Category: Horse racing

 

Conditions at Musselburgh seem to be improving so there is a chance that racing at the Scottish track may go ahead tomorrow. The first race on the card at 1.55 looks to be a match between Son of Flicka and Glencree. Glencree won over course and distance at the end of November and seems to be progressive.  He likes good ground and it does look as if he will get that at Musselburgh.  Son of Flicka is yet to finish out of the first 2 and was an excellent 2nd to the talented Alfie Flits at Haydock last time out. The extra distance of tomorrow’s race should suit him. This is an interesting clash but with Donald McCain in much better form than Howard Johnson at the moment I must side with Son of Flicka.

Resounding Glory won at Wetherby last time out in a race where the 2nd and 4th have both since won twice.  He sets the standard in the 2.25 although course and distance winner Caravel, who notched a five timer on the flat for his previous trainer Sir Mark Prescott looks a threat.  Once again though Caravel is trained by Howard Johnson whose horse have not been running well of late, possibly due to the bad weather interrupting their training schedule.

Today’s picture is by the artist Julie Whitwham.

 

Well some mixed results from last night’s preview but Hello Moscow gave us a winner at 4/1, and also supplied AP McCoy with his 2,999th, while First Avenue was only beaten half a length on his hurdles bow.

There are a couple of runners from my list to follow tomorrow if Folkestone passes a morning inspection.  Quickbeam and Bluegun both go in the 2.30.  Quickbeam has not exactly taken to fences this season, falling twice and then finishing 5th last time at Exeter beaten 80 lengths. His trainer Venetia Williams is in good form though and I wouldn’t discount Quickbeam altogether.  Bluegun is my selection though.  A lightly raced sort that handles cut in the ground and after only one run over fences he has scope for improvement.

 

It is difficult to know what to make of Denman’s performance yesterday.  While there are some excuses that could be put forward he was beaten an awful long way and his jockey Ruby Walsh was clearly very disappointed with the run.

It does leave the Gold Cup picture somewhat unclear.  Both Kauto Star and Denman have been shown to be fallible but if either were to turn up on the day at their best they would take some beating.  How seriously do we take the challenge of Madison de Berlais? There will certainly be plenty of head scratching between now and Gold Cup day.

Elsewhere yesterday Grizebeck was given a positive ride to win at Ayr while Pancake (pictured below) and Tartak were other winners from my list to follow. 

I see that Silver Birch (pictured below) who has been out of action since his Grand National success in 2007 made a winning return yesterday in a point to point at North Tipperary.  His next stop may be the cross country race at Cheltenham.  On the subject of the Grand National I was sorry to hear that Slim Pickings, twice 4th in the Aintree race, had to be put to sleep recently after sustaining a serious injury in training.

Formation was a frustrating horse to follow on the flat last turf season.  He clearly had plenty of ability but seemed a rather quirky individual.  His new trainer has certainly found the key to him though as the horse has won his last two starts on the all weather. He won with something in hand at Lingfield yesterday and looks one to keep on the right side.

The cold snap continues to restrict the jumps racing in the UK and over in Ireland. Hopefully Plumpton will go ahead tomorrow. In the opener there at 1.30 First Avenue looks an interesting newcomer to hurdling.  Rated 95 on the flat he looks the sort that could do well at the winter game.

I will continue to support Carrickmines as I feel he has a race in him at a nice price if we are patient.  He runs in the 2.00.

Wind Instrument was found to have lost both hind shoes when beaten at Haydock last time out over a trip that was probably too short anyway.  He may do better in the 2.35 but the French challenger Millenium Royal will be a danger.

Tony McCoy is still chasing the elusive couple of winners to reach his 3,000.  He rides a nice horse Hello Moscow trained by Jim Best in the 3.10 and this one should go well.

At Kempton this afternoon I fancy Chris Wall’s course and distance winner Premio Loco in the 3.40 while Callisto Moon could run well at a fair price in the 4.10.

My thanks to Tracy Roberts (Turfpix) for the photo of Pancake and the artist Sarah Aspinall for allowing me to use her painting of Silver Birch.

 

Tim Vaughan is rapidly making a name for himself in the trainers ranks and he had another winner today thanks to Moorlands Teri in the closing bumper at Bangor. She looks a big scopey sort and it will be interesting to follow her progress.

On the all weather at Southwell this afternoon evergreen sprinter The Tatling (pictured below) chalked up his 14 career win at the age of 12.

