Today’s FREE Horse racing tips: The Betting Spy’s top picks for Saturday’s racing at Newmarket, Ascot and Redcar and Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
THE days may be getting colder and darker but it's Spring-time at Ascot, at least it will be at 1.50.
That's when SPRING LOADED can land the Listed Rous Stakes over the minimum trip.
The classy grey put up the best performance of his life when easily winning a 20-runner handicap over this course and distance in July off a mark of 100.
He has since finished lame when beaten in the Stewards' Cup and was badly hampered at Ripon last time.
Those runs can be excused, he will relish the return to this track and Adam Kirby, who was on board in July, rides him for the first time since.
A Momentofmadness won the Portland impressively at Doncaster last time, making all, but front-running is not often successful in sprints at the Royal track.
GET ON TREND Who will win the Arc this Sunday?
However, he should ensure there is plenty of pace on. Mr Lupton took a weak Group 3 at Newbury last time, with Judicial and Fashion Queen behind, and should go well but he has a 5lb penalty for that success and that tilts the balance in favour of Spring Loaded.
EIRENE is the one to be with in the October Stakes (4.10).
She bounced back to her best when only beaten by high-class Dancing Star last time in Doncaster's Sceptre Stakes with All Out, Pepita and Laugh Aloud (beaten again since and becoming disappointing) behind and held.
Aim Of Artemis has not been seen since Royal Ascot where she was well held in the Coronation Stakes.
However, the fact that she was pitched into Group 1 company so early in her career indicates the regard in which she is held. She is a big threat while Red Starlight may prove best of the rest.
HOLMESWOOD can land an overdue success in the 4.45.
He could never get into the race behind a tough front-runner who never came back to the field at Haydock last week but this track is much more suitable to his hold-up style.
He ran a cracker at York in August when an unlucky-in-running third to bang in-form El Astronaute. He races off a 2lb lower mark now and drops into Class 3 company after tackling a higher grade on his last five starts.
Sunday's Arc de Triomphe tip
In the Arc at Longchamp on Sunday (3.05) I will be rooting for fast-ground loving SEA OF CLASS, having advised her as one to follow back in May, but I was alarmed to read that the groundstaff are watering the course to get the ground good to soft! Sacre bleu!
Have the treacherous Frenchies all backed Enable?
They claim they have to do this because there have been problems with the turf. The place has been closed for two years - what have they been doing to it during all that time? You couldn't make it up.
The sooner we get out of Europe the better!! On good or quicker ground and in receipt of all the weight allowances, Sea Of Class can outpace last year's heroine but on softer I am not so sure.
It would be great to see Enable do the double - and, unlike Sea Of Class, she is nicely drawn in six - but she has not raced on turf for 12 months and her reappearance win at Kempton merely proved she still has a leg at each corner.
However, the Newmarket gallop watchers have been full of praise for her work since and she has the best Arc jockey there is (and possible ever was) on board.
Waldgeist looks the pick of the French but he has been well found in the market. If the going is genuinely soft Defoe could be a value longshot at 50-1 or bigger.
At Newmarket the feature race is the Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes (3.15) for fillies and mares over a mile and WIND CHIMES can blow the opposition away.
Her early season form was nothing special but, since returning from a two-month break, she has been a revelation.
She won a Deauville Group 3 easily before going down by just a head to the top-class colt Recoletos in Longchamp's Prix du Moulin with the likes of Expert Eye, Lightning Spear and Without Parole comfortably held.
That is top-class form and she must take the world of beating back against her own sex. She had Group 1 options closer to home this weekend so it looks hugely significant that wizard French trainer Andre Fabre has taken this route.
Proven Group 1 winner Laurens is a big danger, having taken the Matron Stakes at Leopardstown last month, with Clemmie and Happily back in third and fifth.
But the winner was almost certainly flattered to beat Alpha Centauri, who suffered a career-ending injury in the race.
I spy an eyecatcher...
Wissahickon (recommended as one to follow here in July) was simply brilliant when winning the Cambridgeshire last weekend at 11-1 and could well be a Group 1 winner by this time next year.
Back in fifth was Roger Varian's UAE Prince and that effort was better than the bare form as he did not get the best of runs through and it was the five-year-old's first outing since the Guineas meeting.
The nine-furlong trip is his bare minimum and he can land a decent handicap, probably over further, before the end of the turf season.
Veracious has been beaten both times she has ventured into this grade so has something to prove and 1,000 Guineas winner Billesdon Brook has not gone on and has questions to answer now, returning from a lay-off.
Redcar host their biggest day of the year, the highlight of which is the Listed Two-Year-Old Trophy (2.45).
There is plenty of deadwood in the big field and the progressive filly STRICT TEMPO can land the near £100,000 pot, off a nice low weight.
She was desperately unlucky not to win a hot nursery at the St Leger meeting and that form is working out well.
She has improved for every start and only needs to find a few more pounds to prove hard to beat.
Vintage Brut bounced back to his best at Ayr but that was on very testing ground and conditions are unlikely to be in his favour here.
Red Balloons won the big sales race at York and clearly acts in big fields but he was a 33-1 shot that day and has to prove that was no fluke.
Like Strict Tempo Swissterious ran well at Doncaster but that was in a conditions race and the form may not be altogether reliable.