ALTHOUGH there is racing in their own town, Newmarket trainers will be out in force with runners at Beverley’s opening meeting of the season and look likely to make a telling impression.

James Fanshawe, Sir Michael Stoute and Marco Botti are all fancied to figure among the winners on the seven-race card, which looks a tricky one for punters to solve.

Fanshawe saddles Landwade Lad in the opening Welcome Back To Beverley Maiden Stakes. Hayley Turner’s mount shaped consistently well as a two-year-old, finishing second at Thirsk and Kempton and third at Newmarket. He should appreciate this step up in trip and may prove the pick of the bunch.

Stoute, whose Kisumu represents a live danger to Landwade Lad, can win the Beverley Annual Badgeholders Handicap with Russian Heroine.

Although she remains a maiden after five juvenile starts, Russian Heroine failed by only a nose at Pontefract on her penultimate outing before finishing third at Kempton. It can only be a matter of time before she gets her head in front and opportunity is fancied to come knocking for her on her seasonal debut.

The Follow Us On Twitter @Beverley_Races Handicap looks a very tight affair, but there is lots to like about Aabir, trained by Botti, and the winner of his only start last year at Wolverhampton in November. He promises to be markedly better this season and is selected to follow up under Luke Morris.

Also worth noting on the Westwood are David O’Meara’s Halsall (2.30), who is better drawn than experienced stablemate First Bombardment in the juvenile maiden and is also the mount of stable jockey Danny Tudhope, and Long Awaited (3.05), who has the advantage of a couple of all-weather outings and a useful draw in the sprint handicap.

On the opening day of Newmarket’s Craven meeting, Paul Hanagan aims to put down a marker for the Qipco 2,000 Guineas by winning the CSP European Free Handicap on Faydhan.

Trained by John Gosden for Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, this $500,000 yearling purchase won his only race as a juvenile in striking fashion at Haydock last summer. Although it took a while for the penny to drop, Faydhan fairly sprinted home to win in decisive fashion by a wide margin.

He is very prominent in the betting for the 2,000 Guineas and nothing less than a stylish win will suffice to promote his chances of Classic glory.

Richard Fahey has a fighting chance of lifting a £100,000-plus first prize with Ballymore Castle in the £100,000 Tattersalls Millions 3-Y-O Sprint.

The three-year-old, a Chester winner last season, went on to run some fine races in defeat, including at Newmarket. He should go well under James Doyle.

Fahey runs Akeed Champion in the opening Alex Scott Maiden Stakes and this handsome colt, who showed definite signs of ability in his two juvenile outings, is worthy of respect. It is difficult to know the standard of his rivals, who are similarly lightly-raced or debutantes and one that catches the eye is Gossiping, trained for Godolphin by Charlie Appleby and a colt with an impeccable pedigree being by Dubawi out of Gossamer.

In the Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn Stakes, Fahey’s Bond’s Girl has plenty on her plate if she is to repeat the success of stablemate Sandiva last year. Preference is for nap selection New Providence, winner of a Listed race at Salisbury last September and an excellent runner-up in a valuable sales race at York the previous month. She finished off with a fine third-placed effort in the Group 2 Rockfel Stakes on this course. New Providence should go well for Hugo Palmer and Jim Crowley.

Palmer saddles an interesting newcomer in Gifted Master in the EBF Stallions NGK Spark Plugs Maiden Stakes, while Golden Horn, winner of his only juvenile outing at Nottingham in the autumn, is an interesting runner in the SSR Site Solutions Fielden Stakes.

Beverley today
1.55 Landwade Lad, 2.30 Halsall, 3.05 Long Awaited, 3.40 Russian Heroine, 4.15 Leoncavallo, 4.50 Aabir, 5.20 True Pleasure.

Newmarket today
1.45 Gossiping, 2.20 Gifted Master, 2.55 Ballymore Castle, 3.30 Faydhan, 4.05 New Providence (NAP), 4.40 Golden Horn, 5.10 King Of Country, 5.40 Spiriting.

Today’s other meetings
Cheltenham and Kempton.

Tomorrow’s meetings
Newmarket, Cheltenham, Ripon and Chelmsford City.