Sports And Fitness
3
Dec
Dec
Malcolm Heyhoe asked:
Comparing the current Flat turf season to a long train journey is one way of describing the roller-coaster campaign that comes to two of its most famous stops in June courtesy of the Epsom Derby and the five days of top-class racing at Royal Ascot later in the month.
The Derby now occupies a Saturday slot in the racing programme that is more in keeping with its place in the modern age, and only a dyed-in-the-wool traditionalist or a blinkered fool would be
grudge the fact that the premier classic has been rescued from the backwaters of the first Wednesday in June to a permanent Saturday berth.
The action at Epsom begins on Friday June 2 with the Group 1 Vodafone Oaks. Already this season’s classic fillies look a distinctly average bunch and it’s not hard to see the Oaks winner coming from the powerful stables of Sir Michael Stoute and Aidan O’Brien, who should provide a handful of the more interesting runners.
The all-conquering Stoute team is likely to feature Riyalma, a game winner of the Pretty Polly Stakes on her sole start to date this term at Newmarket’s Guineas meeting and the fast-improving Short Skirt, who beat O’Brien’s well-touted Alexandrova, the current Oaks favourite in the often influential Musidora Stakes at York at the end of last month.
Speciosa and Confidential Lady, the Newmarket 1,000 Guineas winner and runner-up respectively, could also be in the Oaks line-up but the form of that soft ground classic may not add up to a great deal and the winner in particular is a wayward sort on track who might be unsuited to Epsom’s unique camber.
The June 2 card also features the Vodafone Coronation Cup, a Group 1 race for older horses that may well be won by Andre Fabre’s Shirocco, who looked better than ever when scoring on his seasonal debut at Newmarket recently, while Look Again is one of the better treated horses in the Vodafone Rose Bowl Handicap on the same day.
The Vodafone Derby takes centre stage on June 3 and there can be little doubt that the world’s greatest Flat race has been enhanced as a spectacle by the timely switch to a Saturday even though several recent renewals have been decidedly sub-standard affairs.
Still, watching the Derby field stream around Tattenham Corner before hitting that long and tilting home straight remains one of the greatest thrills in racing and if the betting is an accurate guide then Visindar, this year’s short-priced favourite, is on an unstoppable course to give France their first Derby winner since Lester Piggott steered Empery home for trainer Maurice Zilber and Texan owner Nelson Bunker Hunt in 1976.
Andre Fabre’s unbeaten chestnut has won both his races against weak opposition with ease this season and the trainer’s intimation that the colt is ‘something special’ will be put to the sternest of tests at Epsom. A short career of just three starts in small fields on flat tracks and over shorter distances is barely an adequate preparation for the uphill and downhill challenge of the Derby’s complete test. But Visindar may a cut above ordinary opposition.
Aidan O’Brien and Sir Michael Stoute have saddled four of the last five Derby winners and the former’s Septimus, a determined winner of the best Derby trial in the Dante at York, may emerge as the main threat to Visindar even though he lacks a change of pace and seems a St Leger and not a Derby horse.
Epsom’s Derby day card also features the Vodafone ‘Dash’, a five furlong sprint over one of the fastest sprint courses in the world and the man to stick with here is speed specialist, Dandy Nicholls, who may be represented by Merlin’s Dancer, his recent Chester winner who features on a handy mark for the ‘Dash’.
June 4 sees picturesque Chantilly host the Prix du Jockey-Club, or French Derby as it is more universally known, and Aidan O’Brien’s French 2,000 Guineas winner Aussie Rules could complete a rare French classic double, while Jean-Claude Rouget’s Germance bids to make it five from five in the Prix de Diane Hermes, France’s version of the Oaks at Chantilly on June 11. On the eve of Royal Ascot, York stages its valuable Timeform charity day and the feature race is the valuable three-year-old sprint entitled the William Hill Trophy.
Five of the best days of Flat racing to be found anywhere in the world begins on June 20 with the first day of Royal Ascot that is rightly restored to its true home after slumming it on the pudding-like turf of York’s Knavesmire a year ago.
The Group 1 Queen Anne and St James’s Palace Stakes are the first day highlights and a clash between Peeress, the recent Lockinge winner and Proclamation, last year’s Sussex Stakes hero could be a mouth-watering meeting while George Washington’s presence in the St James’s Palace could put many of his potential rivals off their game.
