Racing Nerd

 How things can change quickly and having raced on good to firm throughout Thursday, Friday's card survived an eleventh hour inspection. I am hoping my luck will change like the weather did and Saturday will see a change in fortunes. Of course, Friday was spent scrimmaging through the form book trying to find horses that would/ would not act on softer conditions, particularly ones that had not seen their price collapse through Friday morning. They were few and far between. Wonderful Tonight was one of those that did see her price collapse early Friday morning from 11/1 down to about 6/1 over the course of a couple of hours. The more images of heavy rain at Ascot appeared through the various media, the tighter her price got. The case for her is blatantly obvious as she simply loves testing conditions. She first came to prominence as a potential high class filly when winning a Group 3 on heavy ground at Deauville last August over the mile and a half trip. That came somewhat as a surp

 It has been a rather difficult week so far, but with two days remaining we have more than enough time to make amends. A couple of selections have been slightly unlucky and we are not without hope that we can hit the mark. The good news is we haven't done much damage as of yet. At the start of the week, I would have said Friday was one of the more attractive cards. Hopefully that will still be the main thought on Friday evening. The day kicks off with the Albany Stakes over 6 furlongs for the two-year-old fillies and I really like Eve Lodge in this. She was eye-catching on debut behind Queen Mary sixth Get Ahead, making up lengths in the closing stages having been held up off a steady pace and encountering traffic problems. Whether she would have won that day or not is hard to say, and while I am inclined to think the traffic didn't cost her the race, she would have gone very close. The winner ran well in the Queen Mary earlier this week from her draw, without ever looking li

 The highlight of Thursday is undoubtedly the brilliant Stradivarius and his attempt at history. He is a horse that has very much captured the adoration of the public and his partnership with Frankie Dettori is a PR blockbuster. I have no doubt that the majority of the people (myself included) watching the Gold Cup later today will be hoping they win. However, what we want and what happens as racing fans are often completely different things. Of course with Stradivarius, like any champion, there are many positives. He has dominated the staying division with the last three years. He is 6lb clear on official figures and arguably his most devastating performance came in this very race last year. He is fairly adaptable in relation to ground conditions too so any overnight rain won't cause him any problem. You could be forgiven for thinking that is the end of the segment. However, there are a couple of reasons to think he may be vulnerable, in particular to a younger, improving rival. T

 From the outset this week, I thought today was the toughest card in terms of finding value. My natural tendency is to look for races where I believe those at the head of the market are vulnerable. The highlights on Day 2 of Royal Ascot feature a number of races where this may not be the case. Starting with the return of Love in the Prince of Wales's Stakes. Based on what he saw from her last season, she is certainly not one I want to be taking on and when you throw Lord North (*now a non-runner) into the mix, it is a huge ask to find something to get them both beat. Armory might just do that but I expected him to be a slightly bigger price than what is currently available so I will take a watching brief. That is not to say I am not looking forward to this though as I simply can't wait to see last season's superstar filly in action once again. One is left with the feeling that we never got to see how good she might be last season, albeit she comfortably beat anything put in

 Just like that, Royal Ascot 2021 is upon us. A little over a week ago we were dissecting the Derby and Oaks and now the flat juggernaut rolls on to the biggest week of the year. What a week it promises to be and there is certainly no better venue to have greater crowds in attendance than this one. The week has so much potential from a storywriter's point of view but undoubtedly the plot of the week is Stradivarius' attempt at history. I (barely) remember Yeats' historic achievement and my heart will be firmly in the camp of the potential history maker on Thursday afternoon. These stories bring the sport into the spotlight and can only be a positive in attracting a wider audience.  Getting back to the action at hand on Tuesday and it is a card stacked in quality. One of the real standout points for me on Tuesday is the number of runners in the Group 1 races, certainly not in keeping with recent trends, where the Queen Anne has the smallest field of the day, albeit still rea

 We saw a performance of the highest quality from Snowfall in the Oaks yesterday. People are knocking the form and all sorts but the facts are that she won a classic by 16 lengths in a good time with eye-catching closing sectionals.  It is hard to argue with either of those aspects and say what you like about those in behind but her superiority was there for all to see. Of course they may not be world-beaters but if they were, Snowfall would have to be from a different universe. The camera shots of her lengthening away will live long in the memory and she has marked herself down as a top quality middle-distance filly for the Classic generation. Pyledriver was a popular winner of the Coronation Cup despite looked rather uncomfortable on the track. George Boughey continued his sensational stable form winning the Woodcote in fine style with Oscula. Moving on to Derby Day and there is a quality supporting card first and foremost. I was very keen on  Statement at around 7/2 and was an init