Two for me 2.15 Premium 6/1 2.45 Countrywide Flame 7/2 I did give Salhooda a big look but Welds 3yos seem to be a bit behind at the minute, I wonder would she be here if he didnt have a runner in the Chester Cup, this Premium is supposedly Hills Oaks filly and they have Just The Judge so make of that what you will.
16.25 Chester- Masamah 1st run for new trainer Marco Botti - likes to run from the front- this is a step down in class for him and if he can get out of a very good draw (stall 2) he is gonna take some passing!
THIMAAR EW Glee kows what he is doing here boys and wont be out the frame James back for Robbie on Thursday wednesday sorry kids, all 3 have a chance but Robbie wins stay frosty
If these Fergie rumors are true the Champ is going to have the arse on for an extended period of time.
Personally I'd be in the camp you have to take on Countrywide Flame in the Chester Cup. I'd be in agreement with TopClass about Address Unknown being very interesting at 16/1. I also think Buckland looks vastly overpriced at 14/1. Ran a career best in the Sagaro Stakes to finish 4th behind horses that are rated 104 or higher and proved he's as good on turf as he is on the all weather. Due to go up 10lb from his current mark of 94 for that run and tomorrow he is 2lb below the mark he was beaten a short head on the AW last month and the booking of Buick certainly catches the eye.
I have one to put up early Chester 3.15 Gatepost 5-1 This is a good bet for me as the horse has always indicated that he has ability but failed to build on it last year. I put this down to the ground as he needs good to firm to show his best, which he will have tomorrow. He has a decent draw and has come down a good few pounds since his first run last year (12lb) and I feel he will take all the beating.
beware the weather due to get unstable round these parts tomorrow-- heavy showers forecast chester area, so beware-- thurs forcast gales and lashings of rain-
1.45 Chester Blithe Spirit 9/1 After this filly won on her 2nd outing, trainer Eric Alston said it was at least 5 years since his last juvenile winner and I certainly feel that shows that this is a well above average horse. After an educational introduction at Wolverhampton at the start of April, Blithe Spirit clearly came on a lot for that experience when making all to win in good style at Ripon a couple of weeks later. From a high enough draw in stall 7, Blithe Spirit absolutely pinged out of the gates and showed some excellent early speed to move across to the near side rail and grab the overall lead. From there, she never saw a rival and she powered to a convincing 2.5L success. She didn't look anywhere near the finished product that day and seemed quite raw but her natural ability saw her win and I think she'll have improved greatly for that run. The 4th home has come out and won since to solidify the form and it was an effort that I thought was full of promise. This looks a very competitive contest but Eric Alston always targets his runners at the Chester Festival which he always does very well at and although he certainly isn't renowned with his 2 year olds I think its very interesting that he sends this filly here. Perhaps even more telling is that this filly's Dam Damalis, who was trained by Alston, absolutely loved Chester where she won 5 times including 4 times at this meeting. Blithe Spirit's breeding suggests that she could excel at this very sharp track which could be crucial on this unique course. Although she could have been drawn a lot better than stall 9, if she pings the start like she did at Ripon then I am confident enough she has enough pace to get to the front. If she can get a lead without using too much energy early on, I think she could take quite a bit of pegging back and if she can last home then I think she can definitely land this contest at a nice price. 2.25 Southwell Amenable 8/1 It would not surprise me in the slightest if there was a flood of money around for this one tomorrow and this could very much be another plot from trainer Violet Jordan. Having joined current connections from David Nicholls back in December, Amenable has had 9 starts where he has been very poor in a mixture of Claimers, a Seller and handicaps but resultantly this 6 year old's mark has plummeted from a mark of 77 to a career low mark of 52 and he is ridiculously well handicapped on old form. You don't have to go an awful long way back for Amenable's last win which came at Hamilton off a mark of 78 last August for his former trainer but his first start on the Fibresand surface at Southwell is something I've been waiting to see happen as he clearly goes very well here. From 3 starts at the track, all over this C+D, Amenable has registered 2 wins including off a mark of 77 back in 2010 and he clearly goes extremely well here and this could be a right old plot. Although form figures are not at all desirable, the yard landed a massive punt with Brown Pete back in December who had a similar profile and Amenable has had 49 days since his last run which will hopefully have seen connections getting him spot on for this. Owned by Steve Arnold's rakebackmypoker.com (same ownership as Brown Pete), if the money is down then I'd be extremely confident of collecting. This 