On June 21 the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes occupies pride of place and the Godolphin team have saddled four winners in recent seasons and if they can re-capture their best form before Royal Ascot then the stable’s chosen representative will be well worth a second look.
Alan King’s Levera and Sir Michael Stoute’s Jeremy will be among the more fancied runners in the seven furlong Jersey Stakes while the latter’s Echelon could be the one to give the Stoute team back-to-back victories in the Windsor Forest Stakes, a one mile pattern event for the better middle-distance fillies.
There’ll be a massive field in competition for the Royal Hunt Cup, one of the biggest betting heats of the entire handicap season where class as well as courage is required of the winner. An early fancy for this one-mile dash would be Roger Charlton’s Another Bottle, who can handle big fields and may be a shade better than he’s shown so far.
The Ascot Gold Cup is the feature race on June 22 and many will be pinning their faith on Sergeant Cecil making the transition from top-class staying handicaps to this Group 1 prize and he’s sure to go well, though that also applies to Sir Michael Stoute’s Distinction, a runner-up in the race a year ago and the most likely winner from Andre Fabre’s Reefscape, who has been specially prepared for the valuable stayers’ crown.
Friday’s Royal Ascot action centres upon the Coronation Stakes, a Group 1 race over a mile for fillies and though this year’s fairer sex seems like an ordinary bunch, the Marcus Tregoning-trained Makderah might be the type to go well at big odds. She has been progressing nicely all season.
Royal Ascot’s final day, June 24, features the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes, which hasn’t been a good race for favourites in recent years while the same is true of the Wokingham Stakes, where speed, a good handicap mark and the ability to handle a big field are all essential components for the eventual winner. Hughie Morrison’s Intrepid Jack will be one of the more intriguing challengers for the season’s first big sprint handicap.
Horse Racing Betting
Comparing the current Flat turf season to a long train journey is one way of describing the roller-coaster campaign that comes to two of its most famous stops in June courtesy of the Epsom Derby and the five days of top-class racing at Royal Ascot later in the month.
The Derby now occupies a Saturday slot in the racing programme that is more in keeping with its place in the modern age, and only a dyed-in-the-wool traditionalist or a blinkered fool would be
grudge the fact that the premier classic has been rescued from the backwaters of the first Wednesday in June to a permanent Saturday berth.
The action at Epsom begins on Friday June 2 with the Group 1 Vodafone Oaks. Already this season’s classic fillies look a distinctly average bunch and it’s not hard to see the Oaks winner coming from the powerful stables of Sir Michael Stoute and Aidan O’Brien, who should provide a handful of the more interesting runners.
The all-conquering Stoute team is likely to feature Riyalma, a game winner of the Pretty Polly Stakes on her sole start to date this term at Newmarket’s Guineas meeting and the fast-improving Short Skirt, who beat O’Brien’s well-touted Alexandrova, the current Oaks favourite in the often influential Musidora Stakes at York at the end of last month.
Speciosa and Confidential Lady, the Newmarket 1,000 Guineas winner and runner-up respectively, could also be in the Oaks line-up but the form of that soft ground classic may not add up to a great deal and the winner in particular is a wayward sort on track who might be unsuited to Epsom’s unique camber.
The June 2 card also features the Vodafone Coronation Cup, a Group 1 race for older horses that may well be won by Andre Fabre’s Shirocco, who looked better than ever when scoring on his seasonal debut at Newmarket recently, while Look Again is one of the better treated horses in the Vodafone Rose Bowl Handicap on the same day.
The Vodafone Derby takes centre stage on June 3 and there can be little doubt that the world’s greatest Flat race has been enhanced as a spectacle by the timely switch to a Saturday even though several recent renewals have been decidedly sub-standard affairs.
Still, watching the Derby field stream around Tattenham Corner before hitting that long and tilting home straight remains one of the greatest thrills in racing and if the betting is an accurate guide then Visindar, this year’s short-priced favourite, is on an unstoppable course to give France their first Derby winner since Lester Piggott steered Empery home for trainer Maurice Zilber and Texan owner Nelson Bunker Hunt in 1976.
Andre Fabre’s unbeaten chestnut has won both his races against weak opposition with ease this season and the trainer’s intimation that the colt is ‘something special’ will be put to the sternest of tests at Epsom. A short career of just three starts in small fields on flat tracks and over shorter distances is barely an adequate preparation for the uphill and downhill challenge of the Derby’s complete test. But Visindar may a cut above ordinary opposition.
