Saturday's Meetings Navan Flat 8 Races 1:25-5:15p.m. Bangor-on-Dee N/H 7 Races 1:40-5:10p.m. Newbury Flat 7 Races 1:50-5:25p.m. Newmarket Flat 7 Races 2:05-5:35p.m. Thirsk Flat 8 Races 2:10-6:10p.m. Doncaster(E) Flat 7 Races 5:30-8:35p.m. Uttoxeter(E) N/H 7 Races 5:50-8:50p.m. Racecards At The Races Racing Post Sporting Life Good Luck
With Crowley at the Lockinge meeting, Dane Oneill has been left on a few nice horses at Newmarket. I was impressed by Khuzaam last year although the horse he beat at Kempton has since let the from down, that isnt an automatic death sentence as its more about who progresses and steps up in higher grade than the actual maiden form on paper, but its not ideal either. He runs in the first race and it looks pretty hot for the listed status, the favourite Raise You was impressive first time out and was considered for the Dante, the 2nd fav Al Hilallee was supplemented and supported for the Guineas so its not your average listed race. I think the market has the right favourite but hes short at 5/4 and im going with Khuzaam 9/2 as ive been waiting for him and I hoped he could be a Tercentenary horse this season, he will need to go close to winning this to be considered for that race at Ascot. The last Oaks trial takes place at Newbury and I put up Sea Of Faith 11/4 the other day for this and have backed her for the Oaks at 20/1, poor horse will only have 2 little weeks to recover before then if she proves good enough to run. The London Gold Cup is often one of the best 3yo handicaps, producing multiple top Group horses over the years. The prime candidate tomorrow appears to be Sinjaari 9/2 who has produced two eye catching runs this season. Not given a hard time when a fast finishing 2nd to Private Secretary, he looked to be just getting the hang of things late and was a winner without a penalty really next time at Windsor when travelling all over them and quickening nicely to win hands and heels. Private Secretary had form with Space Blues at 2 and is now rated 92 after an easy win off 83, considering Sinjaari is likely to have progressed past him, he could be on a very lenient mark of 89 here. His pedigree isnt flashy at first glance but his dam is a daughter of a half sister to Lochsong and Camelot is looking the part as a sire.
Sea Of Faith was an eye-catcher last time. Slowly away but she finished strongly into 4th place. These deemed to be unlucky horses sometimes go off shorter than they should in my experience though and bookmakers have taken no chances at 2/1 and 9/4 for this Listed contest. She probably needs to win this race quite convincingly to be an Oaks winner in the making because it is not a strong looking field on the form so far, with Richard Hannon's Guineas also ran Star Terms the highest rated to date. Queen Power looked last time out that she could do with a bit further when running on in second place. Transferred from Ralph Beckett to Michael Stoute she will probably come forward for the patient trainer but I am not sure that was a strong race she was in last time. The second highest rated in the field, she is close behind Sea Of Faith in the betting and I feel she is a tad short bearing in mind that you need to take it with a pinch of salt that she is 23 lbs ahead of Sea Of Faith on RPRs and that she is not stone wall guaranteed to get the 10F if it's a strongly run race. Lavender's Blue is an interesting contender. One of four in the race by Sea The Stars, she was backed and rewarded the faith at Newmarket on her only start. She travelled well that day and won in the style of a horse who would enjoy the step up from a mile. Had she been a better price I might have gone with her but given that trainer Amanda Perrett rarely enters the more rarefied waters with her horses the 11/2 odds don't quite appeal. Star Catcher is one of the other Sea The Stars fillies in the field and she was odds-on for her debut at Chelmsford in late December. She was disappointing that day though and ran to a modest mark. Much improved when winning over today's course and distance last time she faces better ground and better opponents this time but her trainer is renowned for improving his fillies and he has tasted success already on the road to the Oaks. She gets the nod from me over Lavender's Blue at only half a point shorter for a more proven stable. Conclusion:- Sea Of Faith will have her followers and the trainer did well with Sea Of Class last season. The odds are not enough for me here though, mainly because the winner from her debut race, Sparkle Roll, was awful earlier this week and really deflated the form. The runner up from that race, King Power, also got trounced next time, more than 10 lengths in arrears of Gosden's Anapurna and that puts the boot into the form too much for me. Queen Power is too short although offering a good level of form and Star Terms has had too many chances now, even if this is a drop in grade for her. In the end I felt the risk/reward ratio was best represented by Gosden's Star Catcher. She is an improver and proven stayer, and while the ground is quicker this time she may come forward a fair bit again today. At 5/1 I thought she was a decent price. 4.50 Newbury Star Catcher 5/1
You not worried that the runner up to Star Catcher was beaten 3L by a lesser light of Haggas at Brighton next time and the 3rd was beaten 27L at Salisbury, nice pedigree but not the sort of form I expect you to like. Sea of Faith was clueless on debut and will leave that well behind, the winner was only beaten 5L in the Musidora and the runner up ran 3rd in the Lingfield Oaks trial, the 6th and 7th also won maidens next time. Thats probably why shes been backed from 7/2 into 2/1.