0-55 handicap is about as low a grade event as your likely to find at Southwell and I'd be pretty surprised if Amenable isn't trying. There is a negative though as Cathy Gannon takes the ride and although I'm a big fan of hers her 0-17 record for the stable is definitely disconcerting. Moreover, job jockey for Brown Pete William Carson is at the track for the first two races but doesn't stick around for this and I'd be supremely confident if he was on board. However, Carson hasn't ridden for Jordan since March and perhaps they've had a falling out? Who knows, but Cathy is also on the favourite for Jordan in the opener and I'm more than confident of her ability in the saddle. From a decent draw in stall 4, I'd expect Amenable to bounce out and try to make all and if he does so then I'd be very confident. If this is the plot it looks to be as opposed to the horse regressing (which I very much doubt), Amenable is handicapped to piss all over the rest of this field in what looks an extremely average contest on a surface where he goes really well. If the handbrake is off and money is down, I think there is an incredibly strong chance that you'll be collecting from the bookies. 3.15 Chester Foxy Music 16/1 Stall 10 is far from ideal for this front running gelding but he has clearly been aimed specifically at this race having finished runner up in this contest off a 9lb higher last year and I strongly believe that an absolutely huge run is on the cards. Now off a mark of 81, Foxy Music is on his lowest mark for a few years and this 9 year old makes his seasonal reappearance at a track where he goes very well. Looking at last years contest, Foxy Music broke extremely well from stall 7 to get to front with not too much trouble as he went customarily blitzed from the front. Despite hanging right throughout the contest, Foxy Music led the field until deep inside the final furlong before being headed by Confessional as he went down by 0.75L. It was an excellent effort off a mark of 90 for this double C+D winner and if replicating that effort then I think he'll come out victorious. He ran a couple of excellent races in defeat later last season when going down by 2L off a mark of 93 and just over a length off a mark of 91 last Summer before his form tailed off which saw him drop to a really nice mark of 81. Although his route to this race last year was different (had two runs prior), he goes extremely well fresh and Eric Alston should have him spot on for this after last years narrow defeat and its a race that the trainer has had some very good success with having 2 winners in the past 10 renewals. Looking at the contest, the only other horse in the field that looks an out and out front runner is Silvanus (who also has a bad draw) and that could be hugely beneficial to Foxy Music. Although it will be tough to get to the front from his wide birth, he has won from stall 10 at the course before and he certainly has the early speed to get across to the rail in front. David Probert looks an eye catching booking and is one of the best jockeys who can make a weight as low as 8-2 and Foxy Music has been very lucky to have creeped in here as bottom weight. Eric Alston has his horses in good order at the moment and I'm 100% sure that Foxy Music will be absolutely spot on for this contest. Clearly a well handicapped horse, if Foxy Music can get to the front early without too much hassle and Probert can set the right fractions then I think this enthusiastic 9 year old could take quite a bit of pegging back and I feel he has a great chance of going one better than he did last year. 16/1 is an absolutely huge price in my eyes (which could easily get bigger tomorrow) and if all goes to plan then I'm hoping Foxy Music can earn a well deserved victory in this race. 8.30 Newcastle Ersaal 6/1 Keeping this very short but I think an opening handicap mark of 70 could be very lenient for Roger Varian's handicap debutant and I think it looks very telling that this 3 year has stayed in training and remained a Colt for this Hamdan Al Maktoum owned horse. The first foal of the Listed place Makaaseb, this son of Dubawi showed some smart form in 3 pretty decent Maidens which have thrown up a lot of winners and I definitely feel a mark of 70 could prove very workable. A horse who had a lot of decent entries at the end of last season which he didn't fulfil, Ersaal was clearly a horse that was well thought of before making his racecourse debut and although he probably didn't live up to those expectations as a 2 year old he must have grown quite a bit over the winter to be kept in training as a 3 year old from his powerful connections and they must surely feel there are races to be won with him. The excellent Andrea Atzeni takes the ride for the bang in form Varian yard and this represents a rare visit to Newcastle for the trainer who is 2-5 at the track. Ersaal makes the 500 mile round trip with promising stablemate Huffoof and Andrea Atzeni is also coming a fair distance from Southwell to ride these two. I think Ersaal could prove very popular amongst punters tomorrow and he could easily start half his current price and I'm pretty confident that this 3 year old could take quite a bit of beating on his handicap debut.