Aidan O’Brien and Sir Michael Stoute have saddled four of the last five Derby winners and the former’s Septimus, a determined winner of the best Derby trial in the Dante at York, may emerge as the main threat to Visindar even though he lacks a change of pace and seems a St Leger and not a Derby horse.
Epsom’s Derby day card also features the Vodafone ‘Dash’, a five furlong sprint over one of the fastest sprint courses in the world and the man to stick with here is speed specialist, Dandy Nicholls, who may be represented by Merlin’s Dancer, his recent Chester winner who features on a handy mark for the ‘Dash’.
June 4 sees picturesque Chantilly host the Prix du Jockey-Club, or French Derby as it is more universally known, and Aidan O’Brien’s French 2,000 Guineas winner Aussie Rules could complete a rare French classic double, while Jean-Claude Rouget’s Germance bids to make it five from five in the Prix de Diane Hermes, France’s version of the Oaks at Chantilly on June 11. On the eve of Royal Ascot, York stages its valuable Timeform charity day and the feature race is the valuable three-year-old sprint entitled the William Hill Trophy.
Five of the best days of Flat racing to be found anywhere in the world begins on June 20 with the first day of Royal Ascot that is rightly restored to its true home after slumming it on the pudding-like turf of York’s Knavesmire a year ago.
The Group 1 Queen Anne and St James’s Palace Stakes are the first day highlights and a clash between Peeress, the recent Lockinge winner and Proclamation, last year’s Sussex Stakes hero could be a mouth-watering meeting while George Washington’s presence in the St James’s Palace could put many of his potential rivals off their game.
On June 21 the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes occupies pride of place and the Godolphin team have saddled four winners in recent seasons and if they can re-capture their best form before Royal Ascot then the stable’s chosen representative will be well worth a second look.
Alan King’s Levera and Sir Michael Stoute’s Jeremy will be among the more fancied runners in the seven furlong Jersey Stakes while the latter’s Echelon could be the one to give the Stoute team back-to-back victories in the Windsor Forest Stakes, a one mile pattern event for the better middle-distance fillies.
There’ll be a massive field in competition for the Royal Hunt Cup, one of the biggest betting heats of the entire handicap season where class as well as courage is required of the winner. An early fancy for this one-mile dash would be Roger Charlton’s Another Bottle, who can handle big fields and may be a shade better than he’s shown so far.
The Ascot Gold Cup is the feature race on June 22 and many will be pinning their faith on Sergeant Cecil making the transition from top-class staying handicaps to this Group 1 prize and he’s sure to go well, though that also applies to Sir Michael Stoute’s Distinction, a runner-up in the race a year ago and the most likely winner from Andre Fabre’s Reefscape, who has been specially prepared for the valuable stayers’ crown.
Friday’s Royal Ascot action centres upon the Coronation Stakes, a Group 1 race over a mile for fillies and though this year’s fairer sex seems like an ordinary bunch, the Marcus Tregoning-trained Makderah might be the type to go well at big odds. She has been progressing nicely all season.
Royal Ascot’s final day, June 24, features the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes, which hasn’t been a good race for favourites in recent years while the same is true of the Wokingham Stakes, where speed, a good handicap mark and the ability to handle a big field are all essential components for the eventual winner. Hughie Morrison’s Intrepid Jack will be one of the more intriguing challengers for the season’s first big sprint handicap.
Horse Racing Betting
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26
Nov
Nov
Malcolm Heyhoe asked:
December usually means the King George at Kempton for the racing fan, but the traditional centre-piece of the Christmas programme is merely the climax to a thrilling month’s racing that begins at Sandown with the two-mile spectacular that is the Tingle Creek Trophy on Saturday, December 2.
Shocks are a rarity in this Grade One contest and even though many of the familiar faces will be missing from this valuable event, it’s safe to say that backers should stick with those horses towards the head of the market.
In the absence of leading two-mile lights such as Well Chief, and Newmill, this may well be an excellent opportunity for Voy Por Ustedes, last season’s top two-mile chaser and Arkle Trophy hero, to establish his claims for the two-mile chasing crown.
His trainer, Alan King, has long earmarked this race as an ideal starting-point for his stable star and with agility and the need to travel up with the pace a priority at Sandown, Voy Por Ustedes has plenty in his favour. Ashley Brook, last year’s runner-up, may also be in opposition and it’ll be intriguing to see how he fares after missing most of last season through injury.
