Salisbury Monday Preview

There are some very competitive races at Salisbury on Monday but the best bets may lie in the maiden races early in the card. Richard Hannon has a fine record at the track and his filly Tea In Transvaal is having her fifth outing of the season in the 2.20.

At first glance, she may seem a little disappointing having shown plenty of promise on her debut at Ascot. She finished a close fourth and was made favourite for her second outing at Newbury. She came up against a very smart filly in Lightning Thunder and had to settle for second place.

She stepped up to a mile for the first time at Goodwood in September where Richard Hughes attempted to make all. He held all bar Uchenna, going down by a head in the final strides. She ran another good race on her most recent start when third in the maiden race won by Taghrooda. Andrew Balding’s promising Casual Smile was runner-up and the form looks rock solid.

She drops back to six furlongs on Monday and is likely to be right up with the pace. Nassiki Kasta shaped well on her debut and could be a danger but the main threat may come from the unraced Allegria. She is by Dalakhani out of a Sadler’s Wells mare and represents the in-form John Gosden and William Buick combination.

The second division should go to Ryan Moore aboard the once-raced Dutch Romance for Charlie Hills. She ran a race packed full of promise at Newbury when very considerately ridden by Steve Drowne. She stayed on strongly to be less than four lengths adrift of Extremity at the line and looks certain to improve for the experience.

Joohania also ran well on her debut at Kempton whilst Aertex could be better than her first run suggests. Andrew Balding’s Alumina is a daughter of Invincible Spirit and makes her racecourse debut. Dutch Romance should be able to win this on the way to better things.

Tea In Transvaal (2.20 Salisbury)

Dutch Romance (2.50 Salisbury)

York Friday Preview

Graphic makes a quick reappearance for William Haggas in a competitive race at York tomorrow after his fine fourth in the Cambridgeshire. The four-year-old was boldly ridden from the front by Frankie Dettori but could not sustain the gallop in the closing stages. Even so, it was a decent effort in one of the toughest handicaps of the season and he looks to have a great chance off just a 3lb higher mark on Friday.

Ryan Moore has been booked to take the ride and I would expect him to be ridden with a little more restraint. The early stages could be crucial from his stall 16 draw but hopefully Moore can settle him in just behind the leaders. He certainly looked progressive in his previous race when winning a valuable race on the all-weather at Kempton and I would expect him to go off shorter than the early 5-1.

Dangers include Luca Cumani’s Rockalong who chased home Brownsea Brink at Newmarket and Levitate who was part of Oisin Murphy’s four-timer at Ayr last month. The young apprentice is being carefully managed by Andrew Balding in the hope that he will derive as much benefit as possible from his 5lb claim. He gave us a winner last week with a fine ride on Ballinderry Boy and could be back in the headlines on Friday with five booked rides.

Dungannon could certainly go close in the sprint at 2.30 following victories at Ascot and Haydock. Despite being up 5lbs for his latest win, there is every prospect of the six-year-old improving again. Unusually for a horse that had won his previous outing, Dungannon wore blinkers for the first time at Haydock and won more impressively than at Ascot. It could be that he still has another victory in him and he looks good value at 7-1 or thereabouts.

Murphy rides Van Percy for Balding in the 4.15 but this one looks tricky to win with. He scraped home at Haydock in the summer but generally does not find a great deal off the bridle. It would not surprise me to see him coasting up to the leaders early in the straight but I’d rather invest in Luca Cumani’s Elhaame. He ran well in a decent race at Ascot last time, his first attempt at this trip. He could still be improving and 5-1 looks a reasonable bet on a typically competitive end of season card.

