Tag: John Gosden

Goodwood Thursday Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

I’m always a bit worried when I tip the same horse as the Tipsy Tipster. Not that I question his judgement of course! It just feels like the poor horse is carrying a 10lb penalty!

That was certainly the case for Excess Knowledge in the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood on Wednesday. Having looked as though he needed every yard when staying on into third at Sandown last time I was sure he would be sitting third or fourth but Master Buick decided otherwise and held him up at the back.

As we saw at Sandown, he doesn’t do anything very quickly so being messed about when trying to get a run was far from ideal. The Channel 4 commentary team was quite kind to Buick but basically he rode a poor race and should definitely have won. Whether or not it was St Leger form I’m not sure but there will be another day for Excess Knowledge.

My winnings from Yeager are slowly but surely making their way back to the beloved bookies thanks to Goodwood so let’s hope for better luck on Cup day. At first glance it looks a bit of a weak renewal with neither Estimate or Simenon in attendance. John Oxx has expressed the view that it is a better race than last year when Saddler’s Rock won and he is most concerned by Brown Panther and Mount Athos.

Of the two I much prefer Brown Panther who has never quite fulfilled his potential. Perhaps this step up in trip will be the making of him and he’s a fair price at around 8-1. I’m also going to support the German raider Altano who was sat out of his ground at Ascot and got going all too late in fifth. I’m hoping that the penny will have dropped for jockey Mr Pedroza and he will be closer to the pace this time (famous last words!).

There are some promising types in the opener but none more so than Code Of Honor. There was a lot to like about his Sandown victory and he looks the sort of horse that could wind up in the Cambridgeshire.

Ben Hall must be better than he showed at Ascot as he was well supported that day. The form wasn’t exactly franked earlier in the week and I should probably do Gosden and Buick a favour and leave them alone! Unfortunately the fact that he’s about 10-1 and the form horse Figure Of Speech is 6-4 leaves me no choice but to support Ben Hall each-way.

My last bet of the day is on Muharrib in the 4.50. I felt confident that he was coming to win his race at Newmarket before hanging right to the rail and finishing second to Law Enforcement. These three-year-old handicaps take some figuring out but I think he’s still got improvement in him and will be disappointed if he doesn’t make the frame at least.

Code Of Honor 4-1 Coral
Ben Hall 10-1 Totesport
Brown Panther 8-1 Skybet
Altano 13-2 William Hill
Muharrib 8-1 Coral

Goodwood Wednesday Preview

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The weather put paid to my Goodwood selections on day 1. As soon as I tuned in to see the mist and rain I knew my fate! Fortunately Aljamaaheer was withdrawn in the hope of finding faster ground elsewhere.

I was hoping that Sir Graham Wade might also be taken out but he took his chance. I must admit that I find jockeys a law unto themselves at times. First time blinkers on and Franny Norton chased him out of the stalls as if it was a five furlong dash! Not surprisingly he took off and Norton spent the next mile trying to pull him back. Then, when the grey was well and truly shattered, he started giving him reminders! I can only imagine that the horse what the horse may have been thinking “Go, Stop, Go, Will you make up your ******* mind!”

Anyway, clearly we have to take the softened ground into consideration if we are to survive five days so here is a look at day 2. The feature race is being rather foolishly termed as the duel on the Downs. Sound familiar? Yes, Frankel versus Canford Cliffs (a bit one-sided as far as duels go). I cannot see it as a two horse race with Declaration Of War in the field.

Followers of this column will know that he swept past my two ante-post bets in the Queen Anne to deny me a 33-1 win payout on the afore-mentioned Aljamaaheer. I’d also suggested that Gregorian was overpriced at 50-1 and he ran a stormer in third. I think he may be overpriced again here at 33-1 but it is hard to see him reversing form with O’Brien’s colt.

Declaration Of War has since run a fine second behind Al Kazeem in the Eclipse with Mars in behind. That was over a mile and a quarter but this is his best trip and there is no evidence that the three-year-old mile division is any better than the middle-distance horses. I think 11-2 is generous, especially given the softer ground, so I shall take him with a saver on Gregorian.

Whatever the fate of Gregorian, Gosden should still be among the winners. Excess Knowledge has an excellent chance in the Gordon Stakes. He took on older horses at Sandown on his belated first appearance as a three-year-old and stayed on well behind Mandour. They don’t look a great bunch lined up against him and 9-4 seems fair.

Much Promise lived up to her name on her debut when chasing home Sir Michael Stoute’s Along Again without being hard ridden. The winner ran well at Ascot on Saturday so the form may be better than first appeared.

JG can finish off a good day with the well handicapped Close At Hand in the 5.25. The daughter of Exceed And Excel won a poor maiden at Windsor easily enough but could have got in here with a lenient handicap mark.

Excess Knowledge (NAP) 9-4 Coral
Declaration Of War 11-2 Stan James
Gregorian (each-way) 33-1 Bet Victor
Much Promise
Close At Hand 8-1 Paddy Power

Newmarket July Meeting Thursday 11th July

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After Royal Ascot, the Newmarket July course offers a far more relaxed day at the races. There is almost a carnival atmosphere for the three-day meeting but there is still plenty of top class racing to enjoy.