I can't be taking 4/1 on Countrywide Flame in such a competitive race so I'm playing half stake and gone for a couple who have a fair draw at decent eway prices... Buckland 14/1 Ingleby Spirit 25/1
I have been doing a bit of research, perhaps you might be interested (probably not). 3.25 Southwell The two short priced horses are well clear on official marks, with ratings in the 70s (76 and 78) and therefore they are the obvious place to start in this weak looking maiden. However, neither are by sires who are prolific on the fibresand, being by Motivator (no winners) and Intikhab (ten winners but strike rate of 9%), and are taking a large share of the market with their prices. The one horse in the race who is by a sire with good Southwell form is Una Bela Cosa from the Mccabe yard, this filly is by Dubai Destination who has 27 winners on the surface with a strike rate of 19%. The horse is rated a paltry 52, some 16lbs and 14lbs worse than the market leaders but is more than likely going to be suited by the surface in comparison to her rivals. Add in the fact that he has already raced at the course and looked like he handles the ground, she looks a fair one in this race. Not betting still, but I wouldn't say that she is a back number and if you can get double figures later, she could give you a run for the money.
Big news about Fergie then. Moyes odds-on and I think he is quite deserving of the job but something tells me we could see 'The Special One' taking over.
Moyes and Staunton are not big enough names for Old Trafford, whatever their respective merits. That job is as much about managing the superstar players, the management board / shareholders and the media, as it is about managing a football team.
Morning, crew. How are we??? Good, good. No waffling from me today – straight down to the jolly old ‘brass tacks’. I like 2 at Chester today and both are coincidentally owned by old boy Dr Koukash. They are namely GATEPOST (3.15) and MASAMAH (4.25). The former was a high class 2YO but was as a result then duly clobbered by the old handicapper and as a result never really allowed a perch which he could really exploit. Off his lowest ever rating of 90 I would expect Gatepost from a nice draw to go very close this afternoon. The drop down to 5 furlongs is another plus as he has not in the past looked sort of speed. I’ve long been an admirer of the latter and give his excellent berth in the starting stalls would be surprised by anything other than a win. Not sure why he has left the yard of the lovely Amy’s Dad and been transferred to old boy Botti but Masamah looks very good in this heat. Is suited by the intricacies of Chester as he is a dual winner at the venue. Good luck all.
I have noticed that J F Egan has come over to ride for his old boss david Evans-- John Egan got to be one of the track specialists at chester-- seen him win 5f races drawn widest of all--drops the horse in at the back, then waits for the moment where the false rail gives more room , i know it needs luck in running, but he is a master at this place-- he rides Limegrove in the first and the better drawn Frontier Edge in the 3 15 --if any juice gets in the ground the draw bias can work the other way--- got to love chester racing !!
Mourinho now odds-on in places to take the ‘poisoned chalice’ and become the next Man Utd manager. I’d love to see the reaction of Chelsea fans if he takes it. Should be easy for Man Utd fans to find out the said reaction as both sets of supporters are predominately based in London. BOOM, BOOM! Can’t abide the chap myself but I do grudgingly admit that he ‘knows his onions’. Personally, I hope Moyes gets it as that would be the car crash of all time – that 0 from 45 stat haunts him to this day and says so, so much about his managerial ability!
was just kidding about staunton!I dont think Utd would take mourinho due to his personality and 'lack of class'.
