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 Grade 1 2013 Hennessy Gold Cup is set to run this weekend at Leopardstown and there isn’t going to be a particularly large field contesting this race but there is certainly going to be some talent on display. This is likely the last appearance for all of the entrants in the mix prior to the Cheltenham Festival and you can expect some ramifications here depending on which races these ones wind up pointing towards. Plenty of opportunities are still out there for festival glory.
There is a full card of excellent racing at Meydan Racecourse on Thursday and the feature race has attracted some extremely talented runners. The Group 2 Al Rashidiya is one of the premier turf preps in Dubai and this one has a field of 10 contenders set to go 1m1f.
The early betting choice appears to be Sharestan who lines up for Godolphin and is trained by Saeed bin Suroor. This one has some really solid breeding for this distance and he was able to score on his Meydan debut going 1m1f. He had a good season in Ireland last year and will be looking to kick on here and achieve new heights. He was bred by the Aga Khan’s stud and has been...
Look for a very selective ride from Ruby Walsh – you reckon they don't want to take too much out of the horse but you do know that if Sacre makes any form of a mistake then Ruby will have him well-poised to capitalize. He belongs at this level and will look to turn around his Cheltenham fortunes.
This contest runs at 2:25 and it really looks to be a tricky assignment as there is so much quality set to battle it out over the 3m1f distance. A number of very exciting contenders are in the mix here and the most high-profile one is former Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Imperial Commander – who makes his first appearance on the track since...
Hunt Ball will certainly take money and many will be expecting him to finally come good in this campaign. He's been out twice and both have left plenty to be desired though he did go close in his last effort at Kempton in a Grade 2. He had taken a listed contest at Cheltenham last season and many will be expecting him to kick on – look for him to take a late hit at the betting windows if he makes a good pre-race appearance.
Quantitativeeasing is always capable of springing a surprise and there is some good shifts at Cheltenham on his form card. When he does win, it doesn't tend to be by too much unless it's a very weak race but you can expect Barry Geraghty...
Sametegal is the other Paul Nicholls entry and, though he's not put together quite as exciting a performance as Irish Saint, he certainly has acquitted himself well in his past few efforts over hurdles with a solid second place at Doncaster back in mid-December and a score at Wetherby with Ruby up last November. Prior to that he scored in a 19K French handicap hurdle and won well by a three-length margin.
He showed a tendency to hang right at a crucial moment on the run-in and this was likely the reason why he could only muster a second-place finish. He has the ability and will move on with the experience from his last race. There is still no confirmed rider for...
There is a pile of top-class racing set to unfold this weekend at Cheltenham and the recent word from Clerk of the Course Simon Claisse is that there is little in the forecast to delay Saturday's racing. As it currently stands, there is still a contingency plan in place to run the Saturday card on Sunday in an absolute worst case scenario. There is a lot to like about this card and it is well complimented by a solid set of races at Leopardstown as well.
The Cheltenham card is anchored by the Grade 1 Victor Chandler Chase and the Grade 2 Argento Chase. The interesting thing about the latter contest is the withdrawal of Bobs Worth – a factor that has blown the...
Dullahan's late-running style is going to be a really interesting variable in the race – especially considering the fact that he's won a Grade 1 race every single time he has stepped on a synthetic surface. He broke his maiden in a Grade 1 at Keeneland before following it up by defeating American two-year-old champion Hansen in the Grade 1 Bluegrass over the same surface.
A few other Godolphin notables to mention include 25/1 long-shot City Style, but it's the France-based Saint Baudolino who comes out of Mahmood Al Zarooni's yard. He was last seen scoring in a high-priced Group 2 contest at Deauville. He notably came second in the Group 1 Prix Du Jockey Club last June at Chantilly.
Ever-present global challenger St Nicholas Abbey is still in the mix and gets plenty of credibility from the bookmakers with a solid price of 12/1. He's shown his ability to get up and tangle with the type of competition he'll find here and he has put in some solid shifts at Meydan in the past. He looks decent value for money but...
As the Dubai Racing Carnival continues to unfold each Thursday, the ante post markets are already starting to get unveiled by a few different bookmakers. The American contingent is coming into the race with lots of momentum and that seems to translate to some fairly short prices. In fact, the top two contenders for the 2013 Dubai World Cup are based stateside – America's champion distaffer Royal Delta along with versatile 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom.
Royal Delta earned her plaudits when she defended her Breeder's Cup Ladies Classic at Santa Anita this year in a scintillating performance. She disposed of one of the deeper fields of the race and she...
Overturn is an interesting prospect coming out of Donald McCain’s yard and he’s looking like the chief spoiler here if Simonsig is going to get beaten. He’s not raced in particularly good races during his two efforts this year, but he has put in some quality runs over hurdles to finish second several times. He’s placed to Binocular, Rock On Ruby and has also had a few runs over the flat as well in recent years.
You can chalk up a few Heritage Handicap victories as well to add to his credibility. He may not be as talented a chaser as Simonsig but he has plenty of raw talent and should move forward well as he...
