3 for me tomorrow and 2 in the same race 2.40 Curragh Murura 14/1 Murura went into my tracker in April 2010 after showing an impressive tenacious resilience to finish a very decent 2nd 2.5L behind impressive Bronze Cup winning Magical Macey after absolutely falling out of the stalls and losing a fair few lengths at the start. Murura was ridden for virtually all the race and made up some very good ground to finish so close, especially over 5f. Murura had 2 more runs after his race, disappointing twice â once as favourite. He left the James Given yard and made her debut for the JJ Hartnett yard after a 10 month break at Leopardstown. He was well supported that day and finished a decent 5th about 4L behind subsequent winner Northern Rocked. Mururaâs next outing came at the start of May where Murura finished 7th in a huge blanked finish, ultimately finishing less than a length to the winner Phoebe Van Gelder. Murura was quite unlucky to finish a short head Roicead over tomorrows C+D in a 30 runner field off a mark of 72. Murura was drawn low and I feel did extremely well to finish so close to the winner considering she was on what I would feel to be the slower part of the Curragh racetrack. The form of that race is fantastic with Roicead, rated 74 that day, subsequently winning twice very impressively including off a mark as high as 98 and he is now a 108 rated animal. Further more, he put in a very good effort to come 3 in a Group 3 race recently and although Roicead is probably more progressive than Murura, I still think Murura has also come on a lot and it reads as excellent form to me. Furthmore, the 4th Marek that day was off 77 that day and finished 1/2L behind and he has since come out and put in an excellent 0.25L 2nd to Iron Major off 86 which solidifies that form. After 3 disappointing runs, Murura finally showed the promise I knew he had as he landed a bit of plot by Hartnett to take a Class 5f event at Newmarket earlier this month. With blinkers on for the first time, Murura was an extremely impressive 2.75L winner under the guidance of Mikael Barzalona and has been raised to a mark of 83 as a result. His time that day was very impressive too, as he completed his race in 58.99s on good ground. I think that Mururaâs 3 starts before his last outing can be discounted as I believe he was being saved for his last race. The form of his that race has worked out quite nicely too, with the 6th Fol Hollow who finished 6.75L behind Murura subsequently winning by 1.25L, the 2nd Whozthecat finishing a similar distance behind Duchess Dora, the 5th La Fortunata putting in 2 excellent efforts off 3lb higher marks and similar can be said for the 10th Five Star Junior. After his win, Murura changed both ownership and trainer as he was sold for 36,000 Guineas to move across to the excellent Kevin Ryan. I think this demonstrates that this 4 year old has a lot more improvement left in him. Murura was stepped into a 5f Class 2 event at Ascot where he eventually came a fast finishing 5th by 3.5L by Medicean Man after being hammered into 2nd favouritism from a double figure price. I have watched this race over and over again and to my eye the jockey that day Julie Burke gave him a very easy ride and I counted at most only 3 proper whips. It is very possible that Ryan was interested to see just how good an animal he had acquired and I really think he has got a very nice improving type. The form of that race is pretty decent also. Medicean Man has finished a very unlucky 0.25L 2nd to the progressive Dungannon since as well as a 1.5L 3rd in a Listed Race behind Humidor. He fell out of the stall that day and may have got closer to the winner but he may frank the form tomorrow in a Group 3 earlier in the day. The 2nd Duchess Dora has subsequently put in to fantastic efforts by finishing 0.75L behind Dungannon in 3rd off 4lb higher as well as posting an excellent 0.25L defeat to Tangerine Trees in a Listed Race. The 4th Judge and Jury has won since and the 7th Sohraab has put in 2 very credible efforts since also. To me the form looks very strong and with my opinion being that Murura had a lot left that day it is probably stronger. LTO Murura landed my biggest ever bet on his 2nd start for Kevin Ryan when landing a 6f Class 4 event at Newmarket last weekend. Under the hands of David Probert, Murura was surprisingly given a front running ride and led from pillar to post to score by 0.5L. I think Murura kicked on again when challenged late on and he was always holding them. I also think he had more in the tank and there is still a lot more to come from him. As a result of that effort, Murura was raised 4lb to 87 over in England but races off an effective mark of 88 tomorrow. Its a huge field tomorrow with 26 runners declared tomorrow and its a tougher race than last time. Further to this, Murura has never