Sunday's Selections & Updates - 16 October

I shan't be updating the blog for Monday - I think it prudent on the day that the PJA and BHA are 'talking' and the abandoned strike was to take place, to issue myself a watching brief.  
Back with a vengeance with selections for Tueday though.

Well I can forgive Ascot for pinching Champions Day from Newmarket if that's the kind of racing that we'll see next year as well!  Let's hope that Qipco still want to sponsor and foreign jockeys still want to ride next year....

Today’s selections are:

Bath

14:00  Bateleur (6.4) 2^nd

15:05  Birdwatcher (4.5) UP

15:35  Exceedance (3.3) UP

17:15  Whitecrest (15) 4^th  & Diamond Vine (32) UP

I felt compelled to include Wooden King In the last race in a Lucky 15 - ok, I selected it by stupid mistake so ....it was too early in the morning with too little caffeine in my system at that point in time.

So you see Ryan, the horses in Ireland are only this big..........even you are too big to ride them so you really don't want to be going over there and squashing those poor little horseys now do you?

I've had a look at the Naas card today (I do like a challenge on a Sunday) and have various multis on the following:

Naas

14:10  Miracle Cure UP

14:40  Birds Eye View 2^nd (win) & Pandemonium (ew) UP

15:15  Janey Muddles UP (win) & Lady Rocheford UP (ew)

15:45  Malayan Mist UP

16:20  Donnas Palm 2^nd

16:50  Bobby John UP

    

   

149                     142                    140

      56                    56                        25 

Monday's Selections & Results - 26 September

Luca Cumani has two runners on Monday.  Field Of Dream is running at Hamilton with JP riding and Qahriman is running at Ffos Las with Fallon riding.  I don't think it takes a genius to figure out which of these two is his best hope!  Thirditis in both instances.

Bath 14:30 - Course specialist My Meteor looks as if he shouldn't have any problem taking this.  He's up just a couple of lbs from his last run (over 6f and on good to soft).  David Kenny who was up on that occasion is taking off 5lb.  I just wish it was the 18 September though.  Both of his previous wins were exactly 10 days after his previous run!

My Meteor  13/8 2^nd

Today’s system selections are:

Hamilton

14:40  Northern Bolt (3.45) 3^rd

15;10  Smart Step (4.7) 1^st

15:40  Penitent (3.25) 1^st

16:40  Captain Scooby (4.5) 1^st

Ffos Las

16:20  Rastaban (4.1) UP

Bath

16:30  History Repeating (10) UP

A good day with 3 from 6 and profit of +6.45

William Haggas has a 40% strike rate at Hamilton and runs (our system selection) Penitent 1^st there in the 15:40.  He has a 50% strike rate at Ffos Las and runs (another system selection) Rastaban UP there in the 16:20.

Not that this is helping my cause to persuade anyone that I'm not a complete anorak when it comes to racing but last night I updated my 4000th race Excel spreadsheet .....(I promise that I wasn't that excited really!)

History Repeating?

 136                     124                    120

      56                        53                     25

Saturday's Selections & Updates - 10 September

St Leger day is here and all the talk is for Sea Moon (sea sic below!).  I can't help thinking that  the 7/4 he's drifted to at the time of writing is a bit Jimmy Krankie (on the short side) but then again this horse is pure pure quality the way he won the Voligeur by 8 lengths pulling up!  
He's not been riding his best ever over the past week but Fallon on Brown Panther is surely good value for an each way 12/1?  Dascombe/Owen bringing him in for his St Leger experience is in direct contrast to Ballydoyle and (good as he may be) Joseph O'Brien's lack of it.  Aiden would really love Joseph to win a Gr1 in England before he either (a) grows even taller or (b) gets a year long gift card for Maccy D's -  so you have to think they'll have Seville primed to perfection for this.  Talking about experience, Frankie knows how to win this race - 3 wins in 10 years!  Only trouble is that a filly hasn't won this race since 1992 and this will be Blue Bunting's first outing against the opposite sex.
The ground is drying out so will this go against Sea Moon?  Because he's never raced on anything firmer than good doesn't mean that he won't perform on it.  His sire Beat Hollow had no problems on firm ground but his 3 part brother Brian Boru wasn't too keen - I guess unless the heavens open then we'll find out tomorrow.  I can't imagine that Seville will enjoy any firm in the description - a definite negative for him IMO but a big plus for Brown Panther who's performance  I'm not too worried about LTO when he was beaten by Census as he barely had enough time to recover from a hard run Deutsche Derby on heavy ground.  Census however is a classy horse and the Hannon stable are in fine form right now and as long as he doesn't miss the break this time over this longer trip then he will be up there at the end.  
(I reckon that the way Masked Marvel hung left LTO suggests that the distance will be beyond him)
I can't go against Sea Moon for the St Leger - he has the full package so unless he desperately hates any firm in the going (if it dries out further) it has to be:


1/ Sea Moon 7/4 3rd
2/ Census 5/1 UP
3/ Brown Panther 12/1 2nd


My favourite quote of the day has to come from Mahmood Al Zarooni with this about Blue Bunting "If you see her before her races, then you would say that she would have no chance because of her coat - she looks like a hyena...."

