February's First Friday Meydan Selections & Updates - 03 February

A handful of Dundalk selections added below with more to follow mid way through the evening.


If I were an England cricketer then I'd jack it in and head off to watch the racing at Meydan instead I think!


Meanwhile the cold snap has left this country's racing in disarray with little but the trusty old AW.......but if you think it's cold here then take a look at this vid of the snow racing in St. Moritz!  It's a promo film for Canon and is put together done so stylishly that you get a real feel for the power and the pure zero degreeness of it all. 


White Turf hits St Moritz this weekend with racing on Sunday 05 February.

Pah!  Down -7.13 today but on the plus side my (nightly) nap won !

	Dundalk	First Choice	E/W or RF Choice
1	17:50	Tsar Paul UP (4th)
2	18:20	Danick Of Time 1st
3	18:50	Kedlestone 1st
4	19:50	Naoise 1st

	Meydan	First Choice	E/W or RF Choice
1	11:00	Hujaylea UP	Dandy Boy (EW) UP
2	11:35	Ip Man UP	Bible Black (EW) UP
3	12:10	Gamilati 1st
4	12:45	Humidor  UP	Green Beret (EW) UP
5	13:25	Alo Pura 3rd
6	14:00	Averroes 2nd	Astral Thunder (EW)

1/             Zanzamar is  top of my list buthaving his first race since joint surgery. Looking for an alternative, I am torn between Hujaylea and Dandy Boy (of whom big things are expected)

2/             Ip Man must surely follow up from his earlier win here a fortnight ago but that was on tapeta and this is turf so I’m also going each way on Bible Black with a nice draw and Ryan Moore booked.

3/             Gamilati is my Meydan nap today and should love the step up to a mile.  Pimpernel will be the threat but may just need the race.

4/             Humidor should take this. I can see no obvious reason that Nocturnal Affair shouldn’t have won LTO and conditions are almost identical (he runs better fresh so the lack of recent race wasn’t an issue).  Green Beret is my each way pick – although Al Raihe stable has a enviable record here, they’re not yet churning out the winners in volume yet which should soon change.

5/             Captain Obvious has a worse draw than for his last C&D win LTO and if Buick can manage not to get stuck on the rail with Alo Pura (who is a course record holder) then he should get revenge today.  You usually would look for a horse that likes to race prominently here over the 6f distance on tapeta but I make an exception for Alo Pura as he has won with his hold up style over C&D in the past.

6/             Fox Hunt 1st would seem the obvious pick and is sure to be a short priced favourite but in the past he’s always needed a run after being off track so long so I am not entirely convinced (especially at the likely price!) He has changed stables which might make a difference but there’s still a big question mark in my mind.I found this the most difficult race to figure out but in the end opted for hold up merchant Averroes with proven stamina and Astral Thunder who may take advantage of being one of the  only two prominent racers (the other is Fox Hunt drawn the other side) and now Fallon has his mojo back with last week's win, could box clever.

Just a quick addendum for the record!  My top line picks (as in total scores based purely on compiled stats) for Meydan are:  

11:00 Zanzamar 12th

11:35 Bible Black 6th

12:10 Gamileti 1st

12:45 Humidor 12th

13:25 Captain Obvious 4th

14:00 Fox Hunt 1st

Nightly Nap is at a track that will definitely be going ahead, Dundalk !  This one runs in the 19:50 and since its the end of a tiring week, this isn't so much a clue as a bunch of lads telling you it's name (and no doubt squirming with embarrassment if they ever remember that they uploaded this video four years ago hehe)

19:50  Dundalk


Naoise 1st

12:10 Meydan