Tag: Nottingham

Nottingham Wednesday Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Flat turf racing season continues its stop-start progress at Nottingham on Wednesday with an interesting seven-race card.

It’s always a fascinating time of year to see which horses have improved over the winter and John Gosden will be hoping that Forever Now has done exactly that. He lines up in the Barry Hills Further Flight Stakes at 3.40, a listed race over a mile and three-quarters.

I followed him with interest last season after he caught my eye when finishing second at Newmarket in May. He was very impressive when sauntering to an eight-length win in his maiden at Doncaster next time but only scrambled home in the March Stakes at Goodwood in September.

He was only considered to be Gosden’s second string in the St Leger but he ran a fine race. He led between the two furlong and furlong markers before fading into sixth behind Kingston Hill and Romsdal. The latter came out and won impressively on the all-weather recently and Windshear (fourth) won at Doncaster last week.

The best of the opposition looks to be Island Remede who ran on well behind Windshear last week while Cinnilla improved throughout the season for Ralph Beckett. Godolphin are represented by Blue Rambler who is something of an unknown quantity after one moderate start in Britain. Forever Now should take this on the way to better things.

Gosden also saddles the favourite in the following handicap with Sacred Act. He won over course and distance last year and looked a very exciting prospect. He was confidently backed to win off a mark of 90 at Sandown next time but never looked happy at any stage and finished fifth. Presumably something was amiss and it will be interesting to see how he goes off the same mark.

It’s a question of balancing potential against proven form in this one and I just favour the Doncaster third, Youartisonfire. He had no answer to Chatez in the closing stages of the Spring Mile but it was still a decent effort. He has run his best races at Haydock in the past and this is a similar galloping track. He should go well under Silvestre De Sousa and looks good each-way value at 5-1.

There are several other interesting races on the card and Gosden has Alkawn in the opener and Waady in the sprint, both ridden by Paul Hanagan. There could also be some improvers in the closing three-year-old handicap with the weights headed by Luca Cumani’s Noro Lim.

Forever Now 3.40 Nottingham @11-8 Bet365

Youartisonfire 4.10 Nottingham @5-1 BetVictor (each-way)

Nottingham Wednesday Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Betcirca followers got off to a flying start at Windsor on Tuesday with Navigate (4-7), Magic Dancer (10-11) and Geordan Murphy (100-30).  So Noble brought the winning streak to an end with a disappointing run but we move on to Nottingham on Wednesday and I’ve picked out three on the card.

The first one that catches my eye is Storm The Stars for William Haggas in the two-year-old maiden at 3.00. He was second at Newmarket on his debut to Aloft and that looks high-class form after Aidan O’Brien’s colt finished second in the Racing Post Trophy at the weekend.

It is true that five horses finished within a length in the Newmarket race but the form should easily be good enough to win a maiden at Nottingham. The main danger could come from John Gosden’s unraced Golden Horn a son of Cape Cross. His dam never raced and Storm The Stars has experience on his side.

The handicap at 3.30 is fascinating, if only because it sees two unbeaten colts pitched in after just one race. Lightning Spear won a Kempton maiden over a year ago but trainer Olly Stevens has been unable to get him back on the track. I know that he has missed some ambitious entries in recent weeks so he is presumably regarded as more than an 85-rated horse at home.

As tempting as he is, the 426-day lay-off puts me off just enough to side with John Gosden’s Dubai Star. He made his debut at Pontefract with Robert Havlin on board while William Buick partnered stable companion and hot favourite Fallen In Line. Buick was pushing the head off his mount after a couple of furlongs while Havlin cruised along behind the leaders before easing clear to win by six lengths.

The form of the race isn’t worth the paper that it is written on but he could do no more than win and is rated 84 for his handicap debut. He clearly handles softer ground and is race-fit so gets the vote over Lightning Spear.

The third selection is Andrew Balding’s Nabatean in the staying handicap at 4.00. The Balding team have done us a few favours recently and this one looks like making up into a decent stayer next season. He was racing after a lengthy absence when fifth in a very competitive handicap at Newmarket last time. He was confidently backed that day and it looks like he will be popular with punters again on Wednesday.

