Skip to main content

Thursday 9th July

There are two excellent meeting's tomorrow at York and Newmarket to start off three days of really good quality fare on show. At York, I'm really looking forward to seeing Highest Ground again as I think he could be a top quality colt. However, he represents little value now and we have to look elsewhere for the selection. 

Admittedly, the selection isn't great value either at around 3/1 in a big field handicap but Dancin Inthestreet is worth an investment in the 3.35 at Newmarket. I have no doubt she is still very well handicapped off a 2lb higher mark than her Ascot third behind Art Power. The winner was in a different league but Dancin Inthe Street actually covered the last two furlongs in the exact same time (once in the clear) and Art Power is surely a Group 1 winner in waiting. Cieren Fallon's claim will offset the slight rise and the Haggas horses could hardly be going much better (32% for the last 14 days). The only slight concern is that if she is held up she may require luck in running but I hope she will be ridden closer to the pace and the high draw seems to be where the pace is. She has looked like needing a step up in trip in her last couple of runs over 5f so everything looks in place for a big run.

1pt win Dancin Inthestreet (7/2 Paddy Power, Betfair, 10/3 General) Newmarket 3.35 *use BOG firms

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Royal Ascot Day 2

What an amazing day of racing we witnessed yesterday, sheer quality from start to finish. Personally, for me the highlight was Baatash winning the Kings Stand and putting the "myth" about Ascot to bed. There was no shame in being beaten by Blue Point a couple of times but he thoroughly deserved a win at the Royal meeting. For a horse that has achieved so much, I wonder if perhaps he doesn't get the credit he deserves? A debate for another day perhaps as today's card has taken quite a lot of time to go through! Again, my initial thought for day two is proceed with caution. There are a host of difficult handicaps with any amount of potentially well-handicapped horses and the Group races on the card offer little respite in terms of difficulty level. Addeybb would be a strong fancy if the rain arrives in time but to back him now would be guessing. The trendy horse for the day is clearly Ranch Hand for the concluding handicap at 4.40. I don't pay too much attention to ...

1000 Guineas Day

The early signs are that the 2000 Guineas was a very good renewal despite the interrupted preparations for the first Classic of the season. The time was the fastest in the races history and the horses that were expected to run well beforehand fought out the finish. I am sure it will produce plenty of winners throughout the season. Of course the first thought for most people will be the Derby and my initial thought is that ante-post favourite prior to the Guineas, Military March, will find it hard enough to reverse the form with Kameko, who was very strong at the finish. Hopefully Kameko will turn up and we will know for sure in a four weeks time. Moving on to Sunday's action and it looks quite a tricky card, with few standout bets, particularly from a price perspective. The Buckhounds Stakes at 1.50 might be the exception as the Mark Johnston trained Communique  looks a worthy favourite. While the price has contracted throughout the day, I still feel he is worth a bet at anything...

Saturday 13th November

 Cheltenham is back and I simply cannot hide my excitement for this meeting as it is one of my favourite weekends of the season. I think perhaps it has something to do with the hope and aspirations for the jumps season ahead. At this time of year, there is hardly a day that goes by without a "potential" Grade 1 horse making their debut over either hurdles or fences. Of course, the results vary and there are plenty of bubbles burst! Looking ahead to tomorrow and the feature Paddy Power Gold Cup looks a cracking contest and one could make a reasonable case for at least half of the field. Those of you who read my Eyecatchers column on Attheraces will have seen that I mentioned the run of Zanza in the Haldon Gold Cup recently and I think he looks tailor made for this test, despite having course figures of 60FP.  His run here last December when he fell 3 out in the race won by Sky Pirate was enough to suggest the course should not be a problem. It was probably too far out to know ...