Several horses that narrowly missed out on Ascot glory turn out on day one. The opening Bahrain Trophy has been won for the past two seasons by John Gosden and he is represented by Feel Like Dancing, second in the Queen’s Vase. He looked like winning before Leading Light pulled out extra in the closing stages.

Dare To Achieve has been chalked up as favourite after winning an egg and spoon race at Pontefract so I’m tempted to take the 100-30 about Feel Like Dancing. He should hold Boite and Ray Ward on Ascot running and will almost certainly be held up for a little longer here.

Aidan O’Brien’s Sir John Hawkins will surely go off a warm favourite for the Coventry Stakes after finishing third to stable companion War Command. Even I (a confirmed sceptic about quotes for the classics on two-year-old races) was tempted to dip into the ante-post market for some 10-1 War Command after that so I’m hoping SJH will complement the form.

The Princess of Wales’s Stakes has got me scratching my head to find inspiration. Only seven runners but plenty of pros and cons. I had nearly convinced myself that old Wigmore Hall could have too much pace for these but I’ve since read that his trainer doubts he will be fit enough! Grandeur would be interesting with a race under his belt too whilst Danadana has a new partner in Ryan Moore.

Danadana won at Chester after trailing the field early on and then turned in a poor effort at Sandown. His style of racing should suit Ryan Moore so I’ll risk him at 9-2.

The race of the day is the handicap at 3.15. Plenty will regard Matrooh as a good thing after finishing third to Remote and Baltic Knight but he is stepping up in trip. I cannot leave out my old friend Space Ship who ran a stormer at Ascot to finish second. He’s on virtually the same mark as at Epsom previously and he could win this.

I also have a feeling that Goodwood Mirage is a lot better than he has so far revealed. Dettori hasn’t really got after him in his races yet and this could be the acid test. I’ll take Goodwood Mirage and Space Ship against the field.

Montiridge has to be the selection in the 4.25. This race had a lot of quality entries but has cut up badly and anything close to evens will do me for a horse that got within a head of winning the Jersey Stakes.

Feel Like Dancing 100-30 Skybet
Sir John Hawkins 9-4 Coral
Danadana 9-2 Skybet
Space Ship 9-1 Stan James
Goodwood Mirage 10-1 Ladbrokes
Montiridge 5-6 Skybet

Horse Racing Preview Saturday 15th June

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The last Saturday before Royal Ascot always seems to serve up some tricky handicaps to tempt punters into having a dabble before the serious betting starts on Tuesday. This year is no exception with York’s Charity Sprint Trophy a case in point. Can you believe it is possible to back any horse in the field at 10-1 or better?

In my preview article I picked out Moviesta, Vincentti and Lewisham as my three against the field. If you haven’t already placed a bet, you can get 10-1, 14-1 and 16-1 respectively. My advice would be to back anything you fancy now as York has a strong betting market and the favourite will probably be nearer 5-1 by the time the SP’s are returned.

In the 2.40 Westwiththenight is likely to go off favourite after finishing second to Gifted Girl at Ascot. Subsequent events reveal that she would have had to have been up to group class to beat that filly so it was no wonder she was left trailing by five lengths. Gifted Girl finished a fine second at Epsom and looks like a filly to follow.

The handicapper hasn’t done Westwiththenight any favours with 9st 10lb to carry and she may have a battle on her hands against the bottom weight Maven. This one has finished second twice at a mile and a quarter, running a little too freely for her own good on each occasion. She should settle better with a faster pace here and looks good each-way value.

The listed race at 3.15 is looking as competitive as the big sprint with the bookmakers going 4-1 the field with only eight runners. Plenty of people will be hoping that first time blinkers can persuade Stipulate to put his best foot forward for Lady Cecil whilst Questioning and Ladys First are bound to be in there battling.

It will be interesting to see how the two three-year-olds get on against their elders. Baltic Knight was trounced by Remote last time and if he boosts the form tomorrow you can expect Remote to be the shortest priced favourite in years for the Britannia Handicap. John Gosden usually has his string firing for Royal Ascot so I’m going to stick with Questioning.

Over at Sandown, Smoothtalkinrascal will have gone into more notebooks than Vinnie Jones after flashing home in second place in the Epsom Dash. He steps into listed class and is a warm favourite at around 2-1. My only reservation is that he doesn’t seem the kind of horse to win by far I’ll be hoping that his jockey can produce him at the right moment.

In the 2.20 there is bound to be plenty of support for Ashaadd who rather got Ryan Moore out of jail last time. He was held up behind horses off a slow pace but answered every call to get up close home and beat a useful sort in Homage. Moore can double up in the 4.05 on Defendant for Sir Michael Stoute. This one won his maiden impressively and can take advantage of the weight he receives from the slightly quirky but very talented Pythagorian.

York

Maven 8-1 Coral
Questioning 5-1 Ladbrokes

Sandown

Ashaadd 5-1 Ladbrokes
Smoothtalkinrascal 2-1 Coral
Defendant 9-2 Ladbrokes