Monday's Meetings Wolverhampton A/W 7 Races 1:00-4:25p.m. Downpatrick N/H 7 Races 1:10-4:30p.m. Ripon Flat 7 Races 1:20-4:50p.m. Epsom Flat 7 Races 2:00-5:30p.m. Chepstow Flat 6 Races 2:15-5:05p.m. Cartmel N/H 7 Races 2:20-5:55p.m. Roscommon(E) Flat 8 Races 4:10-7:45p.m. Racecards At The Races Sporting Life Racing Post Good Luck
Not a bad race for a Monday over at Ripon. The Listed 2YO Trophy sees several last time out winners line up but I think a horse who was 3rd last time can win here. Hellomydarlin has not added to her debut win but has run in some good races and clashed with some decent fillies. Her poorest runs thus far have come on heavy and soft. She beat Zain Claudette on debut and ran behind Atomic Force in the Prix Robert Papin. The Kevin Ryan horse is as good a 2YO as we saw this season but has left to race in Hong Kong now. Hellomydarlin also ran Gis A Sub to half a length and that horse was recently runner up to Lusail in the Gimcrack. Running against these good horses saw Hellomydarling awarded a Handicap rating of 98 and that looked a stiff mark for her Nursery debut but she ran a cracker in 3rd, beaten only 3/4 of a length at 20/1. That saw her mark raised to 102 and I think that makes her very much the one to beat today. Karl Burke's Taj Alriyadh is 3/3 but hasn't been keeping anything like the same company as the selection. Flotus made a taking debut but seems to have failed to go on from it. Melayu Kingdom made a nice start back in April but presumably has had a problem that kept him off the track for 135 days. That's off-putting for me. Atomic Lady has been pretty steady and I took her for the forecast here. 3.05 Ripon Hellomydarlin 3/1 Hellomydarlin/Atomic Lady SF I thought Hellomydarling would have been nearer 2/1. Good luck to all Monday players.
Tired old racing clichés "you'll never beat a Johnston horse in a battle" Nagano burst my short price treble on Saturday but hearing words similar to above peeved me more! You'd think his horses never lost.
I will take a small each way chance on Pakie's Dream in the 5.55 at Cartmel. Didn't see out the 3 m last 2 runs when leading for a long way. Today down in trip to 2 m 6 f at a sharp track like Cartmel could suit. On a career-low mark now and 4lb below last winning mark. The Candlish yard amongst the winners recently and with some runners earning minor money last 14 days. Jockey Sean Quinlan rides the track well (amongst the top 5 Cartmel jockeys ).
Kettle Hill is a warm favourite for the 3.40 Race at Ripon, This is no surprise as he is a lightly raced William Haggas runner with scope for more. His form ties in with Garden Oasis and he is 4 lbs better in with that rival today, for just a head defeat, and the maths says he will reverse form today. Garden Oasis in turn links to Copper And Five and they have a win apiece in their meetings. It was Garden Oasis who prevailed last time but only by a neck and Copper And Five is a pound better off today. The latter horse was originally trained by John Gosden but left quickly after a disappointing debut. The Paco Boy gelding is lightly enough raced for his age and he has been in the money 7 times from 12 starts. Quietly progressive this season, he seems to go well for Mick Easterby's Granddaughter Joanna Mason, who is a 3 lb claimer. With Kettle Hill 13/8, I decided to go with Copper And Five, who is four times the odds on 13/2. 3.40 Ripon Copper And Five 13/2 Saver SF Kettle Hill/Copper And Five
Cartmel 3.30 Dino Velvet Impressed 2 runs ago when winning on debut over fences under todays rider. Beaten fav when race may have come to soon 9 days later. Has been given more time to recover. Has won of this mark over hurdles and Alexander Thorne takes off valuable 5 lb. The Alan King yard amongst the winners recently. Its Alan King's only runner today and he has a record of 1 win 1 placed from 2 runs at Cartmel over the last 5 seasons.
There has been a lot of money for it and the yard usually land their plots. The favourite now is The Darley Lama and he makes his stable debut. It could be that he is kidding them on with his work at home as his spell with the good Dr showed a horse no longer in love with the game. I actually fancy TOP BILLING who I have backed at 28/1. Simple reasoning is that he loves the track and the proper jockey is back on board. An extra couple of furlongs would have been a plus but at the prices he looks worth a small ew punt. Every Tom, Dick and Harry has been on board of late but he has an excellent strike rate when Hughesie is in the saddle. Good luck.
Cartmel 4.45 Elmono Course record: 12 Winner at this track one year ago off 2lb higher. First time tongue strap today could eak out some improvement. Lucinda Russel's only runner in the last 14 days outran big odds (28/1) in a flat race at Musselburgh when a not beaten far 4th so I would think stable form is not a negative. Its the yard's only runner today and they had 10 from 27 runs in the first three in handicap chases at Cartmel over the last 5 seasons.
16:45 Cartmel - Brotherly Company (Should give a good account in this event) 17;55 Cartmel - Keeper Chris (Certainly an improving hurdler, so worth a modest punt at around 11/2 atm)
Flotus was a revelation today and did the lot of them for pace. The one time Albany favourite had seemed to have lost her way but regained the winning thread in no uncertain terms. There had been money for her during the build up with some firms and she was as short as 3/1 in places. Hellomydarlin was clear second and my forecast filly Atomic Lady was 3rd but that's racing for you. In the other race Copper And Five completely fluffed the start and was in the rear. Ridden to get back in contention, he briefly headed the favourite but in the closing stages weakened right away, leaving the favourite and old sparring partner Garden Oasis to fight out the finish but despite the fact that the Fav was 4lbs better in for neck defeat it was Garden Oasis who held on to win by a nose. With Copper And Five a pound better in for a neck defeat by today's winner, it was galling to see him fail to run his race 14 lengths adrift today. Again, that's typical in this mad game we play in.
