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His 116 figure for that effort puts him in as one of the best-performing colts in the entire Breeders’ Cup, let alone the Dirt Mile which is considered a subpar race by many American racing observers. Whenever Verrazano has lost a race (and it has only happened twice) he has always stormed back the next time to win by open lengths. It looks like many are convinced that it will be third time lucky here as he is trading at a 7/2 favourites position.
Goldencents is more of a local specialist than anything else and has put in his best performances at Santa Anita over this dirt course. He hasn’t won...
Santa Anita’s turf has been favouring front running trips at this distance and Bobby’s Kitten could be very tough to catch if he gets loose on the lead - particularly if it’s warmer than usual outside that day.
Shamshon lines up for Sheikh Jooan Bi Al Thani, whose filly Treve won the Arc de Triomphe a few weeks back. Shamshon finished a disappointing fifth in the Mill Reef Stakes (a Group 2 event at Newbury) but won a nice listed stake in France in the race prior to that. The main issue here is that he has only ever won at 5.5f and will be saddled with...
The Juvenile Turf is the next race on the opening day and there are some extremely lightly-raced contenders (as always) set to line up in this one. The key here is usually to find the contender looking to make the biggest step forward off their last race - particularly ones that have been freshened for two months or more as they will have gained in size and become more mentally capable of handling big crowds on big days as well as having more time to get accustomed to the turf conditions at Santa Anita Park.
There are a few to watch here and the angle that won the race last year with Calidoscopio could be in play here once again with Argentinian champ Ever Rider making the trip north for similar connections. This horse can definitely handle the distance and long distance dirt races are relatively commonplace down there so the horse boasts both the pedigree and the proven ability to win over the distance and the surface.
The Breeders’ Cup is almost upon us and a much larger than expected European contingent is currently en route to Santa Anita Park on the outskirts of Los Angeles to take in the sunshine and quality competition on offer over the biggest two days in horse racing.
As always, this betting event will attract a significant amount of volume from all four corners of the globe and there is a lot of money to be made if you can get in early and take advantage of some of the ante post odds, while also keeping a portion of your bankroll saved up for those late minute swings in the wagering.
Sheikh Majid Bin Mohammed al Maktoum boasts the fourth place contender here and he enters with a more mixed record than most. Somewhat, by Dynaformer out of a Royal Academy mare, enters off a defeat to Berkshire in the Group 2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket. He was only beaten by a quarter of a length despite being sent off as the 11/8 joint favourite. Prior to that he took a listed score at Newbury.
He acquitted himself well in defeat when losing that last race and he was perhaps sent to the front a bit early. He deployed a winning 7f trip in a 1m race and that...
Roger Varian’s Kingston Hill is from the leading edge of the talented crop of Mastercraftsman colts that have hit the track this season. While he may not be quite as accomplished as the respected Toormore, he is still a Group level winner having captured the Group 3 Autumn Stakes at Newmarket last week. While he is certainly looking likely to be turned out quickly (just two weeks time in between races), you get the feeling that both connections and the punting public think he has more than a good chance here as he’s now been bet down to a 3/1 margin.
The big cap off to the British flat racing season just happened with the Champions Day races at Ascot last Saturday but now attention turns to the last big chapter of the 2013 story - the Racing Post Trophy. Boasting a 1m distance that is supposedly a better judge of 2000 Guineas/Epsom Derby candidacy next year than any of the other 2yo Group 1’s, there is a talented lineup of contenders set to battle it out at Doncaster this weekend.
Eleven-year-old veteran Oiseau De Nuit will line up for Colin Tizzard and he’s likely to get plenty of backing from the punters - especially since his score in the Grade 3 Red Rum Chase at Aintree last year will still be living long in the memory. While there is an additional half-mile to contend with here, it’s clear that connections think he’s more than capable of tackling the extra distance.
One of the first big handicap chases of the National Hunt season kicks off this Saturday as the Old Roan Chase is set to unfold over 2m4f at Aintree. Currently, there are twelve runners in the mix and it’s going to be interesting to see how this one shapes up. There are a lot of talented and very recognizable names pointed at this race - some of whom (like Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Astracad) have just raced last week and appear to be raring for more.
Only a handful here have actually had an outing or two this season. Many are using this as a staging point for a Cheltenham campaign that will likely see a mere 3 or...