The Tingle Creek isn’t the only top two-mile chase on the agenda at Sandown because the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase is also a key feature of Sandown’s cracking December 2 card. There’s already a wealth of talent in the two-mile novice chase division and it would be no surprise to see Fair Along, a most impressive winner of the Independent Newspaper Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham contest this prize and put his Arkle credentials on the line.
Remarkably five of the last eight winners of the Henry VIII ran in the Independent Chase at Cheltenham while trainer Paul Nicholls has also been responsible for two of the last seven winners and whatever he runs from his Ditcheat stable should be noted. The same is true for Alan King’s Barbury Castle yard and My Way de Solzen, a most impressive winner on his Lingfield chase debut, would be another top-notch contender.
Sandown’s Saturday card wouldn’t be complete without a bookies’ benefit in the shape of the William Hill Handicap Hurdle which has been a graveyard for market leaders in recent seasons. It is twelve years now since a favourite has landed this two-mile contest and the soundest advice is to stick with horses carrying a low weight that are trained by Gary Moore or Philip Hobbs and have run already in the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham’s Paddy Power Open meeting. Both Mahogany Blaze and Verasi fit this bill.
On Sunday December 3 Ireland stages a couple of key races in their pattern calendar courtesy of the Drinmore Novices’ Chase and the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse, the latter being widely acknowledged as a stepping-stone to Champion Hurdle success and likely this year to feature Brave Inca and Asian Maze, two of Ireland’s leading candidates for top two-mile hurdling honours.
The best of the jumps action switches to Cheltenham on December 9 for a superb day’s racing that features the Boylseports.com International Hurdle (formerly known as the Bula Hurdle) as the meeting’s showpiece contest. Punters needn’t look any further than Detroit City the current Champion Hurdle favourite, for the most likely winner of the Boylesports. The Philip Hobbs-trained grey is rapidly developing into a course specialist at Prestbury Park and only last month he swiftly added the Greatwood Hurdle to the Triumph Hurdle he landed back in March.
The former contest has twice supplied the winner of the Boylesports and all being well the vastly improved Detroit City should make it three mainly at the expense of some inferior rivals. The Irish landed the race a year ago but any raiders from across the Irish Sea will be hard pressed to make it three recent winners this time around.
The Boylesports.com Gold Cup Chase is yet another change of name for a race that was once called the Massey-Ferguson Gold Cup, the Tripleprint, the Robin Cook and now this anonymous bookmaking mouthful. Sometimes progress has its limitations. Still, this is a cracking handicap and the trick here is to look for a horse carrying less then eleven stone that boasts wining form at the course, features towards the head of the betting and is trained either by Nicky Henderson or Paul Nicholls. Irish horses also tend to do well here.
Over at Lingfield on December 9 there are a couple of important novice events courtesy of the December Novices’ Chase and the Summit Junior Hurdle. The two highest-rated juveniles to win this event in the last three years were trained by Francois Doumen (the injury-prone Grand Seigneur in 1999/2000 and future Champion Hurdle winner Hors La Loi in 1998/9), and any horse sent over by the gallic raider must be respected while Oliver Sherwood has had this race in mind for some time for his smart youngster,. Marodima.
The countdown to Christmas begins at Ascot on December 16 with a top-notch programme that features the Long Walk Hurdle, the totesport.com Handicap Chase and the Ladbroke Hurdle. The later race is only in its infancy at Ascot and already Nicky Henderson has proved the man to be with having won the race recently with Chauvinist.
This time around he relies upon the well-regarded Tarlac, an easy winner over course and distance on his seasonal bow while Ireland’s Victram, a dab hand in this grade, also bids to add this race to his Imperial Cup success at Sandown in March. Ireland should also be strongly represented in the Long Walk Hurdle with trainer Dessie Hughes thinking hard about bringing over Hardy Eustace for this valuable prize following his easy win over slightly shorter at this course last time.
On Boxing Day, December 26, the King George VI Chase is always a race to savour and this year’s renewal may well see a small field and an odds-on favourite in the guise of Kauto Star, who has been elevated to superstar status in most quarters following an easy success against a bunch of declining forces at Haydock last time.
In a race that has been a corker for those punters that follow the market leaders 13 of the last 18 winners have featured in the top two in the betting Kauto Star is going to be very hard to beat but at least faces decent opposition in the shape of rising stars such as Monet’s Garden and Racing Demon who should give him a race over a course that rewards quick and accurate jumping and finds out any who slack in those departments. The former holds the best chance of overturning the favourite especially if he forces the latter to match him in the jumping department over the three rapid-fire fences in the home straight.
