Welcome to the BettingChoice Horse Racing Blog. Here you'll find all the tips, insights and opinions for the world's biggest races including: Cheltenham, Breeders' Cup, Dubai Racing, the Grand National and more.
The build-up towards the 2015 2000 Guineas has been an exciting one and things are getting more interesting by the day as we see withdrawals and confirmations starting to pile up quickly. Just today, the potential American contender Hootenanny - who was victorious for Wesley Ward at last year’s Royal Ascot meeting - was removed from the running following his easy score in an allowance race at Keeneland race track in Lexington, Kentucky this past weekend.
Right now the bookmakers have American Pharoah trading at a general 2/1 price tag with a few books taking him all the way up to 11/4 or 5/2. Many expect him and his stablemate to hook up and challenge early though it would probably be suicide for either of them to go out early and try to set a 46 half.
Baffert will have learned from his experience with Bodemeister a few years ago (for the same connections as American Pharoah) that you don’t want to wire the field you want to move at the right time.
This year’s iteration of the Kentucky Derby looks to be one of the absolutely best yet with plenty of action and excitement in store for one of the biggest and most storied thoroughbred races on the planet.
The American three-year-old showpiece kicks off the annual pursuit of the Triple Crown and a number of racing observers from around the world have pointed to the contest this year as a potentially legendary renewal thanks to the outstanding strength in depth that punters have seen so far from this fantastic crop of American three-year-olds.
Interestingly enough this will be Jezki’s first attempt at Aintree so some might be hesitant about his ability to get the ground here parlayed with the fact that he just hasn’t won a lot of races lately - still without a score in the entirety of the 2014/2015 National Hunt season.
The 4:05 is the Crabbie’s Fox Hunters’ Chase and this Class 2 contest goes 2m5f110 and we have about 33 contenders in the mix right now with some relatively well-known contenders including the likes of perennial Grand National contender Big Fella Thanks. Expect the Tom George...
Prior to that he put together some nice victories and took a listed hurdle at Musselburgh and a Class 2 hurdle at Cheltenham. On both occasions he was sent off as the odds-on favourite and that’s indicative of a quality contender who is set to take the big step forward here and capture his first Grade 1 contest. Expect him to be raced prominently with all indications that he should relish the ground.
The Grade 1 Betfred Bowl Chase is a shorter field than many of the other races that will be happening on the day (particularly some of the massive handicaps...
He has been out twice this year and won on both occasions - both races contested over his specialty long distances. He has also been off the track since early November and will be coming into the race fresh and proven in the National - expect him to be a benchmark each-way bet and a genuine win contender if he gets some luck along the way and doesn’t struggle with traffic trouble.
Rocky Creek lines up for Paul Nicholls barn and he was a sharp selection for many last year when he was sent off in the National at a 16/1 price tag and managed to finish a...
We have a very cosmopolitan cast setting up for the 2015 Dubai Sheema Classic Presented By Longines and there are a number of respected international shippers coming in for this one so you can expect some very dynamic odds in a market that should be very robust. It’s very competitive as about three contenders jockey for the favourites position while five horses remain in the mix at single digit prices for the moment.
Earlier in the week we took a look at some of the big races that feature on the Dubai World Cup undercard and we’ll be looking at the Dubai Turf here. There is plenty to like about the world’s richest day of racing and many of these contests look very interesting with open markets on virtually every contest and some favourites that look beatable.
In the Dubai Turf we have Solow coming in as the genuine 2/1 favourite ahead of hotshot contender The Grey Gatsby who can be backed around a 5/2 margin right now with most major bookmakers. You’ll...
Amber Sky also ships over from Sha Tin but he’s finished well behind Peniaphobia in his last couple of races though he does have the feather in his cap of having won this very race last year. It was his only ever career effort at Meydan and this could wind up being a straight up horses for courses type of scenario and that’s likely why the punters are willing to ignore his form.
Caspar Netscher might appeal to some, particularly since he already has an effort at Meydan under his belt - a sneaky good third place from sixteen when he only lost out by a quarter length to Sir Maximilian. He was sent off at...
The horse had been a there-or-thereabouts type punching it out in Graded and listed races for a few years before really making the breakthrough when he captured his first Group 1 in the Irish St Leger at the Curragh last September. He famously finished second to Masked Marvel in the St Leger during his three-year-old campaign but had only taken lower profile races prior to that.
Star Empire may be your each-way shout here but there isn’t much form beyond the first few contenders. This is one of the weakest of the group level races and the absence of the dearly-departed Cavalryman speaks volumes.