run on any ground softer than Good so the current ground declaration of Yielding to Soft tomorrow is a complete and utter unknown and is an obvious worry. However, Kevin Ryan is a shrewd man and with the going being the softer side of Good all week I donât think he would bother sending Murura across the Irish Sea as his only runner if he did not think the ground would suit. Stable jockey Philip Makin is going over for the only ride which is an obvious plus and its his first time taking the reins on this 4 YO. The draw should be fine and it will be interesting to see if he tries to make the running again or employs different tactics. There are much more question marks for Murura tomorrow than last time but the 14/1 available certainly negates these potential problems for me. I am convinced that Murura is capable of winning off this mark in the near future and hopefully he can do it tomorrow. 2.40 Curragh Jedward 25/1 Although Murura will be my main bet tomorrow I certainly think Jedward is worthy of a saver bet at a bigger price. Charles OâBrienâs unexposed 3 YO made his debut in September last year and came on from that effort when landing a maiden over 5f on Yielding ground last October by 2.5L to Nidian at Navan. Nidian has subsequently won off a mark of 71 subsequently and although this is the only sort of decent form to note from in behind it was still a decent performance from Jedward. On his handicap debut after a 6 month break Jedward disappointed off a mark of 73 on Heavy ground over tomorrowâs C+D but I am willing to forgive this run as he probably needed that reappearance run and he did indeed improve on that on his next start. Jedwardâs 2nd effort in a handicap is the piece of form I am most interested in as he put in an impressive 0.19L behind Roicead back in May over C+D and only a head behind Murura. Like Murura, Jedward raced on the far side rail and both of them may have been on the wrong side of the track. It was still a fantastic effort off a mark of 73 and the form of that race looks rock solid. Roicead is now a 108 rated animal and has placed in a Group 3 subsequently. The 4th Maarek, who reopposes tomorrow has subsequently won off a 2lb higher mark (in a race that he beat Jedward comprehensively) and came a decent 4th off a 12lb higher mark in the Ayr Silver Cup LTO and races off that mark of 89 tomorrow. Jedward meets both Murura and Maarek on far better terms tomorrow. Although Jedward is 3lb out of the handicap tomorrow, he has a 7lb claimer on board and effectively races off a mark of 72 which is 1lb lower than his effort behind Roicead. That day Murura was rated 72 and with Sam James 5lb claim he was racing off 67 effectively. With Murura racing off 89 tomorrow there is a huge swing in the weights and although Murura has clearly progressed and improved with blinkers fitted it is entirely possible that Jedward has improved also having had only 1 start since that race and heâs had 3 months off the track to freshen him up. Similarly, there is a 13lb swing between Maarek and Jedward and at the prices I am certainly willing to think there is more to come from this unexposed animal. Although Jedward did disappoint on his next and final start over 5f at the Curragh in a race which Maarek won, the 9L defeat was not as bad as it appeared. After tacking over from a middle draw to bag the near side rail, Jedward raced at the front on his side but the pace seemed very fast and it set it up for a finisher like Maarek. Jedward held every chance until a furlong out but was eased when beaten. The drop to 5f probably didnât suit and the return to 6f should suit tomorrow. Regular jockey Fran Berry canât make the weight tomorrow and thus 7lb claimer M M Monaghan takes the ride for the first time tomorrow. Although I donât know much about him, he has notched a few wins already this year and resultantly allows Jedward to race with a featherweight 7-11 on his back. If heâs improved for his run behind Roicead and is fully wound up he is certainly well weighted to go close. He has a good draw in stall 21 and off this mark he could easily make the frame for his in from trainer who has 2 wins from his last4 runners. ‎4.00 Clonmel Capal Dubh Alainn 12/1 - won off a mark of 95 by 18L on Heavy ground at Thurles in January 2010 - put in a decent performance on Good/Good to firm in Roscommon in August when as 12.75L 5th behind Ongenstown Lad over 3m off a mark of 104 (7lb claimer on board) - LTO Capal Dubh Alainn put in an excellent 3rd 1.78L behind the well handicapped Bundle of Fun over 3m at Listowel on Heavy ground off a mark of 104 (5lb claimer on board) - Raised only 2lb for that effort and has the same jockey on board tomorrow as when 3rd in the shape of P A Gallagher - Any rain would be a positive for what is trainer William Coleman O'Brien and the jockeys only action tomorrow.