On December 27 Chepstow stages the Coral Welsh National, a severe test that is best left to those dour staying types that can plough through the Welsh mud. Light weights and previous winning form at the course will be a bonus and backers should look closely at any horse Paul Nicholls runs in the race while over at Leopardstown on the same day there’s the Paddy Power Handicap Chase, one of the main betting events at the big Christmas festival at the Dublin-based course. Look out here for Tony Martin’s Ross River, who is being trained to win this prize after finishing third in last year’s renewal.
Horse Racing Bets
December usually means the King George at Kempton for the racing fan, but the traditional centre-piece of the Christmas programme is merely the climax to a thrilling month’s racing that begins at Sandown with the two-mile spectacular that is the Tingle Creek Trophy on Saturday, December 2.
Shocks are a rarity in this Grade One contest and even though many of the familiar faces will be missing from this valuable event, it’s safe to say that backers should stick with those horses towards the head of the market.
In the absence of leading two-mile lights such as Well Chief, and Newmill, this may well be an excellent opportunity for Voy Por Ustedes, last season’s top two-mile chaser and Arkle Trophy hero, to establish his claims for the two-mile chasing crown.
His trainer, Alan King, has long earmarked this race as an ideal starting-point for his stable star and with agility and the need to travel up with the pace a priority at Sandown, Voy Por Ustedes has plenty in his favour. Ashley Brook, last year’s runner-up, may also be in opposition and it’ll be intriguing to see how he fares after missing most of last season through injury.
The Tingle Creek isn’t the only top two-mile chase on the agenda at Sandown because the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase is also a key feature of Sandown’s cracking December 2 card. There’s already a wealth of talent in the two-mile novice chase division and it would be no surprise to see Fair Along, a most impressive winner of the Independent Newspaper Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham contest this prize and put his Arkle credentials on the line.
Remarkably five of the last eight winners of the Henry VIII ran in the Independent Chase at Cheltenham while trainer Paul Nicholls has also been responsible for two of the last seven winners and whatever he runs from his Ditcheat stable should be noted. The same is true for Alan King’s Barbury Castle yard and My Way de Solzen, a most impressive winner on his Lingfield chase debut, would be another top-notch contender.
Sandown’s Saturday card wouldn’t be complete without a bookies’ benefit in the shape of the William Hill Handicap Hurdle which has been a graveyard for market leaders in recent seasons. It is twelve years now since a favourite has landed this two-mile contest and the soundest advice is to stick with horses carrying a low weight that are trained by Gary Moore or Philip Hobbs and have run already in the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham’s Paddy Power Open meeting. Both Mahogany Blaze and Verasi fit this bill.
On Sunday December 3 Ireland stages a couple of key races in their pattern calendar courtesy of the Drinmore Novices’ Chase and the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse, the latter being widely acknowledged as a stepping-stone to Champion Hurdle success and likely this year to feature Brave Inca and Asian Maze, two of Ireland’s leading candidates for top two-mile hurdling honours.
The best of the jumps action switches to Cheltenham on December 9 for a superb day’s racing that features the Boylseports.com International Hurdle (formerly known as the Bula Hurdle) as the meeting’s showpiece contest. Punters needn’t look any further than Detroit City the current Champion Hurdle favourite, for the most likely winner of the Boylesports. The Philip Hobbs-trained grey is rapidly developing into a course specialist at Prestbury Park and only last month he swiftly added the Greatwood Hurdle to the Triumph Hurdle he landed back in March.
The former contest has twice supplied the winner of the Boylesports and all being well the vastly improved Detroit City should make it three mainly at the expense of some inferior rivals. The Irish landed the race a year ago but any raiders from across the Irish Sea will be hard pressed to make it three recent winners this time around.
The Boylesports.com Gold Cup Chase is yet another change of name for a race that was once called the Massey-Ferguson Gold Cup, the Tripleprint, the Robin Cook and now this anonymous bookmaking mouthful. Sometimes progress has its limitations. Still, this is a cracking handicap and the trick here is to look for a horse carrying less then eleven stone that boasts wining form at the course, features towards the head of the betting and is trained either by Nicky Henderson or Paul Nicholls. Irish horses also tend to do well here.