Dungannon (2.30 York) 7-1 Ladbrokes

Graphic 5-1 (3.05 York) 5-1 Ladbrokes

Elhaame 5-1 (4.15 York) 5-1 William Hill, Bet365

Salisbury Wednesday Preview

Vorda (2-1) made sure that we finished Newmarket’s Cambridgeshire meeting on a winning note. She looked very impressive to me and it will be fascinating to see how she gets on at the Breeders’ Cup next month. It was certainly a great week of trials for the 1000 Guineas and I wouldn’t despair if you have backed Rizeena or Ihtimal ante-post. Neither got the run of the race and could still make live classic contenders next spring.

After a quiet start to the week, there is some decent racing at Salisbury on Wednesday. The Conditions race at 4.30 brings together Justice Day and Expert who were second and third at Doncaster recently. With Figure Of Speech also in the field and all three having had busy seasons, this looks like a race to watch rather than get involved in.

One horse that should offer some value is John Gosden’s Nabucco. The four-year-old landed some nice bets when winning a decent handicap at Newmarket in June and was last seen finishing second at Glorious Goodwood. That was a decent effort as he had to overcome a wide draw and race more prominently than would have been ideal. He fought off all challengers bar the confidently ridden Viewpoint who is again in opposition tomorrow.

Nabucco is only 2lbs better off with Viewpoint for a length so it could be close between the pair but I just feel that Gosden’s horse will come out on top. If Buick can settle him on or near the lead without having to chase after him, he will tough to pass in the closing stages. Most of the field are well exposed with the exception of Andrew Balding’s Open Water who was a beaten favourite at Windsor in May. Paddy Power and BetVictor have chalked up Nabucco at 5-2 and he looks the best bet on the card.

Red Galileo is a nice colt and has been unlucky to finish runner-up in all three starts to date. He looks set to get off the mark under Ryan Moore at Kempton tomorrow evening with only three opponents. Mark Johnston’s Zumurudah is the obvious threat having won comfortably at Carlisle last time out but Red Galileo should have his measure.

Nabucco (3.55 Salisbury) 5-2 Paddy Power, BetVictor

Red Galileo (7.40 Kempton) 5-11 Betfair

Goodwood 25th September Preview

Two out of two yesterday with Alex Vino (9-4) and Squire Osbaldeston (tipped at 5-2) keeping the profits rolling in. There are two stand-out bets on Goodwood’s card on Wednesday. On form, both should win comfortably but there are factors that could hinder the chances of either.

The first is Grandeur in the Foundation Stakes at 3.40. Jeremy Noseda’s four-year-old won the Hollywood Turf Cup last season and was again on his travels in August when attempting to land the Arlington Million. His chances were dealt a blow when he was given a poor draw and he subsequently suffered an injury during the race.

It was to his credit that he was able to run on as well as he did to finish a little over four lengths back in fourth behind the promoted Real Solution. On his previous start he had closed to within three-quarters of a length of the odds-on Mukhadram at York and he will be hard to beat on that form. The concern has to be whether he can bounce back from his exertions. He was accompanied to Arlington by Yeager and that horse ran as if his legs were tied together at Newmarket on Saturday.

Opposition includes Goodwood Cup winner Brown Panther, racing over a trip well short of his best in order to finalise plans for a possible Melbourne Cup tilt. Sugar Boy is a more potent threat over this trip having beaten Eye Of The Storm, Galileo Rock and Libertarian in the Sandown Classic Trial in April. He is on the comeback trail after running a dismal race in the Irish Derby.

The second wager is the rapidly improving Battalion*, trained by William Haggas. The three-year-old has been a revelation since getting some give in the ground and handed out a thrashing to hat-trick seeking Thomas Hobson at Yarmouth last week. He made the running under Silvestre de Sousa and the jockey could scarcely believe his eyes when glancing over at his toiling rivals. The race was over long before the final furlong and he was eased to a five-length victory.

He is running again quickly because he incurs only a 6lbs penalty whereas the handicapper will undoubtedly clobber him with at least twice that. He still has 9st 13lb to carry but the main worry is whether the ground will be soft enough for him. It is officially good to soft, soft in places, but drying out rapidly on the Sussex Downs. Providing there is enough juice left in the ground, he should provide Ryan Moore with another winner.