Roto, yet again an informative piece,do you follow the Irish racing scene, i tried to get into the Irish jumps last year , but to no avail, but will try again this winter,.I have Irishracing.com bookmarked ready for the winter months.I find the Irish racing very hard to figure out, maybe with time and patience it will come to me
Cheers Island I'm Irish so I always try to keep my toes on this side of the water when I can. That said, I definitely have a better knowledge of racing in the UK. I do prefer the jumps as a visual spectacle but in terms of the betting and analysis aspect I've always been far more successful with the flat so its going to be tough for me to make the transition across to the same level!
Three for me today and i would appreciate another one to make up an unlucky 15 Primroseandblue (Patrick) goes for the bumper over 2m 4f. He has been off the track for a long time but he is ready to start back again now. He disappointed on a couple of occasions in the past but hopefully the longer trip and better ground today will bring about improvement.(from willie, very formal this morning, oddy must have had words) Akeed Mofeed Shaped with definite promise on debut in seven furlong Leopardstown maiden dominated by hot-pot Learn. The son of Dubawi was slowly away and still in rear early in the straight before coming home with great effect in the closing stages. He looks sure to progress and win races with a mile no problem on this evidence (Irishracing.com) Valley of Hope 5pm Muss was given this at Catterick yonks ago and has never got close, however hung right lto and hanagan back up top so im in the last chance saloon with this one, (i seem to have my own chair and glass in this establishment) So thats my 3 shortish odds 7/4 Evens and 5s any body got one for me please Stay Frosty
Also well done the Irish, seems any thing we can do they can do better, come on Scotland would be great for "local" teams to well down under
http://twitter.com/#!/CorneliusRacing Cornelius Lysaght states that Northern jockey Paddy Aspell to give up jumps & concentrate on Flat; extra, more lucrative opportunities & NH times hard in frozen winters
Morning all - stonkingly nice day in Berlin resulting in world record time for the marathon (before you ask, no I didn't run). Nice to see Loosen My Load winning yesterday - had high hopes for him as a novice last season and I'm hoping for big things from him as a 2nd season chaser. May even stick him in the old 10 to follow list Dan - like the look of Ruby on Tony Martin's Adrianeo in the 5.05, although if it comes up very soft Ardglen could be the one to be on. No bet banner for me today though.
YEP---they arent bad at digging holes either--but i am the master.had my first swim in the tyne this morning,was just waiting for the water to cool doon a bit. anyone read that article in the papers accusing geordies of being racist? just because last sunday morning--54000 geordies were seen chasing a kenyan south out of newcastle over the tyne bridge. one for me today--hate taking on roto---but FLIC FLAC seems good value at 12s
Quiet day for me today...good luck to all players...hope ROTO pulls it off with Murura as seems lots on here on it last week.
At this stage I think the more likely winner will be Jedward. The money for him on Betfair is astonishing. 15k of 31k bet in a 26 runner race all on 1 horse!
Can't complain with that effort at all. 1st time on ground that probably didn't suit and he gets beaten close home by a proven winner on the ground. There's definitely a lot more to come from him and Jedward ran a cracker too.
Tracey Waggott runs Nufodah in the 3.55 at Mussleburgh and i quite fancy it as she has really hit form allbeit late in the season. I have just had it in a win single and in a double with Epsom Salts at Epsom.
Marvellous stuff - my mum used to always have it in the house when I was a kid. Absolutely no idea what they are and what they're good for but if ever there was anything wrong with me as a kid, Epsom Salts was usually the answer
In the Beresford stakes, I've had to back AOBs 'third string' Athens at 12/1 because it looked to be crying out for the extra furlong behind the John Oxx fav LTO. I think its way overpriced but the Oxx horse might turn out to be very very good.
Massive drift on the hotpot Toppy I think the Weld horse will appreciate the step up in trip but may be out of his league here ..............
Lets just say if you were having trouble going Odddog you could put a big spoon full in some water and you would be fine very soon afterwards. At smaller doses a bit of a liver tonic after a night on the tiles as it makes the biles ducts open and flushes out the toxins. Sadly i think the horse needs a little tonic of salts as did'nt show today.
