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There isn't too much to write home about in reference to Happy Today (Gone West), though he does seem a pleasant colt with a promising future. Quite cold on the board at 100/1, he managed a place finish on his seasonal debut. He has experience at Newmarket and lost his debut maiden to the respected Biondetti (Bernardini) before coming back to score next time out at Bath. Tough to get excited about him but I reckon connections have their eyes on other races long-term.
Loving Spirit (Azamour) is another lightly-raced type with only two races under his belt. A well-bred Irish contender, he finished second to Mantoba (Noverre) when sent off as a beaten joint-favourite. He struggled over the last 100y or so in that 1m contest after putting in a good shift up until that point....
It looks as though it is finally game on in the Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on Saturday with the final declaration stage having trimmed the final two from the field. We are down to a 13 horse contingent set to navigate the 1m distance on the Rowley Mile.
Having already waxed lyrical about the likes of Frankel (Galileo) and his key challengers like Casamento (Shamardal) and Roderic O'Connor (Galileo), we'll be taking a quick look at each contender in the field to try to get a gauge on just how things are expected to shape up.
3:45 Pearl Bloodstock Palace House Stakes (Group 3)
There's a few in this one who are just kicking off their flat seasons and we'll be opting for one of them as Astrophysical Jet (Dubawi) looks the play in the race kicking off just after the 2000 Guineas. He ended the season well last year with a pair of Group 3 scores at Newbury and the Curragh. I also think his third place to the very tidy Borderlescott (Compton Place) in a Group 2 at Glorious Goodwood last year is more credible than it looks.
His OR has been improving steadily and he looks to be in the mix for this contest though it must be admitted he didn't hit off the lay-off last year but...
The final card is starting to firm up ahead of this Saturday's Qipco 2000 Guineas. We'll be taking a look at the undercard in detail over the next few posts and there are plenty of fascinating races set to unfold before and after the feature contest. Expect a very solid Scoop6 jackpot pool on Saturday as a few weeks of carry-over should join up nicely with increased volume on Guineas day.
2:00 Qipco Sponsors British Champions Series Suffolk Handicap
This 1m1f contest gets the card kicked off nicely and it's one of the trickier races on the day with 28 contenders still in the mix for this one – all looking for their share of the £44,...
We've got six rather interesting races set to unfold today at Ascot Racecourse and we'll be taking a look at all of them in an effort to build up a little bankroll to play with on Guineas day. There are several enticing contests unfolding at Ascot with the Group 3 Sagaro Stakes looking to be the feature on the day amongst a number of handicaps, listed and conditions races.
2:00 Aldermore Conditions Stakes
This5f dash only has a field five-deep though it boasts a sole first-time starter. Several of these promising-looking individuals already have a debut win under their belt with Dawn Lightning (Dawn Angel) set to run for the third time. It took her two...
The 800 pound gorilla in the room for the upcoming Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket is obviously the undefeated Henry Cecil charge Frankel (Galileo) and many punters will concede that this is not shaping up to be the best betting race you'll ever see thanks to his presence. It must be acknowledged that the three-year-old bay has gone from strength to strength throughout his five race career and you'll find him priced as low as 4/9 in the Guineas ante post markets.
While many punters will probably be either playing Frankel on the top end of the forecast or opting to beat him with one of his main rivals but your best betting strategy might be to take a gander at Frankel's long-...
Since there is so much deserved hoopla about this year's big Guineas favourite Frankel (Galileo), you get the feeling that the most competitive market could very well wind up being the 2000 Guineas W/O Frankel option on the exchange. While place-only bets or simply keying up Frankel on a forecast ticket will likely be options for some, the betting without market is actually offering up some decent value and insurance against Frankel having them beat 2 furlongs out.
To get a gauge on the current opportunity available on the exchange, you'll find Pathfork (Distorted Humor) priced at around 9.0 to upset Frankel and win the 2000 Guineas. Contrast that with a 3.1 price to win the race without Frankel or an ultra-slim 1.77 simply to place.
We've got what looks to be a fascinating face-off shaping up in the Champion Chase on the opening day of the Punchestown Festival with Sizing Europe – a massive winner of the Queen Mother Champion Chase at 10/1 giving a rematch to Big Zeb. There is a capable supporting cast set to contest this one as well and it could certainly go down as a classic.
Sizing Europe was one of the biggest scores of the festival for a number of punters as his form had been darkened just enough by a few near-misses over in 2010. He'd been laid off for a while and simply stormed to victory on the day, asserting himself extremely well in the process. A few furlongs from home you could see how much gas he had left in the tank and he put in a performance that could be the literal...
We're still over a week out from the opening day of the 2011 Punchestown Festival but the ante post markets are already in full swing and offering up plenty of interesting odds on the week's stand-out fixtures. We'll be taking a look at the Evening Herald Champion Novice Hurdle in this one and trying to get a gauge on how things will shape up over this tricky 2m contest.
Oscars Well seems to be getting a fair amount of support for this one with punters seemingly more confident in his form in what amounts to a home game at Punchestown. Disappointing to run fourth in the Neptune Novices when shipping down to Cheltenham this year, he will be looking to get this back on track over a shorter distance than he tackled last time out at Punchestown.
Honestly, Garcia has been terrible over the past couple of seasons and for Ladbrokes to put him anywhere near the front of the pack, even in a watered down event such as this, is more than a bit ridiculous.
They’ve got him almost two-fold better, at (8-1), from a recent major champion, YE Yang at (14-1).
Then the books follow that up with Kjeldsen joining Yang at (14-1). This guy hasn’t done anything in almost a year.
Personally, I don’t know why Gregory Havret hasn’t been given more respect seeing as he’s three back. This guy came within a whisker of taking Graeme McDowell to a playoff for the US Open last year at Pebble Beach.