Over at Lingfield on December 9 there are a couple of important novice events courtesy of the December Novices’ Chase and the Summit Junior Hurdle. The two highest-rated juveniles to win this event in the last three years were trained by Francois Doumen (the injury-prone Grand Seigneur in 1999/2000 and future Champion Hurdle winner Hors La Loi in 1998/9), and any horse sent over by the gallic raider must be respected while Oliver Sherwood has had this race in mind for some time for his smart youngster,. Marodima.
The countdown to Christmas begins at Ascot on December 16 with a top-notch programme that features the Long Walk Hurdle, the totesport.com Handicap Chase and the Ladbroke Hurdle. The later race is only in its infancy at Ascot and already Nicky Henderson has proved the man to be with having won the race recently with Chauvinist.
This time around he relies upon the well-regarded Tarlac, an easy winner over course and distance on his seasonal bow while Ireland’s Victram, a dab hand in this grade, also bids to add this race to his Imperial Cup success at Sandown in March. Ireland should also be strongly represented in the Long Walk Hurdle with trainer Dessie Hughes thinking hard about bringing over Hardy Eustace for this valuable prize following his easy win over slightly shorter at this course last time.
On Boxing Day, December 26, the King George VI Chase is always a race to savour and this year’s renewal may well see a small field and an odds-on favourite in the guise of Kauto Star, who has been elevated to superstar status in most quarters following an easy success against a bunch of declining forces at Haydock last time.
In a race that has been a corker for those punters that follow the market leaders 13 of the last 18 winners have featured in the top two in the betting Kauto Star is going to be very hard to beat but at least faces decent opposition in the shape of rising stars such as Monet’s Garden and Racing Demon who should give him a race over a course that rewards quick and accurate jumping and finds out any who slack in those departments. The former holds the best chance of overturning the favourite especially if he forces the latter to match him in the jumping department over the three rapid-fire fences in the home straight.
On December 27 Chepstow stages the Coral Welsh National, a severe test that is best left to those dour staying types that can plough through the Welsh mud. Light weights and previous winning form at the course will be a bonus and backers should look closely at any horse Paul Nicholls runs in the race while over at Leopardstown on the same day there’s the Paddy Power Handicap Chase, one of the main betting events at the big Christmas festival at the Dublin-based course. Look out here for Tony Martin’s Ross River, who is being trained to win this prize after finishing third in last year’s renewal.
Horse Racing Bets
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27
Sep
Sep
Malcolm Heyhoe asked:
Sandown opens the month on February 4 with an excellent card and another set of possible Cheltenham clues. In recent seasons the Agfa Diamond Chase has suffered through small and uncompetitive fields but that worrying trend has started to change of late and this year’s renewal is sure to be a competitive one.
Alan King’s tough stayer Fork Lightning may well be among the entries for the ‘Agfa’, and given his preference for racing right-handed and his fine run behind Joaaci in a strong heat last time, he is likely to be among the more fancied runners.
Some of the season’s smarter novice chasers will be in action in Sandown’s Grade 1 Scilly Isles Chase, a contest that was won last year by Henrietta Knight’s El Vaquero and it’ll be interesting to see whether Ms Knight decides to let her rising chase star Racing Demon take his place in the select field.
Over at Wetherby on the same day the staying novices strut their stuff in the Grade 2 Totty Construction Towton Novices’ Chase where the accent is firmly upon stamina in what is always a gruelling contest. Northern trainer Sue Smith won this race a couple of years ago with smart stayer Royal Emperor and may have another similar candidate in Rebel Rhythm, who has already won a novices’ event around the West Yorkshire track.
A week later sees Newbury stage the totesport Trophy Handicap Hurdle, Europe’s richest handicap over timber, on February 11. On a day of cracking action the pulsating two-mile contest takes pride of place and is always won by a good horse.
Finding the winner is never easy but the bookmakers seems to think that Martin Pipe’s talented novice Acambo is the one to beat and he heads the ante-post market with most firms. Pipe has won the race a couple of times in recent years courtesy of Copeland (2002) and Make A Stand (1997) and Acambo is sure to figure highly in Pipe’s plans for Newbury.
Local handler, Nicky Henderson, has also been a trainer to watch out for in this valuable event, saddling no less than four of the last ten winners and the stable’s main hope in 2006 looks to be Grand Jete, a one-time Champion Hurdle hope who looked like winning at Aintree last April until he went lame approaching the last.
