There is a prize of over £124,000 on offer to the winner of this race, not only Ayr’s biggest race of the Flat season but that of the whole of Scotland too. The soft underfoot conditions this year add a different dimension to the race, some horses being backed purely on their ability to handle cut in the ground during the week while a lot has been made of the draw too. This is a biggie, so we have seven…
Despite not being the most valuable race around the Portland remains one of the most hotly contested sprint handicaps of the season and its intermediate trip of five-and-a-half furlongs provides us with another quandary; will it suit the 5f horses or the 6f horses? In any event we’ve narrowed the field down to these seven contenders, all of which should have some sort of place chance: Blue De Vega Robert Cowell is no stranger to these big sprints and will…
Now a half-million pound race (worth £1 million next year) the Ebor remains one of the biggest races in Europe and with that one of the most competitive. The mile-and-three-quarter test is one of the quickest paced, enfeebling staying races on the calendar but the challenge of finding the winner is taken up and we have six against the field for you to mull over: BLAKENEY POINT Roger Charlton has already landed one of the other major staying handicaps with…
One of the toughest sprint handicaps of the season to solve takes place this weekend as Ripon host their big day including the six furlong Great St Wilfred Handicap. We have six strong contenders against the field featured with a potential 20/1 shot powering home to give us a very profitable weekend. Dark Power Clive Cox’s Dark Angel four-year-old looks very over-priced for this renewal having finished a good third in a decent race at Windsor last time. That was…
The annual cavalry charge that is the Stewards’ Cup takes place at Goodwood on Saturday and although we are unfortunately missing Wokingham protagonists Bacchus and Dreamfield, a near 30-strong line-up should provide plenty of quality and finding the winner once again will not be simple. Luck in running is something every winner of this race needs, the betting no doubt changing dramatically over the course of Saturday morning and again after the Stewards’ Cup consolation race is run as punters…
The big handicaps keep coming and this week we’re looking at the ultra-competitive John Smith’s Cup at York. The market has changed a little since the defection of Afaak, one who may well have been the tip and who will surely come again, but we’re left with a high class field and a mix of youth and experience as well as mile horses stepping up to challenge some established middle-distance types. We’re left with a big field to go through,…
Another Saturday, another very tough handicap but increasingly over the years these trainers are defying big weights, long absences and injury setbacks to score with horses you would have avoided like the plague ten years ago. Another such runner goes in the Old Newton Cup in the shape of Godolphin’s Atty Persse, here’s how he figures in our shortlist: Atty Persse A similar gamble to Roger Charlton’s Withhold is taking place and with that one safely in the bag following…
Several of last year’s principals travel to renew rivalries in this historic £150,000 handicap and it could be one who only just missed out who grabs the spoils this time. Handicapping is a big issue in this race, more so than the draw or previous two-mile form, and that may yet be enough to rule out several high profile runners such as Amazing Red and Lagostovegas. Here are six against the field who could all be a little ahead of…
A hugely competitive sprint handicap as always but one that can still hand us a good betting proposition, this time in the shape of a hugely exciting John Gosden colt: Blue De Vega There has always been a thought that there will be plenty of improvement come from this horse, eked out by masterful sprint trainer Robert Cowell and although we haven’t seen too much evidence of it so far the step up in trip to six furlongs in a…
In a shakeup of the running order at Ascot for this year’s Royal meeting, we’ve ended up with not only the ultra-competitive Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes Handicap on Friday but also now the Sandringham and it’s the fillies’ mile race we start with, naming five against the field and a potentially well priced up winner: Sandringham Stakes (1m Fillies’ Handicap, 5.00 Ascot) Broadway Aidan O’Brien is known for his globetrotting Group 1 runners more than handicappers, however in Broadway he…