Racing Nerd

There are many stars from previous seasons returning to our screens today with Cyrname, Delta Work, Samcro, Lisnagar Oscar amongst the many horses making their reappearances today. Perhaps even more interesting will be the prospect of seeing future stars, in particular the Cheveley Park trio at Down Royal of Quilixios, Ballyadam and Sir Gerhard. However, certainly in the case of the latter group, they will not be a betting proposition today.  Instead, I feel one of the stars of last season, Delta Work, could be worth taking on in what his his seasonal reappearance. He has quite a poor record first time out and there is a long season ahead for him. In contrast, Chris's Dream , for the bang in-form Henry De Bromhead stable goes very well fresh and the best of his form would put him bang there. He ran well for a long way in the Gold Cup last year, despite being a little keen but his return in the Troytown last year was very impressive and he looked a Grade 1 performer on that occasion...

We enjoyed a quality card today at the home of jumps racing for the first time in over six months, meaning the jumps season is well and truly underway. As I highlighted in my blog after the Festival, we will see Festival winners at every Cheltenham meeting over the next few months. Galvin was very impressive in the Novice Chase and he seems a solid candidate for the National Hunt Chase now, although not a betting proposition (at the moment anyway) at his price now. I am not sure if he would like a slog over 3 miles and 6 furlongs on soft ground but that is for another day. Similarly, Rouge Vif showed his true colours and proved himself the proverbial graded horse in a handicap. He looks a proper Grade 1 horse if he gets good ground.  Tomorrow's action is probably more competitive and possibly slightly below the standard we saw from those performances but promises to be highly entertaining and informative nonetheless. I have had a pretty quiet month (April and October I class as tra...

Today is almost a bit like Stephens Day as you are not sure quite where to look or focus on for a bet. I found my shortlist was bulging with potential horses and while there is no guarantee that any of them will win, I always fear leaving one out that does the business. However, as always, sticking to the plan is important and eventually I was able to find a reason (or two) to eliminate most of those. One race that I didn't have a strong opinion on was the Dewhurst at Newmarket, but it is probably the race I am most looking forward to watching. I have been thoroughly impressed with Chindit so far, but I'm not sure soft ground will play to his strengths as he seems to have a devastating turn of foot. Those who follow stable comments will have noticed the confidence about his recent work this week but he looks to me like a horse that would work especially well. Joseph O Brien bids for a unique double and Thunder Moon was as impressive in the National Stakes last time. The race is...

There is some brilliant racing on both fronts tomorrow at a time of year when it's hard to decide which to focus on. The card at Chepstow tomorrow should be informative for the rest of the season but nothing stands out as a betting proposition. Instead, I have found one at Newmarket that I think is hugely overpriced and in my opinion should be close to the head of the market.  In the Old Rowley Cup Handicap at 4.10, a double figure price about Louganini is an insult to both the horses ability and his last couple of runs. On his last start at Sandown, he was a slightly unlucky loser having had little or no room in the closing stages. That effort can be marked up as the race was not run to suit and it was on quick ground which would not have helped Roger Charlton's gelding. The form has been franked since too with the second winning next time at Goodwood. However, it was his previous effort at Haydock on soft ground that gives me the most confidence that the horse is well over-p...

As regular readers probably know by now, jumps racing is my first love and tomorrow's date is a real sign that the jumps season is upon us. While I must admit to enjoying the flat season immensely (possibly enhanced by the lack of racing in April and May), I cannot wait to catch a glimpse of Chacun Pour Soi, Shishkin, Envoi Allen, Monkfish et. al.  While there is none of the above appearing tomorrow at Warwick, there is a horse that ran in one of the hottest Novice races of last year at Cheltenham, albeit Trials Day rather than the March showpiece. Court Master ran quite a good race behind two subsequent Festival Winners in Simply The Betts and Imperial Aura on that occasion and was right there in contention before fading late on. On The Slopes who was well beaten in third that day won on his next outing so the race has been working out extremely well. He was beaten a long way in the end but this race represents a major drop in class. He has gone well fresh in the past, in fact his...

There is something for everyone today with a brilliant renewal of the Cambridgeshire handicap as well as two Group 1 races for the two-year olds for those looking to see future stars. On the jumps front, there is some decent fare at Market Rasen and Goshen makes his return to the track, albeit on the Flat. It certainky whets the appetite for the months ahead. From a betting oint of view, I must admit to finding the Cambridgeshire ridiculously difficult, changing my mind a number of times. I feel the profile of a potential Group horse is the right one, but there may be a few in here and they are well found in the market at this stage. Tempus or Sinjaari could both fit that profile, while Derevo has looked a winner in waiting on a couple of occasions this season. Of those at bigger prices, Good Birthday is well handicapped on his third in the race last year (off an 8lb higher mark) and Anythingtoday is a great eachway bet with conditions to suit, although the silly prices around yesterda...

When it comes to big-field sprint handicaps, there are many imponderables to consider. Obviously, if a track bias becomes apparent then that is out of your control when analysing a race the night before but the hope is that Ayr continues to give a fair playing field on that front. I struggled to have a strong opinion on where the pace will be although I was slightly leaning towards middle-low. Anyway, it wasn't enough to eliminate some runners so I went through the majority of the field in good detail.  David Barron knows a thing or two about training sprinters and it might be worth giving Kynren a chance to prove he can be as good (or better) over 6 furlongs as he is over 7 furlongs and a mile. In fact, while he has good form over a mile, I believe his best form is over 7 furlongs which gives hope that he will be fine over this shorter trip. His form figures over 7 furlongs read 31210 and the most recent effort was in a very hot Listed race at Haydock in June won by Space Blues. ...