Category: Horse Racing Tips

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Ascot Friday Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

A handy treble at Doncaster and Yarmouth on Thursday has kept us nicely in profit for the big Ascot meeting this weekend.

Hopefully Ascot are putting plenty of water on the course to prevent a glut of non-runners and it looks set for two excellent day’s sport. The opening race on Friday looks like an ideal opportunity for Mick Channon’s Malabar to get off the mark.

The filly was a little unlucky when second on her debut and Channon decided to let her take her chance in the Group 3 Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot. She was settled towards the rear and gradually weaved her way through the pack before flashing home in fourth place.

Fourth in any race at the Royal meeting is usually good enough to win a maiden and it will be disappointing if she cannot take the opener. Her main market rival will be Richard Hannon’s Crystal Malt but she has had three attempts to get off the mark and may have to wait a little longer.

The Brown Jack Stakes is one of my favourite staying events on the calendar and Mark Johnston runs two last-time-out winners in Sir Frank Morgan and Maid In Rio. Both won with plenty in hand last time and look well in at the weights but Maid In Rio’s Haydock win just reads better than the Catterick success of her stable companion.

She looks to have relished stepping up in distance and Silvestre De Sousa should feel confident about kicking for home early in the straight. With Elidor being a free-running sort, he is not certain to get the trip and Sir Frank Morgan is feared most.

For the treble we shall put our faith in the luckless Euro Charline who has met trouble in two of her last three races. She ran a blinder to finish third to Rizeena in the Coronation Stakes at the Royal meeting last time after finishing fifth in the 1000 Guineas. That form puts her well ahead of some disappointing rivals, several of which have lost their way completely.

Kiyoshi has shown no sparkle at all this season while Gifted Girl does not seem to be the same filly that ran second to Dank in the Beverly D Stakes last season. Woodland Aria is another who has failed to show her best form in recent starts and this looks set up for the Botti filly.

Malabar 2.10 Ascot

Maid In Rio 3.20 Ascot @5-2 Paddy Power

Euro Charline 3.55 Ascot @6-4 William Hill

Doncaster Thursday Preview

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All of the leading competitors have so far stood their ground for the King George on Saturday. If the weather down south is anything like it is up here in Scotland it will be very quick ground for the weekend.

There is a decent card at Doncaster on Thursday and there are a couple of horses that interest me. The first is Richard Hannon’s Basateen in the maiden race at 6.15.

The Teofilo colt ran an encouraging first race to finish third at Newmarket on soft ground. He was not too cleanly away under Paul Hanagan and ended up having to weave his way into contention behind stablemate Lexington Times.

Both colts are highly regarded by the trainer and have some ambitious entries. Basateen has been given an entry in the 2015 Epsom Derby so you’d have to think he was capable of winning this modest maiden. The going will not have helped him on his debut and he should provide Sheikh Hamdan with another winner in a big week for the famous blue and white colours.

The same colours could make a quick return to the winner’s enclosure at 7.55 courtesy of hat-trick seeking Etaab. William Haggas has taken this filly out of a couple of valuable races because of the soft ground but that should not be a problem on Thursday. Dorraar is 7lbs better off with Etaab for just over two lengths on earlier form but the winner has improved again since.

Leaderene looks nicely weighted to follow up her eight-length Lingfield victory in the 3.15 at Yarmouth. She only has a 6lbs penalty and Joe Fanning should be able to kick for home some way from the finish on the bottom weight. The danger is probably the course specialist The Ducking Stool who must concede over a stone to Mark Johnston’s runner.

The best race of the day is the Silver Flash Stakes at Leopardstown. The Aga Khan’s Raydara looked very impressive last time out but so too did Marsali. With three O’Brien runners also in the field, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the winner going for the top two-year-old prizes later in the season. Raydara’s debut run when second to Words looks like proving to have been a very smart maiden and victory here would complement the winner enormously.