Twelve months ago Ireland’s Essex justified favouritism to give the Emerald Isle its second winner in three seasons. One year later there’s a strong Irish challenge once again with the Jessica Harrington-trained Studmaster bidding to follow Essex’s footsteps by winning at Newbury after landing Ireland’s prestigious Pierse Hurdle one month earlier. Significantly, Mrs Harrington landed this valuable pot with Spirit Leader in 2003.
Top weights boast a good record too and Irish trainer John Queally believes his stable star Al Eile will go close to winning the totesport Trophy off 11st 12lb. Queally’s gelding didn’t hurt his Newbury chances by winning at Haydock the other day because he incurs no penalty for that success and has to be on any one’s short-list.
The same is true of the Venetia Williams-trained Chief Yeoman, who looks terrific value at 14-1 with most bookmakers. Connections have been pleased with his two runs so far and he has been aimed at this race since returning to action behind Acambo at Windsor before Christmas. Expect hi to step up on what he’s done so far this season.
The main attraction on Newbury’s supporting card is the Game Spirit Chase, a two mile and a furlong conditions chase that is often used as a final preparatory race by trainers for the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
This year’s race is likely to be won by the current Queen Mother favourite Kauto Star, who will be using the Newbury event as a stepping-stone to Festival glory. Over at Warwick course specialist Voy Por Ustedes will be treading a similar path as he bids to earn a place in the Arkle Trophy line-up at the Festival by running well in the coralpoker.com Kingmaker Chase at Warwick on the same day.
On the following weekend - February 18 - all eyes will be on Champion Hurdle aspirants in the Axminster Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton. Trainer Alan King may well let Penzance, his Triumph Hurdle hero of 2005, take his place in the line-up at the West Country venue after a series of disappointing efforts so far this season.
Who knows, maybe even the elusive Lingo will return to action for Jonjo O’Neill. He won easier than most horses do at Cheltenham in November and following good support for the Champion Hurdle in March would be a fascinating runner.
Up at Haydock on the same day Grand National hopefuls will go on trial in the Red Square Vodka Gold Cup, a punishing test of stamina over Haydock’s big drop fences in a contest that has sometimes exerted a strong influence upon the outcome of the world’s most famous race at Aintree in April.
Trainer Ginger McCain, a four-time winner of the Grand National courtesy of Red Rum and Amberleigh House, looks to have another leading Grand National candidate in the guise of Ebony Light, a surprise winner of January’s Peter Marsh Chase from the joint Gold Cup favourite, Kingscliff. McCain plans to run Ebony Light in the Red Square Vodka Gold Cup before going to Aintree for a crack at the Grand National.
The best of February’s action closes on the weekend of February 25 with Racing Post Handicap Chase day at Sandown Park. The betting is often a strong guide to the outcome of this classiest of chases and well-fancied runners boast a good record.
Take note too of the winner and placed horses because this influential contest has frequently yielded a winner or two at next month’s Cheltenham Festival. Among the more potent contenders this season are likely to be the well treated Ladalko, who has been talked about as a possible for this prize by his trainer, Paul Nicholls, and Lacdoudal from the Philip Hobbs stable that has sent out three winners of this race in recent years.
On the same day at Newcastle there’s the four mile and a furlong Tote Northern National, a marathon chase in which shock winners are a rarity. Stamina is of the essence here and the locally-trained Ossmoses, who relishes racing over long-distances and has long looked a natural for this race and will be a name to note among the entries later in the month.
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Sandown opens the month on February 4 with an excellent card and another set of possible Cheltenham clues. In recent seasons the Agfa Diamond Chase has suffered through small and uncompetitive fields but that worrying trend has started to change of late and this year’s renewal is sure to be a competitive one.
Alan King’s tough stayer Fork Lightning may well be among the entries for the ‘Agfa’, and given his preference for racing right-handed and his fine run behind Joaaci in a strong heat last time, he is likely to be among the more fancied runners.
Some of the season’s smarter novice chasers will be in action in Sandown’s Grade 1 Scilly Isles Chase, a contest that was won last year by Henrietta Knight’s El Vaquero and it’ll be interesting to see whether Ms Knight decides to let her rising chase star Racing Demon take his place in the select field.
Over at Wetherby on the same day the staying novices strut their stuff in the Grade 2 Totty Construction Towton Novices’ Chase where the accent is firmly upon stamina in what is always a gruelling contest. Northern trainer Sue Smith won this race a couple of years ago with smart stayer Royal Emperor and may have another similar candidate in Rebel Rhythm, who has already won a novices’ event around the West Yorkshire track.