Storm The Stars 3.00 @4-7 Betfair

Dubai Star 3.30 @5-2 BetVictor

Nabatean 4.00 @3-1 Bet365

Nottingham Wednesday Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

After a hectic weekend of top quality racing we are back to the bread and butter at Nottingham on Wednesday. As good as it was to see Treve go into the history books with her back-to-back Arc success, I have to say that I was less than impressed with the Japanese riders. You would have thought that they would know how to ride the race after many years of trying but they gave their mounts no chance by holding them up way out the back.

The more humble offerings at Nottingham get under way at 2.20 with a maiden race which should go the way of Luca Cumani and Andrea Atzeni. Spiriting ran a good race on his second start when second at Yarmouth behind Bartel. Firmament finished a fair way back in fourth that day and ran a good race on Monday to finish second to the useful Master Apprentice. A repeat of that form would make Spiriting very hard to beat here.

The second race is a very competitive nursery but there is no stopping David O’Meara at the moment. His Group 1 win in the Prix de L’Abbaye on Sunday with Move In Time was the icing on the cake for a memorable season. He runs Snow Cloud who showed enormous improvement after a lengthy absence to beat Compton River at Redcar. The jockey never had to resort to the whip that day so there should be plenty more to come. The main danger could be the top weight Ivors Rebel who has been keeping much better company.

The best bet on the card could be the progressive Black Granite in the nine furlong nursery at 4.25. Jeremy Noseda’s gelding looked very moderate earlier in the season but the application of a visor has transformed him. A game victory at Salisbury was followed by an emphatic success at Newmarket. Normally I would hesitate at a 9lbs rise in the weights but there aren’t that many two-year-olds that stay beyond a mile and he is certainly one of them.

The final three races look virtually impossible but I am going to have a small interest in Golden Spear in the 4.25. He is yet to race beyond a mile but his last couple of runs suggest that he is crying out for it. The danger is probably Tercel who is on a very fair mark for Sir Michael Stoute and looked set to win at Newbury last time. He didn’t look the easiest of rides that day and Ryan Moore will probably be looking to deliver him with a late rattle.

Spiriting 2.20 @Bet365

Snow Cloud 2.50 @5-1 Bet365

Black Granite 4.25 @11-4 Bet365

Golden Spear 5.25 @11-1 Coral

Nottingham Wednesday Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Betcirca followers had a great time on Saturday at Newmarket with a profit of more than 20 points on our five selections. Rosalie Bonheur (5-1), Elm Park (3-1) and Tiggy Wiggy (6-4) won the first three races before our Cambridgeshire selections both reached the frame at big prices.

The racing is of a more modest nature at Nottingham on Wednesday but there are a couple of handicaps that are worth taking a look at. The mile and a quarter Middle Distance Series Final at 3.45 sees the reappearance of impressive Sandown winner Raise Your Gaze.

Clive Cox provided us with a winner on Saturday in Rosalie Bonheur, one in three on the day and seven in a week for the Lambourn trainer. Raise Your Gaze is up 6lbs for beating Beakers N Num Nums by two lengths at Sandown and the runner-up has an 8lbs pull. In theory, that could be enough to bring them together but I liked the style of Raise Your Gaze’s victory.

I fancied the favourite Shama’s Crown that day but he was left flat-footed in third when Clive Cox’s grey swept to the front. With the stable in such great form, I will stick with him confirming the form. The best of the rest may be Donny Rover who is tough and consistent.

I am also going to recommend keeping faith with another improving handicapper in Triple Chocolate who is seeking a four-timer in the sprint at 4.50. Roger Ingram has placed him very skilfully to win at Windsor, Newmarket and Haydock.

He is one of those horses that is very difficult for the handicapper to assess as he only does just enough to win. He looked absolutely flat out to get up close home at Newmarket over six furlongs in August so was only raised 4lbs next time. Once again he looked in difficulty with a furlong to travel but kept responding to Jimmy Quinn to run down an in-form horse in Poyle Vinnie. He has been raised a further 5lbs but he is attractively priced and should give us a good run for our money.

There are plenty of dangers including the hat-trick seeking Amadeus Wolf Tone. It may be significant that Kieren Fallon is booked to ride him while Rocket Rob went into a few notebooks when flashing home at Sandown last time out. He’s unlikely to be improving at the age of eight but Willie Musson is a master at getting wins out these old handicappers and he has each-way claims.