Leaderene 3.15 Yarmouth at 8-11 Bet365

Basateen 6.15 Doncaster

Etaab 7.55 Doncaster at 11-10 Bet365

King George 2014 Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

A busy sporting weekend had its ups and downs for Betcirca followers. Tiggy Wiggy’s brilliant win at Newbury covered our expenses on the horses while Jim Furyk gave us a handsome each-way return at odds of 70-1 in the British Open.

The racing is poor this week before the big Ascot card on Saturday featuring the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. I take it that it is no longer sponsored by the Oppenheimer family as the “Diamond” seems to have been removed.

The favourite is Sir Michael Stoute’s Telescope after slaughtering his rivals at Royal Ascot by seven lengths. There is a real sense of deja-vu about this horse as he is trying to repeat Harbinger’s victory in 2010 in the same colours. No sooner had Highclere believed that they had the best horse in the world than he was injured and packaged off to stud. There have been some strange King George’s in recent years and that was certainly one of them with Derby and Arc winner Workforce running a total stinker.

Telescope has been built up and knocked down a couple of times already in his short career. He was always struggling to make the Derby line-up last year and Stoute eventually gave up the ghost and then defended his charge after a shock defeat at Haydock. You would have thought that a nine length defeat at the hands of Noble Mission would have put paid to the “wonder horse” treatment but we are back here again after Ascot.

We will never know what John Gosden thought of Sheikh Hamdan’s decision to pull Taghrooda out of the Irish Oaks on Sunday but I’m guessing that he was not best pleased. JG now has three runners here if the supplemented Eagle Top and Derby third Romsdal take their places. All of the evidence suggests that Taghrooda would have won at the Curragh and she has a big chance here. Eagle Top needs to come out and prove that it was no fluke at Ascot while Romsdal looked more of a Leger horse at Epsom.

A more likely threat to the favourite is Mukhadram after his well-deserved Eclipse victory. This will be his first start over a mile and a half but he has every chance of getting it. He settled well at Sandown and there could well be pacemakers in here which will give him a good lead. You would just worry about the last furlong or so. The bookies aren’t giving much away with the front two so it may be worth going each-way Mukhadram at 12-1.

Mukhadram @12-1 BetVictor

Each-way ¼ odds, 1,2,3

Irish Oaks 2014 Preview

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The whole complexion of the race has changed in the Irish Oaks after the late defection of odds-on favourite Taghrooda. Trainer John Gosden will now aim the Epsom winner at the King George & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot.

Punters who backed the filly down to 1-2 favourite will feel aggrieved but the decision is that of owner Sheikh Hamdan rather than Gosden’s. He also owns second favourite Tarfasha who has assumed favouritism for Dermot Weld.

There was some question as to whether or not Tarfasha would stay the mile and a half at Epsom and I am not completely convinced after her second place effort. She looked as though she would run into a clear second but was all out to get the verdict over Volume in the final stages. To my mind, Luca Cumani’s filly looks the form horse.

She was kicked on very early by Richard Hughes and all seemed to be going well until she became unbalanced in the home straight. Hughes had voiced his concerns after riding the filly to victory at Newbury and Cumani arranged a special trial run for Volume prior to the Oaks. The much flatter track at the Curragh should suit the filly much better and she looks a solid bet to be in the frame.

Aidan O’Brien provides two of the likeliest dangers in Bracelet and Marvellous, although I am worried by the former. Bracelet wore a hood for the first time at Royal Ascot and held off the late flourish of Lustrous. She had run poorly in the 1000 Guineas and clearly appreciated the mile and a half.

Marvellous looks like a soft ground filly after grinding out an unlikely victory in the Irish 1000 Guineas. Ryan Moore was at her a long way out that day and it was a surprise to me that she started favourite at Epsom. She finished a never dangerous sixth and the going has gone against her this weekend.

It is difficult to see anything else getting into this and I am hoping that Kevin Manning elects to kick on early on Volume. She does not seem to possess much in the way of acceleration but seems to lack nothing in terms of stamina.

