5.00 Ascot Once more the pace appears to be on the near side in the usually favoured high numbers, so with this part of the track appearing to hand an advantage to runners we’ve taken that into account when chipping away at this field and coming up with the following six for our Britannia shortlist: Beatboxer John Gosden’s Scat Daddy colt has done all his racing on genuinely quick ground, so connections will be hoping the early rain at Royal…
5.00 Ascot On paper this is a nightmare of a race to attempt to whittle down to six or so runners, but we have to be brutal when culling some of these no matter their profile. Those drawn high have done best in this race in recent times and on this occasion the majority of the speed is middle-to-high for sure, so those with a high cruising speed who like to be held-up and are drawn on the far side…
5.00 Ascot Day one of Royal Ascot 2019 is an absolute belter on paper and while the real quality will be seen earlier in the day with Group 1 races the Queen Anne Stakes, King’s Stand and St James’s Palace Stakes all taking place, the main betting event is this hugely competitive 20-runner affair over the marathon trip of 2½ miles. National Hunt trainers have dominated the event in recent times and once again they hold the whip hand this…
3.45 Epsom Given that it’s all done downhill and there is an obvious track bias, this race is all about sheer speed and getting a good draw so with that in mind we have chosen the following six horses to make up our shortlist, with the selection hopefully proving to be great value on what is Epsom Derby day. Copper Knight Tim Easterby’s five-year-old gelding has looked in better nick this season than he ever has before and there’s no…
3.00 Newbury A cracking renewal of this three-year-old only handicap, in fact several of the field were considered to be potential black-type performers and may yet go on to win at Group level later in the season. Whatever the result, keep a good eye on the form of this race as it’s bound to be rock solid and while there are any number in with some sort of chance, these six look like the right way to go as far…
3.35 Chester A race established as far back as 1824, the Chester Cup carries with it so much history and prestige and is a major early-season target for a number of top yards. As a £150,000 race we can expect this to be frenetic from the beginning, but the 2m2f trip will take some getting while a good draw is essential round here and as such we’ve managed to whittle the field down to these six candidates. Austrian School Mark…
3.35 Sandown We tipped last year’s winner Step Back in this race and we are very much looking to double up with a young, improving chaser who is going places. As usual though the bet365 Gold Cup is a competitive event and there are lots in with chances on the book, these six for our money being the most likely to give punters a run for their money. Adrien Du Pont Despite a bad run at Aintree last time when…
3.35 Ayr In recent years this has been a race for the outsider, so we make no apologies for leaving out some big names from our top six including Big River and Vintage Clouds having looked at all the known evidence. Form, weight, ratings and so many more things have been taken into consideration for this shortlist but despite the effort, the Scottish Grand National remains what it should be and that is frightfully competitive and tough to call. Whatever…
5.15 Aintree This Saturday is that one special day of the year when old fashioned betting offices are crowded out as everyone from pros to pin-stickers place their bets on the £1million Grand National. A full field of 40 horses has of course been assembled for the 4m2½f, 30-fence spectacular and while a lot of old trends are increasingly being thrown out of the window, we’ve used all our cunning and knowledge to whittle this field down to 8 horses…
4.05 Aintree The Grand National fences are put to use in this fiercely competitive 2m5f, 30-runner chase and we’ve painstakingly managed to reduce the field down to a solid final six. Some have quirks of course, but all are expected to be in the front rank and have attracted money this week with the selection remaining a fair price to land the £140,000 feature handicap on Ladies Day. Activial Tom George’s runner has a great profile for this race, for…