A return to Gosforth Park for another race meeting at Newcastle under the lights. The nine race card was well populated with competitive fields in each race. The feature race was the £30,000 conditions race over the flying five furlongs whilst some recognisable names were back in action for the second class two event, a £25,000 handicap over seven furlongs. 
Conditions were much more enjoyable than my previous visit, the rain stayed away and despite the chilly air, it was a dry and clear night on Tyneside.

Race Reports and Photos below:

Race One (3:03) - Class Six handicap - One mile (1,600m) - Runners: 13.
Winner: RON O (Toronado x Xaloc) (#5) - T. Eaves - R. Craggs. 
A race run under the brief remains of daylight which was a tightly knit class six handicap for regulars at this level. The race revolved around the returning pair of Whatwouldyouknow and Reclaim Victory, the one-two from a previous meeting at Newcastle a fortnight ago. The field raced down the centre of the course and it looked like being a hotly contested event with riders in behind searching for room. The yellow and purple silks of Tom Eaves onboard Ron O were noted to be travelling well and like the Red Sea, a gap appeared to aim at and he took it with both hands. Ron O burst into the lead and drew clear impressively to score by over four lengths with Reclaim Victory and Whatwouldyouknow fighting out the finish once again. The shade unlucky Perfect Swiss made his best work at the finish despite blowing the start and losing ground. It was a nice winner for the small stable of trainer Ray Craggs, also the owner of his runners. His base at Sedgefield operates at a decent strike rate for such a small collection of horses. 

Race Two (3:38) - Class Five Novice (Div. I) - Six furlongs (1,200m) - Runners: 9
Winner: FIRST OF MAY (Mayson x Roubles) (#8) - D. Muscutt - J. Fanshawe
Division one of the novice stakes looked a nice contest with some nicely bred newcomers making their debut alongside two promising types at the head of the market. Project Black arrived at Newcastle as the only winner of a race and had to shoulder a penalty to level the playing field for the rest. He had shown a lot of promise at York when third before getting his nose in front at Redcar. The most experienced was Tasever who raced three times previously, but had smart form at Group One venues with a third and fourth at York and Doncaster. The newcomer All White Mate proved a handful on his debut in the preliminaries, half rearing as a sign of being uncertain about his surroundings. 
At the business end of the race, Project Black grabbed the lead into the final furlong but main rival First Of May had travelled eye-catchingly stronger and made her challenge inside the last 200 metres. The pair drew clear but it was First Of May who battled gamely to win on her second start from Project Black and a fast finishing All White Mate going into notebooks in third. The winner First Of May carried the famous silks of Elite Racing Club, responsible for the likes of Soviet Song, Eisteddfod and Marsha, and she is a homebred for the syndicate. She had previously finished third on debut at Leicester in October and stepped up here. Showing a good attitude which will bode well for next year, she could be one to follow in 2023. First Of May, a winner on the second of December.  

Race Three (4:15) - Class Five Novice (Div. II) - Six furlongs (1,200m) - Runners: 9
Winner: DE BRUYNE (Dutch Art x Danehill Revival) (#1) - R. Coakley - E. Walker
There were worrying moments before the race in the parade ring where the debutant Jahidin unseated rider Clifford Lee who landed awkwardly on the walkway. Concerns were felt around the paddock, but he was thankfully able to walk aided back to the medical room. On track, division two of the novice featured some once-raced juveniles who went close on debut and were looking for their first win. Macho Mania was popular in the betting on the back of his second at Kempton and Mistamac finished third for John Quinn on debut, but that was way back in May. The George Boughey trained Heartlander is a half sister to top class handicapper Fresh and the Middleham Park Racing owned Tilt At Windmills is a full sister to the smart Tareekh. The most intriguingly bred horse was the Brian Ellison trained Sunfyre, who was a daughter of an unraced mare who in turn was a half sister to star filly of the past two seasons, Inspiral.
The race drew up another exciting conclusion as De Bruyne and Macho Mania battled between themselves in the final furlong. The more experience in De Bruyne showed as the gelding began to edge clear in the final stages over Macho Mania with Tilt At Windmills showing promise in third. De Bruyne had finished third at Newcastle a fortnight ago on his second start and gained a first win on his third start. A son of Dutch Art and owned by Manchester City mad David Ward, De Bruyne has shown progression so far to make him an appealing handicap prospect for next year from the Ed Walker stable. 

Race Four (4:45) - Class Two Handicap - Seven furlongs (1,400m) - Runners: 9
Winner: LARADO (Shalaa x Suertez) (#9) - T. Ladd - M. Appleby
First of the two feature races was the £25,000 class two handicap over seven furlongs. The valuable prize was well received by connections as the race lineup featured some very nice types from this year. The old boy Documenting has enjoyed a typically consistent year on both turf and all weather surfaces and is part of the furniture in class two handicaps. Raatea won a handicap at Newcastle on their biggest flat meeting of the year back in June and was equally versatile over distances. First Folio was a popular entry for the Owners Group clan and fellow grey Zip has plenty of admirers. 
In a steadily run race, tactics were vital. From the outset, Larado took the lead early under Theodore Ladd and raced in the front seat alongside Zip and The Turpinator. In a race of two halves, First Folio, Raatea, Spirit of Nguru, Documenting and Hafeet Alain were all held up but some raced keenly in the early stages. As the pace began to lift, the amount of energy reserved would decide the race. In front, Larado battled gamely to hold on to his lead over Zip and The Turpinator as the remainder began to close in on him. He bravely stuck his neck out to win by just under a length with the next four placings finishing in close proximity. It was a well judged ride on a front runner favouring track. Larado was largely consistent without winning often, but he returned home to Nottinghamshire with the winning feeling. 