A week later sees Newbury stage the totesport Trophy Handicap Hurdle, Europe’s richest handicap over timber, on February 11. On a day of cracking action the pulsating two-mile contest takes pride of place and is always won by a good horse.
Finding the winner is never easy but the bookmakers seems to think that Martin Pipe’s talented novice Acambo is the one to beat and he heads the ante-post market with most firms. Pipe has won the race a couple of times in recent years courtesy of Copeland (2002) and Make A Stand (1997) and Acambo is sure to figure highly in Pipe’s plans for Newbury.
Local handler, Nicky Henderson, has also been a trainer to watch out for in this valuable event, saddling no less than four of the last ten winners and the stable’s main hope in 2006 looks to be Grand Jete, a one-time Champion Hurdle hope who looked like winning at Aintree last April until he went lame approaching the last.
Twelve months ago Ireland’s Essex justified favouritism to give the Emerald Isle its second winner in three seasons. One year later there’s a strong Irish challenge once again with the Jessica Harrington-trained Studmaster bidding to follow Essex’s footsteps by winning at Newbury after landing Ireland’s prestigious Pierse Hurdle one month earlier. Significantly, Mrs Harrington landed this valuable pot with Spirit Leader in 2003.
Top weights boast a good record too and Irish trainer John Queally believes his stable star Al Eile will go close to winning the totesport Trophy off 11st 12lb. Queally’s gelding didn’t hurt his Newbury chances by winning at Haydock the other day because he incurs no penalty for that success and has to be on any one’s short-list.
The same is true of the Venetia Williams-trained Chief Yeoman, who looks terrific value at 14-1 with most bookmakers. Connections have been pleased with his two runs so far and he has been aimed at this race since returning to action behind Acambo at Windsor before Christmas. Expect hi to step up on what he’s done so far this season.
The main attraction on Newbury’s supporting card is the Game Spirit Chase, a two mile and a furlong conditions chase that is often used as a final preparatory race by trainers for the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
This year’s race is likely to be won by the current Queen Mother favourite Kauto Star, who will be using the Newbury event as a stepping-stone to Festival glory. Over at Warwick course specialist Voy Por Ustedes will be treading a similar path as he bids to earn a place in the Arkle Trophy line-up at the Festival by running well in the coralpoker.com Kingmaker Chase at Warwick on the same day.
On the following weekend - February 18 - all eyes will be on Champion Hurdle aspirants in the Axminster Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton. Trainer Alan King may well let Penzance, his Triumph Hurdle hero of 2005, take his place in the line-up at the West Country venue after a series of disappointing efforts so far this season.
Who knows, maybe even the elusive Lingo will return to action for Jonjo O’Neill. He won easier than most horses do at Cheltenham in November and following good support for the Champion Hurdle in March would be a fascinating runner.
Up at Haydock on the same day Grand National hopefuls will go on trial in the Red Square Vodka Gold Cup, a punishing test of stamina over Haydock’s big drop fences in a contest that has sometimes exerted a strong influence upon the outcome of the world’s most famous race at Aintree in April.
Trainer Ginger McCain, a four-time winner of the Grand National courtesy of Red Rum and Amberleigh House, looks to have another leading Grand National candidate in the guise of Ebony Light, a surprise winner of January’s Peter Marsh Chase from the joint Gold Cup favourite, Kingscliff. McCain plans to run Ebony Light in the Red Square Vodka Gold Cup before going to Aintree for a crack at the Grand National.
The best of February’s action closes on the weekend of February 25 with Racing Post Handicap Chase day at Sandown Park. The betting is often a strong guide to the outcome of this classiest of chases and well-fancied runners boast a good record.
Take note too of the winner and placed horses because this influential contest has frequently yielded a winner or two at next month’s Cheltenham Festival. Among the more potent contenders this season are likely to be the well treated Ladalko, who has been talked about as a possible for this prize by his trainer, Paul Nicholls, and Lacdoudal from the Philip Hobbs stable that has sent out three winners of this race in recent years.
On the same day at Newcastle there’s the four mile and a furlong Tote Northern National, a marathon chase in which shock winners are a rarity. Stamina is of the essence here and the locally-trained Ossmoses, who relishes racing over long-distances and has long looked a natural for this race and will be a name to note among the entries later in the month.
Horse Racing Bets
Category : Sports And Fitness | Blog
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