Tag: Horse Racing

Doncaster Wednesday Preview

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Lingfield’s all-weather surface provided the best of the entertainment at the weekend after Sandown and Wincanton were lost to the weather. We kicked off with an 11-4 winner but then suffered a bout of seconditis with our remaining three selections all finding one too good.

The weather situation has eased slightly and we should be in for some decent national hunt racing at Warwick and Kempton this coming Saturday. The Warwick Chase sometimes throws up a decent Grand National prospect whilst Kempton’s Lanzarote Hurdle looks wide open. I have not seen any confirmed running plans so I’m going to wait until nearer the day before risking any cash.

Doncaster’s Wednesday card is not the greatest in the world but at least it helps to get the show back on the road. Trainer Nicky Henderson had an up-and-down Christmas with the victory of Bobs Worth and the worry of Sprinter Sacre’s heart problems. He has a runner in each of the opening three races at Town Moor tomorrow and all have chances.

Nordic Quest runs in the opener after an encouraging debut at Huntingdon when third to Wadswick Court. Namibian, a Group 3 winner on the flat when trained by Mark Johnston, was a disappointing eighth in that race after being eased to a walk. Nordic Quest was rated some 30lbs inferior to Namibian on the level but a few flights of hurdles can make a surprising amount of difference.

Nesterenko carries the Henderson hopes in the second race and bids to follow up an impressive 9-length victory here last month. Mr Mitchell takes off 7lbs and this looks a competitive race but he’s worth a chance at the odds on offer.

Act Alone is the third of the Lambourn raiding party as he bids to get off the mark in the novice hurdle. He was beaten at odds-on by Lemon Ground in a photo finish at Fontwell but a repeat of that effort might be good enough.

Over at Lingfield, it is worth taking note of Miguel Grau in the handicap at 2.00. He is Roger Varian’s only runner on the card and won despite running a little too freely last time out. The four-year-old is still lightly raced and could be up to defying a penalty.

Nordic Quest 12.10 Doncaster

Nesterenko 12.40 Doncaster 5-2 William Hill

Act Alone 1.10 Doncaster

Miguel Grau 2.00 Lingfield 9-4 Coral

Lingfield Saturday Preview

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The winter storms have been battering Britain over the New Year and Sandown’s Saturday card has been abandoned. Wincanton may suffer a similar fate and is subject to a 7am inspection leaving jumps action at Newcastle and all-weather turf racing from Lingfield.

I tend to lose track of the all-weather racing once the National Hunt season gets in to full swing but the quality of racing has definitely improved in recent seasons. Newmarket Trainer John Gosden is happy to support the all-weather through the winter months and has an impressive strike rate in recent weeks.

Gosden also shows a healthy profit to level stakes on the all-weather at the Sussex track and sends two maidens there tomorrow. Joyful Friend finished in midfield behind her stable companion Betimes here a couple of weeks ago and can improve on that effort. She is a daughter of Dubawi and was clearly unfancied on her debut, going off at 20-1 with the winner returned at 3-1.

Anglo Irish is a three-year-old colt by Dansili who showed plenty of promise on his debut at Kempton. He was staying on strongly in third after being briefly outpaced with two furlongs to run in the race won by Billy Blue. He shaped as though the extra quarter of a mile here will bring about significant improvement and his chance is obvious.

Rivellino was slightly disappointing on the turf last summer. He ran some encouraging races, notably when unlucky at Doncaster and York in highly competitive three-year-old sprints. His best run probably came at Town Moor where he was twice hampered before finishing a close fourth behind Moviesta. That horse went to win in Group company and could be competing for top sprinting honours again next turf season so it was a fair effort to get within a couple of lengths or so.

The son of Invincible Spirit got back on the winning trail under the lights at Wolverhampton recently, breaking well and taking up the running over a furlong out to win comfortably. He is up 7lbs for that victory but the opposition here does not look exceptional and he can go in again for Karl Burke’s stable.

The most valuable race on the card is the Coral.co.uk Handicap over a mile and a half and it may be worth siding with Modernstone despite being closely weighted with Grendisar. Modernstone got the verdict last time here after both horses came from behind but he still has room for improvement. A 13 stall is not ideal but he will be dropped in behind so it should not make that much difference.

