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There is a huge amount of excitement building amongst patrons of flat racing as the de facto kick-off of the season, the William Hill Lincoln, is set to run this Saturday at Doncaster. While we’ve already taken a look at some of the main contenders for the day’s feature, there is plenty of action left on the card so we’ll be taking a look at the other races in this two-part preview.
It appears as though Doncaster will not water for Saturday so we will be expecting things to skew a bit fast.
2:05
The Spring Mile gets us off to a big start with a number of these contenders using this race as a seasonal debut. Mata Keranjang (More Than Ready) has recently been halved in price and he looks a very solid selection if he can fire off the lay-off. The...
A veritable who’s-who of three year-olds running on the Florida circuit this year are all set to do battle on Sunday at Gulfstream Park as the state’s key Derby prep is set for its 2011 iteration. An eight horse field means that trip quality will likely be ensured and the field contrasts so nicely against each other that this one can unfold in a myriad of different ways. It also looks a genuinely exciting betting race as well, as the 9/5 morning line favourite looks distinctly beatable.
Soldat (War Front) gets the inside rail draw that he generally likes but I’m not so sure about him against this field – certainly not at 9/5. I don’t see him throwing down serious Derby credentials in a race where he doesn’t really have to win to get to the...
The flat season is well and truly underway now that we’re finally set for the William Hill Lincoln. The Doncaster showpiece anchors a stellar day of racing and the race itself is shaping up as an intriguing puzzle. There’s a few interesting variables here and one of the main issues is that so many contenders use this particular race for a seasonal debut, last year’s winner Penitent (Kyllachy) had been laid-off since October. He went off as a 3/1 favourite with Johnny Murtagh up and kept on well throughout the mile.
Taqleed (Shamardal) is a lightly-raced Shadwell-bred gelding owned by Hamdan Al Maktoum and he enters the race as a lukewarm 4/1 favourite in the ante post. He took the first step up onto the Heritage Handicap circuit at the tail end of last...
The fourth-place finish in the Cheltenham Gold Cup shows that this is a horse who can tangle with the best of them, but it will be especially interesting to see if he navigates the gridiron-style of racing that happens in the National. He has dropped down to 10/1 with some bookmakers and will likely go off at a much shorter price on race day if he enters problem-free.
Backstage returns to the Aintree fold after a falling effort at the 20th fence in last year’s iteration when sent off at a 25/1 price. He has had two low-profile outings this season – one at Kirkistown and the other at The Pigeons. Some bookmakers have him trading at about 14/1 and that’s a big ask for a gelding that has had to drop down to the Point-to-Point circuit in order to grab back to back...
As the 2011 Grand National at Aintree draws nearer by the day, the prices of many of the top contenders are starting to see plenty of movement. The lukewarm favourite appears to be The Midnight Club who hovers around 8/1 as Ruby Walsh has publically-confirmed that he will take the mount on April 9. Both jockey and equine enter the race with plenty of momentum as Walsh had a stellar Cheltenham Festival after a lengthy lay-off due to injury. The Midnight Club himself, a ten year-old son of Flemensfirth, enters fresh off a Grade 2 score in the Bobbyjo Chase on his second outing of the year.
The Midnight Club achieved a career-high 145 rating for his Bobbyjo efforts.
A certain school of punter doubts the ability of sons of Oscar to successfully navigate the oversized...
There were some very important Derby prep races run over the weekend in the United States but the 800 pound gorilla remains the irrepressible Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie). A number of European-based bookmakers have priced the quality colt down as low as 7/4 as he prepares for the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in the coming weeks – his final run before the big dance.
While Uncle Mo has stood atop the Kentucky Derby ante post markets since his emphatic score in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, a number of key challengers have emerged in recent months and many of them are much more unknown quantities than the Mike Repole-owned bay. Uncle Mo’s connections have made no qualms about their intentions this season – the Derby isn’t the goal. The Triple Crown is....
This contender gets a lot of respect on the board with bookmakers listing him as the second favourite to win the 2011 Dubai World Cup. However, there is a very visible school of punter who is staying off the respected Irish-bred runner. Cape Blanco (Galileo) scored some very solid victories during the 2010 campaign but, aside from a score in the Group 2 Dante Stakes, all of his victories have come on Irish soil. He’s debuting in Dubai off a lay-off since October 3, so you can understand the trepidation.
There’s no disputing the fact that this was one of the better contenders in the European three year-old division and an impressive victory over Rip Van Winkle (Galileo) proved his ability to win against older colts. A second-place run to Harbinger (Dansili),...
It’s hard to not play up the “a nation’s spirit ride on the back of a single horse” angle with Buena Vista (Special Week) lining up as a 10/1 shot for the Dubai World Cup. Representing the Hiroyoshi Matsuda barn, Buena Vista enters the race as the highest earner in the field with a massive £7,385,000 lifetime for the five year-old mare. There certainly isn’t much to cheer for in Japan right now and a scintillating performance on-track by the Japanese-bred superstarlet would certainly be a welcome distraction. It’s tough not to cheer for her.
A solid second in the 2010 Dubai Sheema Classic last year, that previous experience over the Tapeta at Meydan gives her a bit of extra credibility over some of the others in the field and her...
This Nick Zito-trained chestnut colt has been running consistently against the who’s-who of American racing. It’s easy to forget that, with the epic Zenyatta/Blame battle in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic, this talented contender managed to come third when sent off at 20/1. There is no shame finishing behind either of those contenders and Fly Down (Mineshaft) certainly deserves respect.
The issue that I have with backing Fly Down is similar to the one that I have when betting on the talented (and likeable) First Dude (Stephen Got Even) when I’m betting state-side. Neither of them tends to win very often despite putting in some credible efforts. You have to respect connections for not ducking anybody, but he just seems to be outmatched by better horses...
Gio Ponti (Tale of the Cat) will be the primary representative for the American contingent in this edition of the Dubai World Cup. A regular fixture in top races on grass, synthetic and dirt; Gio Ponti currently reigns as the top older horse in America. Finishing fourth in last year’s contest when sent off at 5/1, Gio Ponti’s connections will have learned a few things since that race and we might see a tactical shift where he won’t sit as far back off the pace as he did in 2010. Don’t look for Gio Ponti to be particularly prominent, but being at the front of the mid-division would probably suit him a bit better.
Ramon Dominguez travels to Meydan to pilot him and there’s no doubt that this horse ranks amongst the top selections if you’re...
