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By Gary Harley

Local trainer Kris Lees has accepted with three talented three-year-olds at the Newcastle Racecourse race meeting on Tuesday and the trio will be ridden by Andrew Gibbons.

Lees' 3yos are Flame Of Hestia (Race 2-$3.40 favourite on TAB), Lutetia (Race 6-$2.30 fav) and Road to Paradise (Race 7-$8).

Flame Of Hestia is a Blueblood daughter of top sire Too Darn Hot and she steps out in the 900m Dailey Family Funerals Class 1 Handicap.

Lutetia (Andrew Gibbons) goes home strongly to score at Newcastle. Image by Bradley Photographers

Her dam is the mother of the Kris Lees-trained In Her Time, winner of the Group 1 2019 Flemington Lightning Stakes.

The filly races in the Yulong colours and she went for a spell after an easy all-the-way Taree Maiden win in October.

The 3yo has speed to burn and has had two recent barrier trials and in the latter at Muswellbrook on March 18, she put four lengths on well performed stablemate Tavi Time.

Flame Of Hestia bumps into another fast 900m sprinter Runranirun ($3.90) which won a Newcastle 900m Maiden by 2.81 lengths in August.

Lutetia, bred and raced by Coolmore, has sound form for the 1250m A-Plus Contracting & Poly Welding Provincial Class 1 Handicap.

The Justify filly was an easy winner of a Newcastle 2yo Maiden in July and she was narrowly beaten in her past two starts at Canterbury in February. She had a quiet trial recently at Muswellbrook.

Road To Paradise, a daughter of The Autumn Sun, won her only start at Newcastle in December and she draws positively in the 1500m The Adviser Collective Class 1 Handicap. She had a soft trial recently at Scone.

The Hawkes stable will apply blinkers to their 3yo El Paso ($2.30 fav), one of the main chances in the 1890m New Era Technology Maiden Plate.

El Paso has done most of his racing in Victoria where he was beaten less than two lengths in the Listed-Geelong Classic in October.

First-up on the Kensington Track on March 13 he was backed from $4.20 into $2.70 in a small field and he found the 1400m trip too short when he ran on strong to be beaten 2.37 lengths. The longer trip is to his liking and he can wind up down the long straight.

Andrew Gibbons rides from barrier two and he has another good chance aboard Kenmare Bay ($3.20 fav) in the 1890m Davali Yearlings @ Easter Benchmark 64 Handicap.

The 3yo has been runner-up in his past two starts at Wyong and he races well on this track. He is crying out for this trip.

The lightly raced Kiwi-bred Alcabeel ($4.60 fav), a son of Savabeel which put the writing on the wall with a slashing narrow defeat first-up at Hawkesbury recently.

He will be hard to beat in the final event the 1500m The Adviser Collective Class 1 Handicap.

View the final fields with full form & race replays for Newcastle here