Joyful Friend 12.20

Anglo Irish 12.50

Modernstone 2.35 @6-1 BetVictor, Paddy Power

Rivellino 3.10 @4-1 Paddy Power

Cheltenham Wednesday Preview

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Cheltenham’s New Year’s Day card is always a good way to clear away any hangovers and there are several Cheltenham hopefuls in action on Wednesday.

The jury is out as to whether or not Oscar Whisky will be as good a chaser as he was a hurdler but he took advantage of a weight concession from Wonderful Charm here last time. He was forced to make his own running for the second consecutive race having done so against Taquin Du Seuil previously.

He lost out on that occasion but it was a highly unsatisfactory race and Barry Geraghty faces a similar dilemma here. It must be frustrating for the race planners to have a card like this attract only seven runners in total for the two feature races. There are only three involved in the two and a half mile hurdle which is also a rematch, this time between Annie Power and Zarkandar.

I am a great fan of Zarkandar and I thought he ran close to his best against The New One considering he was knocked sideways up the straight. He does seem to have lost a bit of toe and it may be that the World Hurdle is the right race for him at the festival in March. He was comprehensively outpaced by Annie Power at Ascot so has a bit to do on the form book.

A better proposition may be Double Ross who cruised into the lead in the December Gold Cup before needing to be bustled along after the last. He is usually up with the pace but found them going a little too quick that day. He likes softer ground and this smaller field may suit him so a 7lb penalty does not seem harsh.

Another horse with proven course form is Return Spring who produced a late thrust to cut down the Paul Nicholls pair Salubrious and Southfield Theatre in November. Neither of those has won since but they have acquitted themselves well and Return Spring was second to Sunnyhillboy on his return visit.

He is up another 4lbs for that run but he is one of the few who will definitely be staying on at the end of the three miles here. The one I fear most is Whispering Gallery who trotted up at Wetherby in a novice hurdle in February on a tight rein and is difficult to assess. He has high class form on the flat and Barry Geraghty could be a significant booking.

Double Ross at 2-1 BetVictor, William Hill

Return Spring at 100-30 Paddy Power, William Hill

Musselburgh Wednesday Preview

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Channel 4 cameras will be in Scotland on New Year’s Day to cover two races on the Musselburgh card. The pick of the action is undoubtedly the Hogmaneigh Hurdle and there are more than one reason for believing that New Year’s Eve will be a very appropriate winner!

John Ferguson trains the five-year-old son of Motivator who was a very smart bumper horse. After easy victories in low grade events at Ludlow and Market Rasen, he was taken to Cheltenham to contest the Champion Bumper.

Sent off the well-backed 9-2 favourite, he found only Champagne Fever too good in the closing stages and went down by a length and a quarter. A win over hurdles seemed to be a formality for the following season but he came up against some smart opponents in River Mague and Ptit Zig before breaking a blood vessel in February.

He was brought back in August and seemed to struggle to get home when beaten at Stratford and Huntington. He then broke his duck over hurdles when cantering to a comfortable success in a match race at Worcester.

The biggest concern for Denis O’Regan was pulling him up after the winning post as he seemed intent on going round again! Admittedly it can be unwise to take such form into a competitive handicap like this but if he has retained his ability he must be well weighted here.

The dangers include Newbury winner Ifandbutwhynot who made all before clearing away from Chatterbox and Chris Pea Green. Neither of those did much for the form at Ascot in the Ladbroke Hurdle but that was a strong heat so the winner has to be competitive here.

Brian Ellison’s Ultimate is another interesting contender having won on the flat and over fences. He clearly has plenty of speed as he won at Catterick over a mile and a half in October so this drop back to hurdles should not be a negative.

Zaplamation is on a hat-trick after winning twice at Wetherby, showing battling qualities on both occasions. My only concern with New Year’s Eve is the fact that he has broken blood vessels in the past and he may not find that much for pressure. Zaplamation will be among those looking to take advantage if the likely favourite drops away tamely.