All eyes tomorrow will be on the return of Denman in the 2.50 at Kempton tomorrow. I am not sure that I want to take 1/2 about a horse that has suffered an irregular heartbeat so I think I will sit this one out and just enjoy watching the race. Hopefully Denman (pictured below) will come through OK as we need superstars in the sport. Alberta’s Run would be the obvious one to benefit should Denman not be A1 although the ground will not be ideal for Jonjo O’Neill’s horse. From a personal point of view I will be interested to see how An Accordion gets on now that David Pipe’s stable seem to be emerging from the doldrums a little. An Accordion is a horse I have always like and could just be one to watch out for in a race at the Cheltenham Festival next month.

There are 3 runners from my list to follow involved in the 1.10 but they all have questions to answer. Pancake has proved very expensive to follow and always seems to find one or two that are too good for him. Non de Guerre unseated last time out while Andytown was a beaten favourite over hurdles on his last start. In the hope that he has more to offer than he has shown so far I will nominate Andytown as the best of the 3 but again this is not a race to get too heavily involved in.

Tartak has been running well in strong company and if he jumps well he must stand a good chance in the 3.25.

From a winner finding point of view the meeting at Ayr seems to offer us more cause for optimism – unfortunately it is under severe threat from the weather.

If it does go ahead Merigo would be my selection in the 1.00 with Grizebeck the likely danger.

Money Trix has always been held in high regard by his trainer and looks the one they all have to beat in the 4.00 while Open de L’Isle impressed me on his last run and shouldn’t be far away in the 4.20.

Other runners entered from my list to follow at Ayr are Great Approach and Master Builder in the 1.30 and Raysrock in the 3.45.

Today’s pictures are by courtesy of the artist Lisa Miller.  See links for further examples of this artists work.

 

 

I will keep tonight’s preview fairly brief as both the meetings scheduled for tomorrow are under threat from the bad weather.

There are 2 runners from my list to follow entered at Bangor. Moorlands Teri runs in the bumper at 4.55. She is a course and distance winner and has every chance. Kaldouas goes in the hunter chase at 4.25. He was a winner for Tony McCoy at Worcester last summer but this is a very competitive looking race with the likes of Le Duc and Limerick Boy quite classy types.

The other meeting is at Fontwell where Shoreacres is the form horse in the opener at 1.35. David Pipe’s horses seem to be running into a bit of form and it is possible that Qulinton could come in at a decent price in the 3.15. His 2^nd to the useful Ouzbeck at Market Rasen last April looks solid form and he handles heavy ground.

Today’s picture is by kind permission of the artist Trudy Redfern who is the artist in residence at Fontwell Park and was commissioned to provide studies for the Bob Champion cancer trust Christmas card and calendar. Follow the link below for more details about this artist.

http://www.trudyredfern.co.uk/

The picture is of City Affair who always seems to run well at Fontwell.

 

The bad weather continues and there are morning inspections planned at both Huntingdon and Taunton.

Things don’t look too promising at either track but if Huntingdon does get the green light then Moscow Catch, trained by Jim Best could edge AP McCoy one step nearer his 3,000 the winner in the 1.40.

There are 3 other runners from my list to follow entered at Huntingdon, 2.10 Lester Leaps In, 2.40 Von Galen and 4.40 Moorlands Teri. The last named, a winner at Bangor in December has the best chance of the trio.

Elsewhere on the Huntingdon card First Avenue is an interesting newcomer in the 3.10. He was a bit quirky on the flat but showed plenty of ability. He handles soft ground and looks the type to make a hurdler. In the 4.40 Flora’s Pride is certainly bred to win races and is one to look out for.

At Taunton Bertie May and Russian Trigger both have possibilities. I would give a slight edge to Russian Trigger.

The Pipe stable have had a very quiet time of it this season but have shown some signs of coming into form of late. David Pipe has 3 runners in the 3.20 including Big Eared Fran, one of my horses to follow. I see that Timmy Murphy rides Cricket Boy in this which might be a pointer.

If his jumping holds up Pistol Desbois would have a squeak in the 3.50.

My main fancy at Clonmel is Dooney’s Gate in the 2.05.

My thanks to “Maz” for the picture of Salisbury racecourse in the snow.

 

That is it for today.

 

 

The weather continues to disrupt the fixtures.

I have updated my list to follow and I will leave you with a picture of Stratford racecourse in the snow courtesy of Andrew West.

 

I had a rather disappointing day today with a number of my list horses such as Ballydub and Osana running well without winning.

The weather may take a hand tomorrow as we do seem to be in for some arctic conditions. In the hope that we do get some racing am going to start my preview of Sunday’s racing with a look at the Musselburgh card where Knockara Beau might be worth considering in the 1.30. This useful bumper performer is yet to make an impact over hurdles but has been given a break and his jockey tomorrow has a record of 121 on him.

