Monday's Meetings Ayr Flat 7 Races 1:00-4:30p.m. Cartmel N/H 8 Races 1:10-5:15p.m. Ballinrobe(E) Flat 7 Races 4:20-7:25p.m. Windsor(E) Flat 7 Races 5:35-8:40p.m. Beverley(E) Flat 7 Races 5:45-8:50p.m. Racecards At The Races Sporting Life Racing Post Place a bet in the Virtual Betting shop here Good Luck
Not much quality today but I thought there was one who might defy a 3 lbs rise at Windsor tonight. A Sure Welcome is knocking on a bit at 7YO but has looked in good form this season. In his favour is that he has form figures of 12131 on his last five starts. He is also a course and distance winner on good to firm and soft, so seems versatile. It is good to firm this evening and that might make carrying top weight a little easier. He is up to 92 now but sometimes the actual mark is less important than having all the other factors in place and all seems set for a sound effort tonight. Drawn in stall 1, A Sure Welcome likes to be prominent and I would imagine the plan is to kick out and try to make all this evening. None of his rivals come here off a win and Lihou's third place is the best effort last time out in the rest of the field. His form figures are a frustrating looking 244433 and not what I like to see for a win bet. That said, I feel he is most likely to be runner up. I would be disappointed if A Sure Welcome doesn't run well and at 11/2 I thought he was worth a bet, with Lihou for the forecast. 7.35 Windsor A Sure Welcome 11/2 A Sure Welcome/Lihou SF
What admirable horse A SURE WELCOME is and you are certain to get a run for your money. Tonight I would be very wary of GLAMOROUS ANNA. CAPRICIOUS, WOODCOCK and TYPEWRITER all at decent prices in the first three. FAMOUS and COMPANIONSHIP for the jolly backers later.
A Sure Welcome just never went a yard tonight, fell out of the traps and could never get competitive. For once the forecast horse didn't win when the selection bombed but Lihou only went down by a neck to Operatic. The Crisford horse did have a course win as a Novice at 2YO and had pissed up in that one but has been off the radar since. She tried 5F for the first time last time out but was 14th of the 14 runners and hardly suggested that 5F was the cure for being out of the winners enclosure. Looking back though, the filly reared coming out of the stalls last time and the jockey never really made any attempt to make up the lost ground, coasting along in last before making a bit of a shove 2F out, when it was too late to make up on how far the others were clear. Operatic pinged the stalls this time and got to the rail in front of A Sure Welcome but she had come under pressure to catch the ones in the centre and it was a shove to get her home late and collar Lihou. I suppose if you forgave the tardy start last time Operatic was pickable but it shows how hard you really have to study races to get all the clues. Still disappointed with A Sure Welcome tonight. I had expected he wouldn't be far away.
The 7.05 Windsor was a farce in the end. An 11 runner race had two non-runners and the five withdrawn due to getting upset in the stalls. It was left to Piffle to win a four runner race at 6/5 and a 45p in the pound Rule 4. I didn't see what happened but that seemed a hell of a carve up.