Hidden Justice and Local Hero will find winning opportunities this season but this looks a tough assignment at the weights.

New Year’s Eve at 6-1 William Hill

Coral Welsh National Preview

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My two ante-post wagers on the Welsh National are looking good. Merry King (advised at 14-1) and Well Refreshed (advised at 12-1) are both now in single figures and have sneaked in with a feather weight. Tidal Bay’s presence has compressed the weights leaving almost half of the field out of the handicap

Paul Nicholls, fresh from his King George triumph with Silviniaco Conti, has decided to let Tidal Bay take his chance at Chepstow under the welter burden of 11st 12lb. The last horse to successfully carry that weight was Carvill’s Hill back in 1991.

Tidal Bay won the Lexus Chase a year ago but niggling injuries prevented him from running at Cheltenham or Aintree. He won on his return to action over hurdles at Wetherby and was subsequently well beaten in the Betfair Chase.

The closest to him in the handicap is Teaforthree, runner-up in this race 12 months ago and third in the Grand National. He is set to receive just over a stone from the top weight including the 5lb claim of jockey Patrick Corbett.

Trainer Rebecca Curtis has not been able to get a prep run into him this year but has him as fit as he can be first time out and is hoping for a good run. Two horses that have major claims on form are Well Refreshed and Merry King.

Both horses have been laid out for this race and have sneaked in with just a little over 10 stone. Well Refreshed loves the mud as he illustrated when winning the Haydock National Trial last season. He showed his well-being with a fine third at Sandown recently despite a couple of jumping errors.

Merry King was fifth in the Hennessy Gold Cup but is another that seems certain to be suited by this stamina test. He represents Trainer Jonjo O’Neill who has won this race with Mini Sensation and Synchronised.

Jim Dreaper won the race with Notre Pere in 2008 and relies on six-year-old Goonyella this year. Travel plans had to be changed due to the winter storms and did not arrive until midnight on Boxing Day. That hardly seems like the ideal build-up to such an exhausting test for a young horse.

Hennessy fourth Highland Lodge is also among the leading fancies in a 20-strong line-up for the race due off at 2.35 and screened live on Channel 4.

Well Refreshed 12-1

Merry King 14-1

Kempton Thursday Preview

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The Boxing Day racing centres around the King George meeting at Kempton. The card also features an intriguing clash between leading Champion Hurdle hopes My Tent Or Yours and The New One. Both horses are better held up, particularly the latter who has displayed a tendency to pull up in front on a couple of occasions.

With a small field, this could become a game of cat-and-mouse with both horses being asked to quicken up between the last two flights. A couple of seasons ago Rock On Ruby lost out in an almost identical duel against Binocular but reversed the placings at Cheltenham. It is probably best to sit this one out as it is really the toss of a coin, as the betting suggests.

Punters could get off to a good start with Dubai Prince in the opener at 12.50. This horse was a Group 3 winner on the flat for Godolphin when taking York’s Strensall Stakes from Side Glance. The runner-up went on to lift a big prize in Australia and he looked to have carried that class over to the jumps when bolting up at Leicester.

Admittedly the opposition did not amount to much and they crawled early on, but he jumped better the faster they went and did not need to be asked a question. He is more likely to start close to even money than the 15-8 on offer early.

My second selection is Urbain De Sivola for Paul Nicholls and Daryl Jacob. He is running in a handicap chase following a fine seasonal debut in a competitive hurdle at Sandown. He was second to Deep Trouble who almost unseated his rider at the last.

Usually I would be hesitant about backing hurdles form over fences but this is a French-bred and they seem to be able to jump a fence from the age of three! It seems safe to assume that he has been well schooled and could be on a winning mark.

It looks like a poor turnout for the Feltham Novices’ Chase (now named after Kauto Star). Nicholls and Jacob could strike again with Just A Par but he is likely to be odds-on and was not entirely convincing when winning at Newbury. He needed a reminder or two on the first circuit and his rivals contributed to their own downfall with some erratic jumping.

Dubai Prince at 15-8 Coral

Urbain De Sivola at 7-2 William Hill