Although Kalahari King was beaten last time out the winner Doctor David did the form no harm this afternoon and the Ferdy Murphy 8 year old can get back to winning form in the 3.00 at the Scottish track.

There are two runners from my list to follow in action at Fontwell. Circus of Dreams in the 2.10 and Pterodactyl in the 4.10. Both have chances and it is important to note that the trainer of Pterodactyl is in particularly good form.

Today’s picture is courtesy of the artist Alison Wilson.

Bye for now

 

We probably need to enjoy our racing while we have the chance tomorrow as apparently there is another cold snap awaiting us next week

Copper Bleu fairly bolted up at Newbury at the end of November winning by 14 lengths. The second on that occasion, Riverside Theatre franked the form the other day so I am inclined to favour Copper Bleu tomorrow in the 1.55 at Doncaster. The newcomer Master of Arts looks the danger. Now with David Pipe he ran up a sequence of 6 wins ion the flat for Sir Mark Prescott.

Lothian Falcon is a likable type. He has only been out of the first 3 4 times in his last 16 starts. He lines up in the 2.30 at Doncaster tomorrow and although he hasn’t run for 280 days he has gone well fresh in the past. He does need a sound surface so keep an eye on the going if you fancy him. Given good ground I can see him being placed at least.

There are 4 runners from my list to follow in the 3.00. I tipped Kilmackilloge when he won at Wetherby in November partly on the basis that he goes well fresh and this was his first start of the season. He won well that day and has been given a 2 month break. He has gone up 8 lbs for his win which will obviously make life more difficult for him. He will appreciate the drying ground though. He is certainly not a forlorn hope but there are others I prefer. I’msingingtheblues looks the best of the Paul Nicholls trio. His form figures over fences read 121 and his last win when beating Calgary Bay was a good performance. He has won for his jockey tomorrow; Christian Williams and has strong claims. I’m So Lucky put in an encouraging effort when second to Planet of Sound at Newbury trying to give the winner 10 lbs and is another for the short list. Three Mirrors was 5^th in the Paddy Power and arguably is best over further than tomorrow’s 2 miles. However there is likely to be a strong gallop which will bring his stamina into play. He is another that will not want the ground too soft .

These 4 all have a chance but at the odds I am inclined to go for Three Mirrors from a yard that traditionally does well in the second half of the season.

Gypsy George was runner up to Jass when they met at Ayr 3 weeks ago but now meets that rival on better terms in the 3.30. Gypsy George should be suited by this test of stamina and he is the selection.

In the 4.10 The Hollinwell and Picture This are my list runners. I am not confident enough about their chances to recommend them tomorrow though.

Turning my attention to Sandown there are some Champion Hurdle contenders lining up in the 2.05. Celestial Hero is likely to be a warm order following his second to Binocular last time. He was very enterprisingly ridden that day though and it is just possible that his finishing position flattered him a little. I am going to take a chance here and oppose him with last season’s Champion Hurdle runner up Osana. Although having his first outing of the season David Pipe is sure to have him fit to do himself justice.

Buck the Legend represents my lit to follow in the 2.35 but with the form of the Twiston-Davies yard not at its strongest I am going to give this one a miss.

I have a short list of 3 in the 3.10. Ballydub chased home Punchestowns earlier in the season and that horse is now one of the favourites for the World Hurdle. The fact that Ballydub was a faller last time will put some people off but if we ignore that run he would be in with an excellent chance. How’s Business struggled at the start of the season but after a breathing operation absolutely bolted up at Exeter on New Year’s Day. She could still have more to offer. At a really big price Khachaturian comes from a stable that is in red hot form and this front runner might be a bit of each way value.

At Wetherby my each way selection in the 1.15 is Breakwater House. He looks on a fair mark and the testing conditions should bring his stamina into play.

There are a couple of runners from my list to follow in the 2.30, The Whisperer and Daldini. The Whisperer has had injury problems but has plenty of talent and if he can be kept sound there should be a nice prize or two in him. He is yet to finish out of the first 3 in his career and is a leading contender here. Daldini put in a respectable effort when 3^rd at Doncaster last week. He handles give in the ground and his turn may not be far away.

Wild Cane Ridge has won 9 times in his career with 4 wins each in heavy and soft ground. In very testing conditions he would be a big threat in the 2.50.

Companero has won his last 5 races and has impressed me with his attitude and ability this season. He is the selection in the 3.25. Skipper’s Brig has won 5 times in his career all on heavy ground. If the ground is bottomless then he would be a big danger to the selection.

Today’s pictures are by kind permission of the artist Katy Sodeau.

That is about it for tonight.