Tag: Remote

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

 

Sandown Thursday Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

There is a good card at Sandown on Thursday night with the Brigadier Gerard Stakes topping the bill. Although there are only five runners, it still looks a bit of a puzzle.

Hillstar is the obvious choice after running a fair second to Brown Panther in the Ormonde Stakes at Chester. That race was over a mile and five furlongs on soft ground so this drop back to a mile and quarter is interesting. I’ve never really been a fan of Hillstar but this looks as soft a Group 3 as you could come across and he must go close under Ryan Moore.

Top Notch Tonto will find his stamina tested here while Sheikhzayedroad and Sharestan have had their limitations exposed. The one horse that has the potential to develop into a genuine Group 1 performer is Remote, trained by John Gosden. He did this column a favour last season at Royal Ascot but has not raced since and that is a major worry. No doubt Mr G will tell anyone who asks that he will need the run but I’m inclined to chance it at around 4-1.

The second Group 3 on the card is the Henry II Stakes with several Gold Cup entries on show. Brown Panther won the Goodwood Cup and was eighth in Melbourne. The trip and ground won’t worry him and he is as honest as the day is long. Tiger Cliff was third in the Yorkshire Cup but they went no great gallop that day and I wouldn’t be certain of him confirming the form with either High Jinx (5th) or Camborne (7th). El Salvador has a high head carriage while Biographer has been very disappointing and the blinds are fitted here.

My best bet of the evening is reserved for the last with the reappearance of Abseil. I always take note of any lightly-raced four-year-olds retained by Sir Michael Stoute. A healthy percentage of them start in handicaps and progress to Group races and Abseil looks to be heading in that direction.

I was extremely worried about his draw at Chester last time out and it proved his un-doing. His cause was further damaged when he missed the break so he did well to chase home the well prepared Here Comes When. He was beaten five lengths so is only up 1lb for that run and he looks nap material.

Brown Panther 7.15 Sandown at 4-1 Paddy Power

Remote 7.50 Sandown at 4-1 Betfair

Abseil 8.50 Sandown at 2-1 Bet365

Royal Ascot Day 3 Preview – Thursday 20th June

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Rizeena came to my rescue yesterday at 7-1 to limit the damage from some disappointing performances. It looks as though the fast ground is starting to have a real impact with some quick times and some horses running well below their best.

Who would have guessed that Chigun and Thistle Bird would run so badly? As for the Royal Hunt Cup…well, for once I have to agree with the post-race reflections of Channel 4. As soon as I saw Prince Of Johanne running diagonally across to get on the “wrong” side of the course I knew my fate. Poor Richard Hughes took the same decision on the well-backed favourite Stirring Ballad and then failed to get any sort of run whatsoever.

Anyway…onwards and upwards and let’s take a look at day 3. Our ante-post involvement is on the Gold Cup with Simenon (16-1), Estimate (10-1) and Biographer (40-1). All three have tumbled in price so I’m hoping for a similar result to the Queen Anne with a couple of nice place returns at least. I haven’t seen any reason to alter my opinion on the race.

I’ve been very impressed with Richard Fahey’s runners this week. He’s managed to get two juveniles into second place and Garswood ran a good race in the Jersey Stakes in fourth. I think that’s probably as good as he is but I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t see him drop back to six furlongs next time.

I’ll have to back Eccleston at 10-1, his representative in the opener. I’m expecting No Nay Never to be very difficult to peg back but there doesn’t seem great value at 5-1.

Having picked out The Lark ante-post for the Oaks at 33-1 I am a big fan of hers for tomorrow’s Ribblesdale. Of course I know that Ascot is something of a graveyard for Epsom horses but she didn’t have too hard a race there and I think she can win this. I am a little worried about the fast ground but 5-1 is too big.

I usually like a bet in the Britannia but this year’s field has got me a bit confused. You can usually rely on Haydock’s Silver Bowl as the best trial but the first and second from this year are not wanted by the punters? Wentworth has emerged as favourite after a nightmare run at Goodwood but it may be worth remembering that it was a pretty poor event. I’m certainly not going to be tripping over myself to take 4 or 5-1 in a race like this.

There is a bit of hype about Cape Peron and I can understand why. He won with a stone in hand last time and looks destined to make up into a group horse. As with The Lark, the quick ground is a worry but I’m prepared to take the risk at 7-1.

The 5.00 race features another horse going places in John Gosden’s Remote. I quite liked Baltic Knight before Doncaster but reassessed my views after he received a six-length drubbing. Baltic Knight then landed a big gamble at York so it is pretty obvious that Remote was masquerading as a handicapper. He is pitched in against horses with proven classic form but he is expected to prove up to the task.

The last race on the card is another minefield but I’m going to pick a couple out against the field. Space Ship would appear to be handicapped out of it on the face of his Epsom run but I don’t think anything went his way that day and he looked smart at Chester. Excellent Result absolutely bolted up in his maiden and could have suddenly twigged what the game is all about. Both are available at silly prices so they should give us some each-way interest.

Eccleston 2.30 10-1 Paddy Power
The Lark 3.05 5-1 Ladbrokes
Gold Cup 3.45 Ante-Post: Estimate 10-1, Simenon 16-1, Biographer 40-1
Cape Peron 4.25 7-1 Ladbrokes
Remote 5.00 100-30 Stan James
Space Ship 5.35 18-1 Stan James
Excellent Guest 5.35 14-1 Paddy Power