Saturday's Meetings Navan Flat 8 Races 1:05-5:10p.m. Haydock Flat 7 Races 1:10-4:40p.m. Punchestown N/H 8 Races 1:20-5:28p.m. Beverley Flat 7 Races 1:30-5:00p.m. Catterick Flat 7 Races 1:51-5:24p.m. Chester Flat 7 Races 2:01-5:30p.m. Cartmel N/H 7 Races 2:09-5:39p.m. Chelmsford A/W 7 Races 2:25-5:55p.m. Salisbury(E) Flat 7 Races 5:35-8:45p.m. Ffos Las(E) N/H 7 Races 5:50-9:00p.m. Racecards At The Races Sporting Life Racing Post Good Luck
I’m just getting ready to get my seat in the pub for the game Have a good day all. All the best with your flutters
Today’s “Timeform Ratings Banker” is Dragon Symbol in the Achilles Stakes (Haydock 1:45) as the horse is rated 7lb better than any of his rivals. But do I want to be involved at 2/1? No, as his best piece of form for his old yard was being disqualified when passing the post first in the Commonwealth Cup (6 furlongs, heavy ground) and his last win was a five runner conditions race more than a year ago; his only win on turf. The Haydock 2:20 has attracted a field of twelve (at the time of writing) but it really looks to revolve around just three or four of them. Mahrajaan makes his seasonal bow from the Haggas barn and did nothing wrong last year running up a hat trick on decent ground before finishing third on soft ground having been raised 10lb. He will go off favourite for his in-form yard but looks short enough to oppose. Bottomweight Forza Orta was an excellent second last time – beaten by a hotpot from the Haggas barn – at York, won a fair race at Hamilton before that and gets 10lb off today’s Haggas rival. Hms President started his run of decent form at around this time last year and was a fair fourth in an Ascot handicap last time. However, for the winner I am looking at CONTACT, David Barron’s colt improving on a debut second at Thirsk by winning a valuable HQ handicap on Guineas Saturday (Scarlet Dragon and State of Bliss behind) and raised 5lb today. Hopefully his race fitness will tell and he has not stopped improving. In the Pinnacle Stakes (2:55), I hope that Noon Star (daughter of Midday) can do better than last time at York where she was too keen under Ryan Moore but if I were looking for a bet I would chance Denis Coakley’s Nell Quickly (stepping up from handicaps, taking fitness on trust) or Roger Varian’s Lady Hayes (good second in a Goodwood Listed race last time) at decent odds rather than the Haggas favourite. I think the feature John Of Gaunt Stakes (3:30) is a lot more open than the betting suggests. Kinross won this race last year but is not race fit today and is only top rated by 2lb. Frankie was aboard last year but he is on the Gosden’s Sunray Major and his sixth in the Lockinge does not make him second favourite here; where he lives does. Happy Power is a very infrequent winner, last time beating two rivals in a Listed race. Pogo is another that does not win often and he has been off on his travels. When he last ran in this country he separated Benbatl and Master Of The Seas at HQ over a mile but the fourth that day LANEQASH, gelded since, was second in the Hungerford Stakes and third in the Park Stakes over this trip and a repeat of that Newbury second should be good enough to win here. The day’s banker for multiple bets looks to be Boardman in the Chester 3:45. He won the race last year, is drawn two and won easily last time at Thirsk. More than half the field are out of form, reflected in his cramped odds. It ought to be a good day for William Buick at Beverley as he rides favourites or second favourites in the ITV races. Bet365 are doing Bet Boosts on two of his mounts and they may come unstuck with Absolutelyflawless in the Hilary Needler as the Hannon favourite drops back from six to five furlongs and gets no weight off David Loughnane’s unbeaten filly.
16:40 Haydock - The Cookstown Cafu (Still a maiden but has a good chance to break his duck in this Class-4 Handicap over the extended 7f. The Invincible Spirit gelding has run some good races in defeat. Hopefully the ground will not be too fast at Haydock and remains 'good'. Kevin Stott takes the ride for the Kevin Ryan yard. 4/1 generally-available at time of writing, hopefully SP will be better) 15:10 Chester - Fox Vardy (Hasn't shown much for some time now but showed glimpses of a return to form on debut run for new yard 21-days ago. Trying first-time cheekpieces today. Hector Crouch on board for the Ralph Beckett stable. Best price at time of writing around 5/1)
Raasel travelled really well to win the Achilles Stakes as Dragon Symbol flattered to deceive again. If it comes up soft at Royal Ascot perhaps the Varian horse might have his day but the winner has clearly improved for Mick Appleby and looks one to follow. I was delighted that Contact won nicely as he still looks to have a bit more improvement to come whilst I thought that the favourite Mahrajaan blew up, as at the furlong pole he and the winner were the two travelling. I wonder which race Haggas has in mind for Mahrajaan as punters will need to get on early with his current strike rate. Noon Star was hugely disappointing in the Pinnacle Stakes but the winner Sea La Rosa was very impressive, winning eased down and clearly going places. The race turned into a sprint in the straight because Frankie set a married man’s gallop on the Gosden filly as no-one else wanted to be up front; however, I suspect more pace would have made the winner more impressive as she would have settled. Pogo only just confirmed HQ running with Laneqash in the John Of Gaunt over a furlong shorter but credit to Kieran Shoemark on setting the fractions. At the distance it looked like Dettori was going to swoop from the back but he was too late along with last year’s winner.