Grandeur 3.40 5-2 Paddy Power

Battalion 4.15 6-4 Coral (*non-runner)

 

Lingfield Preview 24th September

Wins for Coral Mist (7-1) and Supplicant (5-1) gave us a tidy profit on a busy Saturday. The highlight this week is the Cambridgeshire meeting at Newmarket but we’ll start the week with a look at Lingfield on Tuesday.

I’m not a great fan of the all-weather but the big Newmarket stables seem to be happy to run their maidens at Lingfield and there are a couple that catch my eye. The first is Sir Michael Stoute’s Alex Vino in the 3.00 race.

He finished third on his debut behind 33-1 shot Learaig at Newmarket when ridden by Kieren Fallon. As a son of High Chaparral, he’s bred for a mile and a half in time so the seven furlongs was barely enough to get him going. Fallon was noticeably easy on him, pushing out with hands and heels. Ryan Moore steps in for the ride tomorrow and has one significant opponent in Alpine Retreat. The Godolphin colt finished second on his debut at Kempton so will handle the surface and rates a live danger. I’m just hoping that Alex Vino has more scope and I expect him to be ridden more prominently here.

My second bet of the day is in the closing race at 5.30. If any Lingfield regulars are thinking of leaving early to beat the traffic, they may want to hold on for an interesting maiden. Squire Osbaldeston is the selection, running for Lady Cecil who has just confirmed her intention to remain in charge at Warren Place next season.

This colt has always been held in some regard but has only managed three racecourse appearances. The most recent was back in May when he saw no daylight at all behind Eshtiaal at Goodwood. There are some useful sorts in opposition, notably Godolphin’s Hawker, but I’m hoping that Lady C has her charge fully wound up for this. By the way, Squire Osbaldeston himself once won a 200-mile endurance race by completing it in ten hours. Hopefully his namesake will come home a lot quicker tomorrow!

Alex Vino 3.00 15-8 Skybet

Squire Osbaldeston 5.30 5-2 Bet Victor

Yarmouth 19th September Preview

I was considering previewing the opening day of the Western meeting at Ayr but a quick glance at the card suggests winners are going to be hard to come by. There are no less than six fiendishly difficult handicaps on Thursday’s card and that may be the pattern for the rest of the week. There are no less than 200 horses left in the Ayr Gold Cup on Saturday, admittedly many of them hoping to get into the Silver or Bronze Cup.

The race that interests me is the two-year-old maiden at 2.50 at Yarmouth. Luca Cumani is not exactly well-known for his precocious youngsters and Mount Logan is certainly not that. He has had just one outing to date, finishing fourth in the maiden at Newbury won by John Gosden’s Muwaary. The form of the race has not exactly churned out winner after winner but Tuesday’s winner Ghaawy was well behind him that day.

He was ridden by Kirsty Milczarek and sent off at 25-1, suggesting that not a lot was expected of him on his debut. The chestnut settled nicely in rear and made eye-catching late progress to snatch fourth on the line. That race was over seven furlongs and there’s every reason to believe that the mile at Yarmouth will bring about further improvement.

The twin dangers carry the all blue of Godolphin. Istikshaf also showed promise on his debut when staying on into fifth place at Newmarket. That race was won by 33-1 shot Learaig and the form is no more inspiring than the Newbury race. I just prefer the effort of the Cumani horse who should also benefit from the stronger handling of Ryan Moore.

The unknown quantity is Charlie Appleby’s Deadly Approach for whom Kieren Fallon has been booked. As his name suggests, he is by New Approach but I note that he is fitted with a hood for his taste of racecourse action. I cannot say that I have noticed that very often with any two-year-olds, let alone Godolphin. Grand Meister and Latin Charm are also unraced but come from stables not particularly noted for first-time-out winners.

Mount Logan