Raise Your Gaze 3.45 Nottingham @4-1 Paddy Power

Triple Chocolate 4.50 Nottingham @13-2 William Hill

Nottingham Tuesday Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

We needed a bit of scrambling over the weekend to keep our heads above water! Although we didn’t pick a single race winner on Shergar Cup day, we did select Olivier Peslier (6-1) and Europe (2-1) in the jockey and team standings respectively.

It was a similar story in the US PGA Golf where Jim Furyk saved our bacon by sneaking into the frame at 40-1. It was the second major running that we have been grateful to the American after placing at 70-1 in the British Open.

The weekend went out with the remnants of Hurricane Bertha lashing much of Britain and the going is on the soft side across much of the UK. The forecast is for steady improvement through the week so we shouldn’t need to start thinking of the new jumps season just yet!

Nottingham stages an interesting card on Tuesday evening and I’ve dug out three selections. I was immediately drawn to Enlace in the two-year-old race at 5.55 after her narrow defeat in a big field at Newmarket last time. I could hardly believe her price of 13-8 at the time but she was only a stride away from landing the gamble. However, after careful consideration, I am opposing her with Ann Duffield’s promising colt George Dryden.

He won by six lengths at Pontefract first time out and this looks a good opportunity to make it 2/2. He strode away from modest rivals that day and has Enlace to beat but he could be well above average.

In the 6.55 I am going for 18-length Southwell scorer Dino Mite. The form on the all-weather is usually hardly worth the paper that it is written on but two of the vanquished horses in that race have since won comfortably. Admittedly they were only rated 60 so Dino Mite has a bit to do off 80 here but she could make her rating look very generous.

My final selection is Speed Hawk in the Conditions sprint race at 7.25. I’ve rarely seen such an out-of-sorts collection of sprinters as this. Robert Cowell saddles four and Speed Hawk is the only one of them that is still progressing. He beat a useful sort last time out at Bath. I am most fearful of Duke Of Firenze who has joined Cowell from Sir Michael Stoute’s yard. His profile suggests that he would like quicker ground and a race to put him straight but we shall see.

George Dryden 5.55 Nottingham

Dino Mite 6.55 Nottingham @9-2 Paddy Power

Speed Hawk 7.25 Nottingham @9-2 Bet Victor

Nottingham Wednesday Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

With the Epsom Derby meeting on the horizon, we are faced with pretty modest entertainment for the early part of the week.

Apart from the usual musical chairs among the jockeys, the Derby picture has not really changed in recent weeks with all eyes on the much-hyped Australia. It will be interesting to see whether Ryan Moore elects to partner Chester Vase winner Orchestra or the seemingly more fancied Geoffrey Chaucer.

Wednesday’s Nottingham card sees the unexpected reappearance of Remote in handicap company. I must admit that I never expected to see him run again outside of Group company, let alone over a mile. John Gosden pulled him out of the weakest looking Group 3 in living memory at Sandown last week rather than risk him on the soft ground. The going is good to soft at Nottingham but I’m hoping that his class will see him overcome both the distance and ground.

The Rectifier ran well when third to Yourartisonfire in a competitive race at Haydock but he does not want it any softer while Fort Bastion was second in a York handicap. He only lost out by a short head there to Navajo Chief and had previously won the Thirsk Hunt Cup. Even so, it would be disappointing to see Remote’s colours lowered in this grade.

James Doyle partners him and he also teams up with Bragging for Sir Michael Stoute in the 4.20 race. Interestingly, she meets her Lingfield conqueror Etaab on worse terms and I think that the Haggas filly will come out on top again. The Haggas team are flying and he had six winners from eight runners on Sunday and Monday. I liked the attitude of this filly at Lingfield last time where she quickened all the way to the line and I think she may have too much toe for the Stoute horse.

I don’t usually concern myself too much with Apprentice Handicaps but I expect Rockweiller to follow up his recent Ayr victory in the last. He was under pressure some way out but kept finding more and was eventually eased down to a three and a half-length winning margin. He is up 8lbs but the jockey can claim 3lb so the seven-year-old should be up to the task. He is also a course and distance winner having won here in 2011 off an identical mark.

Remote 3.50 Nottingham

Etaab 4.20 Nottingham

Rockweiller 5.20 Nottingham