Does anybody know why Chester was suddenly abandoned? I mean I hope every horse & every one is OK, but it's the second time this week I've had a reverse forecast lucky15 & (tout d'un coup) my next 2 bets are inexplicably 'no bets'. I'm sure it's not me moving markets - I mean, I'm not Stick or anything...
From the 'Racing Post' "Chester was forced to abandon after four races when Humanitarian slipped and fell on the home turn in the 7½f handicap. Both rider Luke Catton and the horse walked away apparently unscathed from the incident but with rider Stevie Donohoe also reporting his horse to have slipped in the same race, a delegation of officials, riders and trainers inspected the course and the decision was taken to abandon the meeting. Clerk of the course Andrew Tulloch said: "The stewards held an inquiry with the jockeys following an incident in the last race. After consulting with the jockeys, the safety representatives and the racecourse, it was concluded that the meeting should be abandoned due to concerns in the last race. "A horse slipped on the home bend, we had a look at it and carried out a full inspection as is the procedure through BHA guidelines and the stewards came to the conclusion to abandon." Asked why he thought the incident might have occurred, Tulloch said: "I don't know – it's too early to say. We've done a lot of extra work on that bend – aerating it and doing work before this meeting. It hasn't happened with me here before. I've had a lot of experience at Chester having been here previously and Charles Barnett, who is a director here, has not experienced it either and we've got a very experienced head groundsman."
I have been (boringly to most people) banging on about watering and manipulation of the going on here for years. As an accredited BOF I can tell you that abandonment of meetings due to unsafe ground was almost unknown 40, 30 even 20 years ago. The culture has developed over the last 50 years of trying to produce easy ground, which you can translate as ground on the soft side of good. This can only be achieved by artificial watering. The chickens have now come home to roost. We race primarily on turf in this country (if this goes on we won't be for much longer). It is a natural surface and grass grows just about anywhere. Usually all you need is a bit of rain now and then and you'll get a green sward of grass. If it doesn't rain the grass has to work harder and the roots go deeper to seek the moisture it needs. It may go brown but grass rarely dies. If you artificially water the roots do not have to burrow down for that moisture: result the surface is not as secure. For me the finest trainer of my lifetime, Noel Murless, encapsulated this in a comment 50 years ago 'watering makes the grass grow up, not down'. He was concerned about the incoming technology of artificial watering. Another problem with watering is that having carried it out you then get a late shower. That late water does not drain into the earth but just provides a loose crust that is soon kicked off once racing starts or provides a slippery surface. If the ground hadn't been previously overwatered the late shower would have drained down. There is another far worse outcome of this fashion of artificially watering to give 'easy' ground and that is the impairment of the animal we call the thoroughbred. A horse of good conformation should have no problems running on good to firm or even firm ground. Great horses in the past like Ribot, Sea Bird or Brigadier Gerard could run on any going and were often at their best on good to firm ground. Dick Hern once had a horse of such excellent confirmation that he said his best surface would be the M1. Today we have a breed, especially the Sadler's Wells/ Galileo branch of the Northern Dancer line, that is hugely inconvenienced by going firmer than good. My own feeling is that we have weakened the breed. Horses that previously would not have acted on good to firm are now not tested on it, as the ground is watered to produce that 'easy' surface they excel on. They then go to the covering sheds and produce more horses that need that easy surface. In one phrase 'horses aren't as tough' as they used to be. We are in a downward spiral. Nothing will change. They'll get their machines out that drill holes into the ground which they then fill with sand and produce safe ground. And they'll keep overwatering and one day turf will be no more and we'll have boring all-weather racing on perfectly flat tracks.
Yep, 'nothing will change' in the UK or Ireland, e.g. bookmakers, who make themselves out to be great benefactors of horse racing, but are, in fact, it's biggest problem. I'll be more than 100-years or so before we finally learn from France (and Australia too, if you like) in how to handle all the money made from 'The Sport of Kings'? The bookmakers' powerful 'lobby' in the UK Parliament shows no sign of abating. Now, I wonder why?