This had to go up today !

System selections today are:

Chester

14:00   Sleepy Blue Ocean (6.2) 3rd

Goodwood

15:25   Al Khaleej (9.8) UP

Doncaster

16:15   The Cheka (3.65) UP

Bath

17:00   Maydream (4.7) 1st 

Kempton

18:25   Queenie’s Star (5.9) 2nd

Off the cold list at last with a winner and a couple of places.  Slight loss of  0.30

Curragh 6f races - 18 of the last 25 winners have been drawn high (72%)

In the only 6f race today at 14:40 the 1st (Born To Sea 5/2) & 2nd (Pearl In The Sand 10/1) both came from a high draw 

This one's for Francesca @riosrider !

Spot the Difference!!

William Buick will be aboard Masked Marvel in the St Leger.  Funnily enough for once I am glad to see that he's not riding Nationalism in the 14:20 Goodwood - he's never won on him and just doesn't seem to get on with this particular horse!


In future, just bet on whichever horse I have picture featured....they almost always win regardless.  Must be subliminal messaging.......

125                       109                  107

       56                         50                   24

Monday's Selections & Results - 05 September

After a day off yesterday to nurse my poorly Jack Russell, Vinnie (who is a lot perkier today so fingers crossed, he’s on the mend) we have three system selections for today:

Bath

15:40   One Lucky Lady UP

Newcastle

15:50   What’s For Pudding UP

16:50   La Baccouetteuse NR

Loss today of -2

There's a huge number of maidens at this time of the year and since there aren't that many late foals, the majority of the runners are poor (or they would have won before now). Stay away territory for me!

The St Leger is this Saturday of course, so we can expect the racing media to be hyping up Sea Moon for all their worth.  Olivier Peslier is booked!  Sea Moon is owned by Khalid Abdulla who will not use Kieren Fallon if you're wondering why he's not on - yes, he did once ride for him at the Breeders Cup but I think it was a case of necessity as there was no other available jockey to take the ride.  There are just fifteen runners left at this stage and it's looking likely that Seville will by Ballydoyle's only runner.  My soft spot is for Brown Panther.  He'll be up against classier rivals than he has ever been before though but I think the step up in trip will suit very nicely looking at his last run. Michael Owen must look back at the day in December 2009 when he was unsold lot 5 at the Ascot sales priced of £1500 with relief now!

                                            119                                  107                          106                                       

      

    56                                 49                                22

Possibly the weirdest pic of a horse you'll ever see!

Wednesday’s Selections & Results – 31 August

It’s a good job that there were no jumps meetings in Britain yesterday as it was the funeral of Doreen (Angel of Lambourn) Rackham and there would have been no one to ride, tack, prep, drive the horses! 

The church was full with another 100 people outside.  I’m sure that as well as the training staff,  there are just as many mothers who have reason to be thankful to this woman who looked after their children once they realised they weren’t going to make it as a jockey, when homesickness took a hold, or if they were ill or injured.   I hope that there’s someone else in Lambourn now to bake the cakes and look after the lads and lasses – that would be a fitting tribute to her memory.

Gilmar Pereira is apparently a baseball player and/or a rodeo cowboy but the one we're interested in is a 25 year old Brazilian jockey claiming 3lb riding for William Haggas. (Ssshhh – he’s ridden heaps of winners in Brazil including a Group 1).    
He’s riding Tamara Bay (below) as he has in all three starts and apparently work rides all the difficult ones at home so he should know the best way to get this horses head in front.     

Today’s system selections are:

Bath

15:00   Rose Aurora (5.9) WD

Carlisle

17:35   Salik Tag (8.6) 2^nd

Kempton

17:50   Tamara Bay (7.4) UP

20:20   Shooting Line (5.5) UP

Salik Tag was soooo close to winning but had to settle for 2^nd.  Overall -3 loss making it the worst day for quite some while       
                                                

...and if you're worried about Kieren Fallon getting to Kempton from Folkstone don't be.  He will be flying from Folkstone to an airfield near Kempton then making the rest of the journey on the back of a motorbike (for the first time ever)!  

I promised that we would have a female champion jockey daily total and so we have (at the bottom with the men’s one) and also the only other funny racing commentary in the world worth watching:

It's a shame Arrrrrrr wasn't running in this as well

115              105            102

        Hayley Turner 56                                    Cathy Gannon  49                            Julie Burke  21

These numbers are NOT ages but winners this season so far!!