Five horses to keep an eye out for on Saturday

It is never to soon to start thinking about the weekend and with that in mind, we take a look at five horses entered for races this Saturday who could be worth keeping an eye on.

2.05 Newmarket

The Racing Post's Newmarket correspondent David Milnes highlighted Midterm as having been working well recently and the four-year-old has been entered in the Listed Betway Fred Archer Stakes at the July course.

Midterm finished a well-beaten third in a Newbury Group 3 when last seen in May and he should relish this drop to Listed class if allowed to take his chance. The ground was good to firm on Monday in Newmarket but rain is forecast for later in the week and a bit of juice in the ground would be a positive for the Sir Michael Stoute-trained colt.

Don't Touch: did little wrong at LeopardstownCredit: Caroline Norris

2.25 Newcastle

Richard Fahey's charge would be an intriguing contender should he take his place in the Betfred TV Chipchase Stakes, having put in a fine performance on his first start of the year at Leopardstown earlier this month.

Beaten only a length and three quarters by The Tin Man at Ascot last autumn, Don't Touch was a winner on his sole all-weather outing previously, on Wolverhampton's Tapeta and could prove among the leading sprinters at this sort of level this summer.

Tajaanus
2.40 Newmarket

Richard Hannon and indeed his father have a fine record in Newmarket's Listed Betway Empress Fillies' Stakes and Hannon jnr looks to have a fine chance of another win in the race courtesy of debut scorer Tajaanus.

A granddaughter of the 2008 1,000 Guineas winner Natagora, Tajaanus came from last to first on the Rowley Mile in May and it is interesting that she holds this entry instead of having turned up in last week's Albany Stakes. She could prove much better than this by the season's end.

Home Of The Brave
3.15 Newmarket

When he is good, Home Of The Brave is really quite smart and races over seven furlongs appear to be the perfect distance for him, as he can demonstrate his blend of pace and stamina to best effect.

Now a five-year-old, he made a winning return to action at Leicester in April in a race that was not thought to be too strong at the time, but in reality, he gave a beating in a quick time to Tasleet, who went on to land the Duke of York Clipper Logistics Stakes and run second in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes. The firmer the ground the better for Hugo Palmer's charge.

Minotaur: could the former Flat performer land a Northumberland Plate?Credit: John Grossick 07710461723

Minotaur
3.30 Newcastle

Jonjo O'Neill knows what it takes to win Newcastle's most famous race, having done so with Tominator in 2013 and Minotaur looks to have a decent chance of getting his name on the roll of honour once again.

The five-year-old has been jumping of late, with a couple of wins at Cartmel and Aintree most recently to his name but he boasts a fair level of form on the Flat too when trained previously by Nicola Clement in France. He chased home Hughie Morrison's Nearly Caught in the Listed Prix du Carrousel last summer and a repeat of such an effort could see him run a big race on the Tapeta.