Volume 5.45 The Curragh @11-2 Bet365

Newbury Saturday Preview

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Racing fans get an unexpected bonus at Newbury on Saturday with the return to action of last year’s Eclipse winner Al Kazeem. Roger Charlton’s multiple Group 1 winner proved infertile at stud and he is back in Listed class here as a preparation for better things.

Charlton is never one to blow his own trumpet but you can be sure that he is happy with the horse to allow him to take his chance. I remember a horse called Radetzky returning to action at Royal Ascot for similar reasons and he bolted up at 25-1. There will be no such odds available about Al Kazeem and he ought to win this with the minimum of fuss.

Token Of Love should continue the terrific run of the William Haggas stable when she lines up in a very competitive fillies handicap at 2.05. She has always been well regarded at home but has taken her time to put it together on the track. She is up 6lbs for her latest win at Newmarket but she was very impressive that day and may just be one of those horses that keep improving.

There are plenty of dangers, notably Provenance of Sir Michael Stoute’s who was a disappointing favourite at Sandown last time out. She is fitted with the hood here and will be a huge threat if able to reproduce her debut effort at Kempton. Feedyah ran well at Royal Ascot but has top weight while Enraptured is yet to race this season for John Gosden.

The Weatherbys Super Sprint has been farmed by Richard Hannon Senior down the years with seven winners and Junior will be hoping to keep the tradition going tomorrow. He saddles several runners but it is hard to ignore top weight Tiggy Wiggy after her game effort at Ascot. She was narrowly beaten in the Queen Mary and it looked a high class renewal. There are plenty of dangers and it may be worth having a little each-way on Pillar Box after her easy Bath win.

Richard Fahey won this last year and saddles five in an attempt to follow up. Realtra looks the obvious one with bottom weight after finishing second in a Listed race in Ireland. She must have every chance of making the weight tell against Tiggy Wiggy and is feared most.

Token Of Love 2.05 Newbury at 4-1 Bet365

Al Kazeem 2.40 Newbury at 9-4 Ladbrokes

Tiggy Wiggy 3.50 Newbury at 5-1 BetVictor

Pillar Box 3.50 Newbury (each-way) at 14-1 Paddy Power

Leicester Thursday Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Two out of three at Lingfield on Wednesday kept us ticking over nicely. Sometimes it is nice to thumb through the form book at these smaller midweek meetings and back something at short odds. I am not a great fan of odds-on betting but there are a couple of favourites at Leicester on Thursday that are crying out for a win double.

Last year, Sir Michael Stoute used the conditions race on this card to re-launch the career of Telescope. It was only an egg and spoon race but Ryan Moore rode him out to a 24-length victory. It was quite refreshing to see a horse unleashed like that rather than being tip-toed over the line with the jockey risking a neck injury in search of non-existent dangers.

Tomorrow it is the turn of Arod to see if he is in that sort of class following his fine fourth place in the Epsom Derby. He won a Windsor maiden by five lengths before finishing second in the Dante at York. That race was won by subsequent French Derby winner The Grey Gatsby, although I stand by my claim that it is no longer a “Derby” as it is run over a mile and a quarter.

Arod ran well at Epsom without ever threatening to win and now reverts to a mile and a quarter. Trainer Peter Chapple-Hyam insists that the colt really wants fast ground and he should get that on Thursday. With only two rivals, the danger has to be some kind of silly crawl but Spencer should be able to steer him home in front.

The double can be rounded off nicely by Perfect Persuasion in the fillies’ handicap half an hour later. As my regular followers will know, William Haggas is in terrific form and this filly ought to have added another victory last time out. Ryan Moore was guilty of giving her too much to do at Kempton and she ran on bravely from an impossible position to finish third. I don’t like to criticise Moore too often because he is about the best around at the moment and he can make amends tomorrow.

The main threat may come from Roger Varian’s Laftah who won well enough last time. She races in a hood but seems genuine enough but Perfect Persuasion should have her measure.

Arod 3.25 Leicester @4-11 Paddy Power

Perfect Persuasion 3.55 Leicester @8-11 Paddy Power