Race Five (5:15) - Class Six Handicap - Seven furlongs (1,400m) - Runners: 14.
Winner: LIKE A LION (Kodiac x Termagant) (#1) - D. Allan - T. Easterby
A return to the modest class races with another class six handicap, this time over seven furlongs. Head of the market was Bobby Joe Leg, who had racked up a hat trick of wins in reinstated blinkers. He faced another tough task against thirteen others including the narrow runner up two weeks ago, Macho Pride. 
The early pace seemed to be honest for the grade as there was plenty of front runners. In a rarity for the course, it would be the ones held up early on who would fight out the finish. As horse and riders fanned out across the track, the action was close and exciting. On the wide outside, Like A Lion had stalked his way into contention and arrived on the flank of Mumcat, who had also burst through to lead in the final furlong. A great duel between the two saw the Tim Easterby-trained three-year-old defy top weight under David Allan. It was a welcome return to form for Like A Lion who looked promising as a juvenile last year. He is bred to be much better than a class six type as a son of Group One winning mare Termagant, but his form dropped off a cliff this year but he took advantage of his lowest rating so far. 

Race Six (5:45) - Class Two Conditions Race - Five furlongs (1,000m) - Runners: 9
Winner: FINE WINE (Dream Ahead x Mulled Wine) (#4) - K. O'Neill - S. Dixon
The feature race of the night was the class two conditions race in which the prize was an automatic place in the lineup for a corresponding race back at Newcastle on Good Friday next year for the All-Weather Finals meeting. Most of the attention was on the classy grey Art Power, who had been operating at a much higher level this season as well as being a former Group Two winner in the past. Irish raider Logo Hunter was a regular in pattern race sprints in his homeland and Moss Gill had finished third to Battaash in the 2020 Nunthorpe at York. 
In a minor surprise, the prize would go to the remarkably tough Fine Wine for trainer Scott Dixon. The gelding wore bright yellow headgear to make him very easy to spot, not that he would need it as he blasted his way to another win. Ridden into the lead from the word 'go', Kieran O'Neill let his mount bowl along at a good pace up front and one by one, his rivals began to feel the pinch. Entering the final furlong, it looked likely that Fine Wine would be swallowed up, but he kept finding for pressure and held off all challengers to win quite cosily. It has been a great training performance by trainer Scott Dixon to keep his horse sound and to win for a sixth time this year from sixteen starts. Usually associated with his affinity for Southwell, the racecourse next door to the stables, he has risen from class five races to class two races in the space of a year and won a valuable race at York's Dante meeting in May this year. He has one of way of running; quickly. 

Race Seven (6:15) - Class Three Handicap - Six furlongs (1,200m) - Runners: 13
Winner: POCKLEY (Shalaa x Wanting) (#13) - F. Norton - L. Perratt
A tough handicap to figure out came out which saw another close finish. The consistent Shallow Hal headed the weights on the back of his win last time out and Abolish had previously found class two events on turf a bit too much. A winner here a fortnight ago, Pockley made a return at the foot of the weights for Linda Perratt and he would win once again. 
After a small bit of argy bargy at the start, Pockley raced keenly just off the early leaders under veteran jockey Franny Norton. In a repeat performance of his win two starts ago, he challenged entering the final furlong and went toe-to-toe with Bellagio Man on the outside. The Linda Perratt-trained gelding knuckled down best of all to take the lead away and hold off the charging Noisy Night in a close finish with Bellagio Man making another appearance in the winners' enclosure in third. It was a particularly noteworthy effort by the Roger and Harry Charlton trained Noisy Night who came into the race off the back of a near fifteen month break. He closed all the way to the line and further progress should be found with the lightly raced gelding. 

Race Eight (6:45) - Class Six Handicap (Div. I) - Six furlongs (1,200m) - Runners: 13
Winner: AFTER JOHN (Dutch Art x Rosacara) (#6) - A. Mullen - I. Jardine.
Another run of the mill class six handicap to begin the closing of the meeting. Thirteen runners took the start and amognst them featured regular winners Hurstwood, Wee Fat Mac and Teruntum Star. 
It was another well paced race with plenty of front runners in the field. In a large field, space would be at a premium and most found traffic problems on the straight course. The doors opened at the right time for After John as he burst clear and soon had daylight between his rivals under the night sky. The last time out winner was on a handy rating based on his former achievements and he would hold off the fast finishing pair of Deputise and Kraken Power. 

Please note that I was unable to cover the ninth race.