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With the dramatic tail-off we saw on Saturday when Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie) was outrun in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial, the 2011 Kentucky Derby immediately took on a much different look than we had seen over the previous few months. The Mike Repole-owned colt was already being crowned one of the best American horses of all time - and that was all just based off of a rousing score in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
Never mind that Indian Charlie's offspring are better suited to sprints and mile races - everybody was going all-in on Mo who, it appears, may have had a low-profile surgery after that race.
Regardless, Uncle Mo's odds-on price to win has now drifted up to a full 5/1 with Ladbrokes as upstart Florida-based...
It is certainly not the race that many punters originally thought it was going to be now that the top two contenders in the 2011 Santa Anita Derby have been withdrawn in the final 48 hours. Premier Pegasus (Fusaichi Pegasus) was withdrawn due to a cannon bone problem picked up in training while the newly-installed favourite Jaycito () was removed from contention at 3 pm PST on Friday afternoon.
There is a serious lack of a clear favourite at this point and, while the race may lack the depth of high-profile talent it boasted two days ago, this one could still shape up to be a real classic.
Offlee Wild Boys (Offlee Wild) steps up off a solid run on the allowance circuit at Golden Gate. He made a big step up in the last race...
The past few hours have seen the ante post markets picking up significantly ahead of the 2011 John Smith's Grand National and The Midnight Club is no longer the standout favourite. A number of punters seem convinced that last year's winner Don't Push It, who gets AP McCoy in the irons once again, is set to make it back-to-back Grand Nationals.
Currently bet down to 10/1 you have to wonder whether that's a genuinely wise move as he has looked absolutely pants in all of his outings this year. The 153 OR he carded in the National last year has fallen to a 135 in his tame tenth from twenty-three in the Pertemps Final. AP was up again that day and he was definitely outmatched.
What A Friend has drifted up slightly to a 14/1...
This is a real corker of a contest and you really couldn't ask for a more exciting race to help set up the 2011 John Smith's Grand National.
Peddlers Cross and the ever-popular Binocular are the stand-out selections here and both carry relatively short prices into this one. Peddlers was bested by the very dynamic Hurricane Fly in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham after running a very solid campaign this season. It was the first loss of his entire career and he'll be looking to get things back on track here. It will be interesting to see how that one affected his confidence.
Credibility is provided by the fact that he scored at Aintree last year when capturing a Grade 2 hurdles contest. This is a very talented six...
Obviously the bulk of punters are keeping their eyes firmly fixed on the betting markets for the upcoming Grand National at Aintree on Saturday but there are a pair of Grade 1 contests on the undercard that represent some substantial opportunities.
We'll be taking a look at the Maghull Novices' Chase in this one and it appears to be coming down to a genuine dogfight between Finian's Rainbow and Paul Nicholls standout Ghizao.
Both contenders lost out to Captain Chris on the opening day of this year's Cheltenham Festival in the Arkle Challenge Trophy though Finian's Rainbow was able to put in a decent effort to maintain his 156 OR.
The Nicky Henderson charge captured the Grade 2...
With so many bets being placed on the 2011 Grand National this week, there are a few different approaches that most punters who know a thing or two about racing will adopt in situations like this. When you’ve got so many horses in the field, and horses that tend to win sporadically instead of consistently, you need to divide your selections into solid win-only bets and outside each-way opportunities.
There are more than a few tempting each-way squeaks in this Grand National but, today, we’ll be analyzing the better win-only selections.
From the outset there are about 15 decent win-only plays here and the prices range between 20/1 down to 8/1 for the current standout The Midnight Club. His price should hold in the build-up to the race so I don’t think...
In the world of sports one of the longest running debates revolves around the word "football". While UK sports fans adamantly claim that their game (also known as Futbol and Soccer) deserves the exclusive rights to the name, American fans have a different point of view.
Fans of American football (also known as Grid Iron) mount the argument that UK Football has a second name (soccer) and American football does not. Since the typical American is either ignorant of other cultures, or simply doesn’t care, they seem to believe that this alone should settle the debate.
Remember, in the eyes of the typical American, America is #1. They don’t get specific with that claim, because, in reality, America is rarely #1 (unless we’re talking about...
The key race at the Grand National meet on Friday is most certainly the Grade 1 Melling Chase and it appears as though Albertas Run is putting a bit of a stranglehold on the betting market at the moment with an ante post price showing him down as low as 3.5 for the 2m4f showpiece.
He faces off against a much deeper field than Denman tackles on the preceding day and the likes of Master Minded, Somersby, Tranquil Sea and Kalahari King will be trying to make life difficult for the in-form favourite. A winner in the Grade 1 Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham this year, he’ll have AP back in the irons for this one and the two should be expected to continue their excellent run of form. You wouldn’t say that Albertas Run is head and shoulders above the rest of the field and he...
We’ve got a fascinating clash shaping up in the 2011 Totesport Bowl Chase on the opening day of the Aintree Grand National meet. Thursday’s fixture anchors the day’s card and, while some will be disappointed that we won’t see the much-anticipated rematch between Denman and Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Long Run, we could be set for a real classic here as Denman looks poised to break a two-year run of close defeats.
There is still 48 hours until final declarations on the race but the presence of the favourite is now secure. Long Run was pulled out by conditioner Nicky Henderson after consultations with the Gold Cup winner’s owner Robert Waley-Cohen. Another Cheltenham winner, Bensalem, is being pointed in the direction of the Bowl as opposed to running...
We have a tricky distance for this 1m2f60y dash in maiden company. Ryan Moore has opted for the promising-looking Sud Pacifique (Montjeu) who lines up for Sir Robert Ogden. He’s been sent off as a favourite in both races and has only managed second-place finishes on both occasions. It looks like connections are still trying to figure this one out but the lack of genuine competition here makes him a de facto standout. Cobbs Quay (Danehill Dancer) will be looking to improve after a freshening and is certainly not out of the mix. The real variable looks to be a three year-old filly named Nabah (Motivator) who is taking a sharp drop in class from listed company. She hasn’t won yet, but will enjoy four lbs and her RPR is a hefty 111.
