beyond.

In that context, it was impressive that she was sharp enough to make a winning debut over seven furlongs at Newmarket in October. She had to overcome plenty that day, as her inexperience led to her getting unbalanced in the dip and she had to battle very strongly to get the better of Silvretta.

While she only won a short-head, the promise of it was very clear and stamped her as a smart prospect for this season. She has a lot to find n terms of bare form, but it wouldn't at all surprise if she showed a lot of improvement and got involved in the finish.