Telly pics and comps entry. Newbury 1-50 Moyassar 3-00 Sinjaari 3-40 Le Brevido NAP Newmarket 2-05 Al Hilalee 2-40 Jash 3-15 Dazzling Dan Night night
Down south of the border today, so must get my bet on early! 14:15 Bangor - Out For Justice (Very consistent and should do better now back to fences. Ridden by champion jockey for Katy Price. 11/4 with Bet365 and BetVictor at time of writing.) Good luck with your bets today for all those having a go!
3 for me today at Newbury. 1.50 Kurious 3.00 Sinjaari 3.40 Mustashry EW treble & singles. Have a good weekend fellas
I’m going to trust the filly’s allowance is generous enough to give Laurens the edge in the Lockinge. I remember a few years back when the stats said fillies couldn’t win the race - then Stoute won it with Russian Rhythm, and fillies won something like 3 of the next 4 runnings. 4/1 is a fair price imo, but I’ll keep an eye on that for a bit - if she drifts I’ll take the hint
Isn’t the Lockinge the poorest renewal in donkeys years? Loads of group 2 and 3 horses running against Laurens.
It’s never a particularly deep race though, is it? Not sure why, just a bit early in the calendar maybe.
It normally has one star in it, thinking back to Frankel, Canford Cliffs and Paco Boy. But it’s not the premier mile race of the season that’s for sure and relies on vintage crops staying in training. The one with star potential is the ex Fabre horse but it’s a race I will watch for the future.
Star Catcher is a winner and won easily. She had improved about 2 stones from her debut to her second run. I expect more improvement and she is more than double the price of the two at the head of the market. For me it's about potential versus the available odds. I didn't think the Musidora was a good contest. The fact that Sparkle Roll ran like a crab an wasn't beaten that far underlines that it may have been a moderate renewal. Sparkle Roll was giving Sea Of Faith 7 lbs when they met. That fact and runner up King Power getting hammered 10 lengths next time were enough to put me off the Haggas filly. If your selection wins, well done, if she goes on to win the Oaks better still. I don't see what the problem is in me holding a different opinion to yours. That's what the game is all about. You can always start the Sea Of Faith fan club in the aftermath of today. If she's impressive I might just join it myself. That's not my style of drawing attention to my winning selections though. I'll give your post a like if your horse wins though. Fair play to anyone tipping winners.
Morning all... I wonder how long Watford will hold out before Man City score their first in todays FA cup final. If they score first I fear a the contest is over..but fingers crossed its a good game. I hope Watford win but I cant see it. On to the horse racing then for today and just the one bet for me in the Lockinge: Mythical Magic 20/1 each way 4 places. There doesn't appear to be a stand out runner in todays line up and therefore a tough one to call. I feel though that this fella could be improving fast and his last run in Dubai was convincing enough over a mile. Has only finished out of the top three once and with the potential for showers this afternoon that might make the going 'good' I think he will enjoy the ground and straight mile. He will be fit enough having had 2 runs already this year and with Godolphin having won this race three times in the last four years a big run is expected. Good luck all
The Lockinge is as mediocre a renewal as I can recall. Take the 110 rated (Fluke?) Guineas winner Billesdon Brook away and you are left with just 2 lbs covering the ratings of the other 13 runners. They are all rated between 115 and 117 so it's all about finding the one most likely to run its race for a small bet at decent odds. Laurens had an excellent season last year but the only time I backed her was when she was second in the 1000 Guineas. She had the happy knack of finding just enough in a battle and was very game indeed. I am always a bit wary about fillies coming out for a 4YO career, as I have seen too many disappoint in past seasons. I'll pass on her up against male company in an open affair. Le Brivido is a horse I had backed ante-post for the Jersey Stakes and although he didn't win by much it was a cosy and somewhat cheeky success. He had injury problems afterwards but I did back him ante-post for the Queen Anne as that was nominated as his target. I had to look twice when I saw that his comeback race was the Abernant because it seemed suicidal taking on specialist sprinters. He never went the pace and then had a further setback. Transferred to O'Brien he made his comeback in a 7F Group 3 where he was favourite at 5/2 but he never quite looked like winning. That was a race that was populated by some mediocre types and the winner Imaging has been well placed by Dermot Weld to win races when he was still only rated 104 coming into that contest. I didn't see enough to convince me that Le Brivido was the one at the odds he is today. He still has to prove that he is a true miler and has not had much racing since he last actually won a race. Lord Glitters is admirable enough but probably not really a Group 1 performer but then none of them here really are, apart from perhaps Laurens in fillies company. In the end I sided with Mustashry who shaped well enough on his comeback. The winner of that race Zabeel Prince is set to tackle good company and Stoute's horse is a steady sort who should go close if he runs to his best. Not always an each-way betting fan but with 4 places up for grabs and such an open affair, I felt the option was Mustashry EW at 10/1. He covers enough factors and seems likely to build on a decent return to action. 3.40 Newbury Mustashry 10/1 EW places 1,2,3,4
Morning all. My mind is obviously elsewhere today but picked out one I quite like. Lake Volta 4-30 Thirsk should do much better than his run at Ascot last week. Usually have a bet on the Cup Final but can't bring myself to do it today!
Le Brivido to win the Lockinge for the speckled one.Expect City to dominate the game at Wembley but can't really see any decent wager for this one.
