Well done to all that ended in profit today after the first race it could have been curtains for many and then the 150/1 winner you could have been excused for throwing the towel in and calling it a day.
Nice one with Bernies Boy mate. I don't believe in any of that wishy washy ****e, be it a god, spiritual or whatever but a winners a winner well done.
Interesting that Alpine Star's time was slightly faster than Palace Pier's. Level weights and the former won comfortably. Must be a pretty good filly
Sceptical just didn't last home. He came to win it but you could see the petrol gauge just start to run out and it was inevitable Hello Youmzain was going to get there. I had Hello Youmzain when he won a Group 2 in France as a 2YO and as a 3YO I had said this going into the Champion Sprint at Ascot at the tail end of last season:- I thought Hello Youmzain had a good chance in the Sprint. His best form is on soft and he's not fully exposed yet. I can't be with Advertise on this ground and I suspect One Master is just a shade short of the class at the 6F trip. On a tricky day I decided to pull the wallet out for one last Hurrah on Hello Youmzain at 13/2. He served me well as a 2YO and can lead them home today in the gutters. 1.35 Ascot Hello Youmzain 13/2 It didn't pan out sadly and he was midfield that day. No such problems today without the burden of my cash. Perhaps he is a horse who likes some cut but not heavy going as it was in last year's Sprint Championship. Well done Hello Youmzain backers. In particular Benoit has had a good meeting and week in general. Massive shout from Captain Pops with Hey Jonesy at 40/1. I used to know a couple of guys who felt this horse would come good at a big price one day and they were right. I couldn't play the Wokingham and people taking 5/1 on Bielsa in a 22 runner sprint really should be thinking about value for money. Betting Even money for a place in races like that is suicidal punting and odds of 5/1 suggest the horse has a 16% chance of winning a 22 runner handicap. Really? The closing race on the card is the biggest Yawnfest ever devised. It makes the Great British Sewing Bee look positively enthralling by comparison. It should come with a government warning. "Please do not attempt to drive or operate heavy machinery after watching this race" Still, well done Alan King with Three winners this week. Compared to Aidan O'Brien, who had some winners but a shed load of duffers this week, the more jump oriented trainer should be proud of his achievement. Well done everyone who had some success this week. There was some mean shooting going on here.
Gamine super impressive this evening in Belmont. With hindsight, went off a decent price considering her superiority. Was she not tested positive a few months ago for lidocaine. Is the long term target the Oaks I remember reading something along those lines from Baffert after the maiden win.
Coolmore should get rid of O’Brien from Ballydoyle and get King to rule the place. Five runners: three winners, a second and a fifth. If only we had known on Tuesday to just back his runners to a level stake.
The official Irish handicapper has raised Alpine Star 9 lbs to 117. I am not sure you could justify pushing it any higher really. I am not convinced Quadrilateral came forward at all from Newmarket. Maybe she actually ran to a few pounds lower. The Racing Post gave her 106 for Newmarket and 107 for the Coronation Stakes. Those figures are 9 lbs and 8 lbs below the mark they gave her for last year's Fillies Mile and you can only really conclude that her Official mark of 114 looks too high based on two races where she has come up well short of that rating. I would be contemplating knocking a couple of pounds off that official mark now and it would seem a step up to 10F would be the next logical step for the Charlton trained filly.
I am sharing your view here that some horses may have been over-rated last year just to make other horses’ ratings work. Are we going to end up looking back at Pinatubo’s National Stakes romp as an Arazi moment? Whilst I thought Quadrilateral’s Fillies’ Mile was the best effort by a juvenile filly last year it too may have been over egged (even though the subsequent Guineas winner was third). In two races this year, Quadrilateral has run too freely (or failed to settle), so she clearly does not warrant retaining her juvenile rating. If they go to the Oaks with her the step up in distance will not resolve the temperament issue (she is not the first Frankel to be headstrong). The 1000 Guineas form is not looking so hot now either but all Love could do was win decisively, and her middle distance pedigree and uncomplicated racing style still makes her look the one to beat at Epsom. My general suspicion post-Ascot is that we will have another year like last where the soft ground at the Royal meeting produced a lot of winners that could not deliver once the ground dried out returning the advantage to the fast horses. That said I expect Alpine Star to go on to better things and push her rating at least to the mid 120s.
117 is a nonsense rating, the RPR rated it 121 and the official rating wont be too far off that, 119 minimum, shes beaten Quadrilateral 1.5L further than Love who is rated 118, Cloak of Spirits beaten 8L, So Wonderful beaten 6L further than the Irish Guineas. A rating of 117 doesnt add up im afraid, it was better than that. Sharing and Quadrilateral are both very good, Quadrilateral has obviously become a bit of a dog but she has plenty of ability.
Sadly my brother jumpsfan has passed away today. Racing especially NH racing was his passion for about 25 years. Nice to see his last tip was a winner at Royal Ascot. He loved to write up his ideas here. RIP my brother
OMG that is so very sad and really unexpected. Commiserations to all his friends and family RIP Jumpsfan
