Saturday's Meetings Sandown Flat 7 Races 1:15-4:47p.m. Haydock Flat 7 Races 1:30-5:00p.m. Beverley Flat 7 Races 1:40-4:35p.m. Naas Flat 7 Races 2:10-5:40p.m. Leicester(E) Flat 6 Races 4:05-6:55p.m. Bellewstown(E) N/H 8 Races 4:53-8:30p.m. Nottingham(E) Flat 7 Races 5:35-8:40p.m. Carlisle(E) Flat 7 Races 5:48-8:50p.m. Racecards At The Races Sporting Life Racing Post Good Luck
The Group-2, Class-1, Lancashire Oaks for Fillies' & Mares' at Haydock (14:40) over a distance just short of 1m4f on good ground, is a very competitive event with several holding a decent chance to win it. Without further ado, choice is the Lope De Vega filly, Lady Boba. Rossa Ryan on board for the Ralph Beckett yard. 7/2 best price early-doors in nearly all places, on the ATR site.
I had a look at the Sandown card purely from the perspective of picking runners for the ITV7. I note that the Coral Eclipse is not part of the ITV7 because everyone expects City Of Troy to win so it would just be a tie breaker based on winning distance. Wonder if O’Blarney already has his excuse rehearsed if it turns out to be another Auguste Rodin. As it is the Sandown card is a write-off as far as betting is concerned with the going now Soft whilst, ironically, the course where it is hardly ever better than Good to Soft, Haydock, is reporting Good going. At the time of writing, fourteen will face the starter for the 2:05 at Haydock. A number of the outsiders look quite easy to eliminate. Flickering Halo has been extinguished twice since victory in a moderate ten furlong race at Beverley but quicker ground here is a plus. Tryfan opened his account on the kitty litter at the fourth attempt but was beaten more than 8 lengths on his penultimate start. Pappano would be twice the price if he did not live in the Gosden barn but he is owned by the trainer’s wife and drops into handicaps for the first time. The two best efforts by Local Arms were on easy ground last term and her handicap debut comes over a half mile more than her last race second last. Maiden Games People Play also steps up half a mile after a poor first attempt in handicaps. Filibustering won a maiden handicap but was subsequently well beaten by My Noble Lord at Ripon but only lost out in a three-way photo last time at Doncaster and has to have chances off bottom weight. That Ripon race was My Noble Lord’s third win in four starts this year and he is clearly progressive; however, the two turf wins were on easy ground and the handicapper has put him up 9lb today. If ignoring East India Dock’s no show at Royal Ascot, his previous three runs give grounds for optimism but he is another one that may want it easier. Clearly there could be a blot on the handicap here as William Haggas runs Dramatic Star, long odds on winner of a modest Hamilton maiden on his third start. As I do not like first-time-in-a-handicap horses, I will risk taking him on. Fouroneohfever ran up a hat-trick in small fields before an excellent fourth at Royal Ascot (East India Dock way behind), has only been raised 2lb and ought to go well. Hampden remains a maiden but ran well last time when second in a Thirsk race where Too Bossy For Us was just behind in third but Align The Stars won decisively. I cannot see any reason why those placed horses should reverse that over an extra two furlongs on just 4lb better terms. So that brings me to the topweight in a three year old handicap, Wild Waves, who beat East India Dock over this trip at Doncaster but has been raised 7lb in his hat-trick bid today, his sixth career start. As the price has collapsed, I will be giving it a miss.
Saved my money on the 2:05, but other than the first two home the next five were those outsiders I wrote off. As usual there is a competitive renewal of the Old Newton Cup at Haydock (3:15) but there look to be quite a few that it is easy to draw a line through. L’astronome has done nothing in his last two starts to suggest he will be getting involved today, Mysterious Love has done nothing in eight starts since winning a mile maiden, Sheradann has not been seen since winning a five runner conditions race at Fontainebleau last October for the Aga Khan and makes his British debut, King’s Code and Loyal Touch step up to twelve furlongs for the first time, the latter having won at Chester with the former back in fourth; and Flash Bardot may need a lot of rain (last three wins on Soft, Heavy and Soft). Teumessias Fox won at this trip on the kitty litter but will surely need this after three months off since finishing last at Newcastle. Blinkers have been applied to Maghlaak but the gelding has failed to live up to his illustrious pedigree, running poorly when favourite for the Zetland Gold Cup last time. Old boy Euchan Glen won for the first time in three years last time at Ayr (Iron Lion fifth) but this looks a lot hotter off a 4lb higher mark and he was second last in the 2023 running. It was curious that Sheer Rocks made his reappearance at Royal Ascot but he was fifth in this race last term beaten less than two lengths and runs off a 2lb lower mark, so he might be one to watch. Towards the top of the weights looks to be where the winner will most likely be found. Chillingham has placed on both his most recent runs but has not won since his 2023 reappearance at Thirsk, following up another win there to close 2022; both on soft ground. Running off the same mark as at York in May, he might find one or two too quick at the finish. Cambridgeshire winner Astro King has been plying his trade in pattern races and will find it hard to give weight all around as it is questionable whether he wants this trip. La Yakel and Epic Poet are both short in the betting, the former making his seasonal return on a career high mark from the Haggas barn and the latter on a career high mark after a good second at Royal Ascot. I would prefer the latter if getting involved with either, especially with La Yakel drawn 18. If Not Now is probably best judged on his seasonal debut third at Lingfield than his no show at Epsom but that still leaves him with questions to answer, however, as the Epsom race was won by RELENTLESS VOYAGER (Flash Bardot eighth) who now races off a 7lb higher mark having subsequently run a creditable third in the Listed Ebor Grand Cup over further. Oisin Murphy should be able to get a good position today from the nine box on only his ninth start.
Absolutely pathetic at Haydock Park. Hold a long inspection before the Lancashire Oaks and then decide that it is safe to continue. Run the Lancashire Oaks, the feature pattern race on the card, won by Queen Of The Pride. Hold a long inspection before the Old Newton Cup and then decide it is not safe to continue. Abandon all races on the round course but still run the sprint race on the straight track. Cynical me wonders how much that has saved them in refunds. Probably gave out vouchers for the next meeting.
I would not want to be holding an Arc ticket for City Of Troy after his performance in the Coral Eclipse. Clearly he would not be winning the Arc on soft ground, having to run all the way round those sweeping bends at the end of the track. Purely as a matter of form, the close proximity of the placed horses suggests that City Of Troy did not run to the 124 rating that he obtained winning the Derby. My guess is that the plan will still be the Juddmonte International and the Irish Champion. Then they have to decide whether it is Longchamp or Ascot if they want to go to the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Here we are being told about a wonder horse yet his rating is only 124. The generally accepted figure for an outstanding horse is 135 and the experts see him as nowhere near that.
Apparently they did not water the track because there was rain forecast (well, Haydock is just down the rain from Manchester) but none materialised. Obviously they could not water the track during racing but they had an inspection after a couple of the runners (including the favourite) slipped on the turn. Somehow they still decided that it was safe to race, so I am not buying the waffle put out by the racecourse about safety of horses and jockeys coming first. Why did the jockeys not refuse to ride in the next race if there was a danger of slipping? Luke Morris claimed that runner-up Tiffany slipped in the Lancashire Oaks so then there was another inspection and this time all races on the round course were abandoned but the nursery on the straight course took place. Having run four of the seven races on the card, the racecourse was then able to get away with offering racegoers tickets for a future meeting rather than any type of refund. I would have to question the official going report of “Good” if the ground was hard enough that horses could slip on it.
