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.
With just a few days left until the kick-off of the 2000 Guineas and the de facto “serious season” for the English flat season, it also means that we only have a short period before the Tote Ten To Follow begins as well. There is a lot to like about the competition - not to mention the minimum £50,000 payout at the end of the season on top of the £2,500 monthly prizes up for grabs.
The top ten leaderboard finishers will all be in the money at the end of the season. As usual there are several key bonus races that offer up double points...
Manyriverstocross and Ardlui are both entered by Alan King in this race and could wind up factoring into things if they get the race shaping up in their favour. Lady Kashaan got the better of Moidore last time out and also looks an interesting contender but perhaps got a bit lucky last time.
The 3:15 is the Bet365 Gordon Richards Stakes -a Group 3 contest - with a few interesting sorts competing for a bid. Thomas Chippendale is here and he’ll be looking to get the season off to a big start. Ektihaam lines up for Roger Varian’s yard and he was a beaten favourite last time out with Dane O’...
Snow Trooper gets Kieran Fallon first-time here and looks likely to put in another quality shift. This one has raced twice so far this season and has put in good efforts both times finishing second by a head and then 1st by over two links. Fallon’s presence adds plenty of credibility here and the horse is proven at around 1m - he is a strong contender for this one and has a good end of the handicap.
The 2:40 at Sandown is the next leg of the sequence and Finian’s Rainbow headlines the top end of the handicap in this Grade 2 contest going 2m. There are plenty of recognizable names...
There is some quality racing set to unfold over the weekend as the Scoop6 gets back to shorter fields thanks to the onset of the flat season. There is only one really gigantic difficult race - and that’s the final race of the sequence when the Bet365 Gold Cup will see 20 runners compete. That’s a tricky race to handicap thanks to the lack of outright favourites. It’s going to be interesting to see where the starting prices actually wind up because four contenders are all hovering around an 8/1 margin for the outright score in that race.
The early choice appears to be Al Waab, who is owned by Mubarak Al Naemi and trained by Sir Henry Cecil. He was last seen at Newmarket finishing third to Steeler in the Group 2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes. He hasn’t really won much but has looked credible in previous performances so he will be looking to improve over the surface here at Sandown. Well-bred, by Danehill Dancer out of an In The Wings mare - this is her most expensive foal to date.
There may be a slim field set to contest the Group 3 contest at Sandown on Thursday but there is a lot to like about the race itself with some extremely talented three-year-old colts lining up for this one.
The distance to be contested is a 1m2f spin at Sandown and this one will have a nice set-up for those with their eyes on the Epsom Derby or even the 2000 Guineas in a couple of weeks.
Fantastic Moon looks to be the betting choice at this point and this is the only contender who is currently carrying 9-2 instead of the assigned 9-0 for everyone else. Four of...
Prior to that, Boston Bob was able to capture the Grade 1 P.J.Morierty Novice Chase at Leopardstown and this will only be his second effort at Punchestown - his first a third place finish in a 5K bumper back in 2011.
Tofino Bay sees a very interesting placement here but one that looks set to pay some real dividends as he comes into this one on the back of two very tough beats. He finished second at Navan in a Grade 2 Novice Chase back in February and then ran a...
Speaking of Cheltenham, Jezki comes into this one looking to get things back on track after finishing third in the Supreme Novices Hurdle, after being sent off at a slim 5/1 price. Prior to that he had rifled off four scores on the bounce and looked good value for money with Robbie Power in the irons.
Supreme Novices winner Champagne Fever comes back for this one and will be looking to deliver a home court victory for Willy Mullins - who looks to secure a unique festival double - and solidify this one’s position as the most promising...
We’ve got a massive slate full of Grade 1 jumping action coming from Ireland as the Punchestown Festival kicks off in earnest this Tuesday. The highest-rated jumps horse in the land kicks will be on display on day one and the mighty Sprinter Sacre looks to keep his unbeaten streak alive and solidify his place as a genuine shout for one of the greatest contenders of all time.
Unbeaten since falling at Cheltenham back in 2011, Sprinter Sacre has switched over to the chasing circuit and never looked back - now being considered nearly unbackable by virtually every punter, he’s...
While he may be out of the 2000 Guineas trail, Kingsbarns remains firmly pointed towards the Epsom Derby after being ruled out of the first classic of the year thanks to a foot infection.
Aidan O’Brien spoke to the media today and declared that the promising colt is back on the gallops cantering around and will be expected to contest a Derby trial, but won’t be ready for the May 4 showpiece.
Last year’s Racing Post Trophy winner has been heavily-hyped throughout the build-up to this year’s flat season and many are expecting him to build up...
