Sunday's Foolish Selections & Updates - 01 April

The first race of the flat season was won by 50/1 shot Norse Blues!  The last time this horse won was when he partnered up with James 'The Doyler' Doyle at Epsom last June.  James meanwhile was busy winning his first ever group 1 race on Cityscape in the Dubai Duty Free at Meydan.  He's had a productive winter in Dubai/Meydan and rode an excellent race today, improvising when he was forced to take up the running as the leader emptied quickly.  Cityscape broke the course record too!  Roger Charlton is becoming an even dabber hand at these international big purse races.

Racing for Change have announced some new plans in their ongoing drive to help horseracing appeal to a wider (and younger) audience.  There are plans to organise various themed events and race days throughout the country before the end of 2012.  Plans include a meeting with a sausage only food menu at Bangor in September, a Shakespeare day at Stratford, Viking day at York and (predictably!) a Robin Hood day at Nottingham .  Also planned is a meeting  at Beverley which will be staffed by students from local schools and colleges all named Beverley and (best of all I think) free admittance to Glorious Goodwood on the 03 August for anyone who takes along a carved or whittled piece of wood that they've created themselves.  


RfC have however abandoned following up on an (initially very well received) idea that a special charity race be added to the end of the card on the first day of Royal Ascot.  The idea was to demonstrate how little pain the whip really does inflict by having the jockeys 'ride' celebrities and encourage them along with their 'persuaders'.  The idea was abandoned when none of the jockeys would agree to 'ride' anyone other than John McCririck or Tommo - despite plenty of other well known names and good sports like Max Mosley offering their services.

Not a good start to the month (but the only way is up from now)  Loss of -7 

	Doncaster	First Choice	E/W or Forecast Choice
1	13:35	Jeer UP

1/        Last years winner on a decent mark. One of the better jocks on board – who also has ridden him before (although not won). 

	Ascot	First Choice	E/W or Forecast Choice
1	14:20	Arbeo UP
2	14:55	Prince Of Pirates UP
3	15:30	High Samana UP
4	16:05	Fix The Rib UP

Notes:

1/            Kings Bayonet would be of more interest at shorter – he hasn’t shown that he can last home even 2 miles to date!  Kruzhlinin is interesting but TD isn’t really firing at present (and Sam has an abysmal record round here 0/22) so I’m taking a chance with Arbeo sho looks as though this distance over a stiff course will suit.

	Limerick	First Choice	E/W or Forecast Choice
1	15:40	Ballysteen

Nightly nap for tomorrow:

High Samana 

Ascot 15:30

(Samana is a city and peninsula in the Dominican Republic)

Richard Hills came out of the shortest lived retirement ever at Meydan when the Dubai Gold Cup was re-run at the end of yesterday's card.  He looked as though he was in with a chance too aboard Zanzamar, an 18/1 shot who eventually finished third behind Joshua Tree (2nd) and winner Opinion Poll.  That would have been a fairy tale ending but wasn't to be.  


Sadly Fox Hunt didn't have a fairy tale ending either, he very publicly broke down in the first running of the Dubai Gold Cup at 14:45 and had to be euthanised.  As it's a 2 mile race, it had to be abandoned as the remaining runners could not continue on the second circuit.  In a cruel twist of fate, Bronze Cannon was fatally injured during the second attempt of the race with Grand Vent also pulling up with an injured hind leg but he was taken to horsey hospital and it doesn't appear to be life threatening....update:  Unfortunately it was and he has also been euthanised.  Three horses lost in one race (albeit two runnings) - awful statistic.

Super Saturday Selections & Updates (big profits) - 31 March

The first day of the flat season, the Dubai World Cup and still some half-decent jumps action - what more could a racing fan ask for?


The 'ASS' (Alternative Selecting System for want of a yet-to-be-thought-of better name) did well  yesterday with level stakes profits from 3 of the 5 meetings and a tasty 135% return at Dundalk mainly courtesy of Grey Danube.  I'm not holding out much hope with the huge fields at Doncaster tomorrow but will give it a try/see.  It'll be an interesting exercise if nothing else.  It now exists as it's own entity with a separate web/blogsite at http://speedyequines.blogspot.co.uk/.

Observation!!  Ruby Walsh is booked to ride two at Uttoxeter today (Balding Banker and Tonic Mellysse both for Nicholls) and then hotfoots it across to Stratford for the last less than 2 hours later to ride Whisky Yankee (Nicholls again) in the bumper.  Whisky Yankee cost £50K as a 2yo so .......

Three decent winners on here today (the nap came 6th from 16).  Noticing Ruby traversing the midlands for one ride paid off - Whisky Yankee won quite cosily.  


A most excellent finish to March with today's profits of+12.56 (179%)
March profits overall are +42.03

	Stratford	First Choice	E/W or Forecast Choice
1	14:15	Peadar Miguel UP
2	17:35	Whisky Yankee 1st

	Navan	First Choice	E/W or Forecast Choice
1	15:10	Beef To The Heels 1st

	Kempton	First Choice	E/W or RF Choice
1	15:30	Eshtibaak UP

	Doncaster	First Choice	E/W or Forecast Choice
1	16:55	Veroon UP
2	18:05	Zafranagar (EW)  1st	Potentiale (EW) UP

Our own Hayley Turner will be making history tomorrow when she becomes the first female jockey to ride at the Dubai World Cup Day meeting.  This may well be eclipsed by Chantal Sutherland if she wins on Game On Dude in the big race itself - although from a wide draw she's going to have to ride out of her skin.  It would be very nice tonic for Bob Baffert if she does win though - although the excitement might not be just what the doctor would order for someone recovering from a heart attack and subsequent surgery earlier this week.

If you wondered why there weren't too many people watching the last race at Limerick yesterday, it's because they had all gone to watch this guy picking his paper up (bless him for not being a litter lout) :

Saturday's Super Spectacular Selections & Results - 03 March

Nostradamus studying the entries for the Triumph?

The blog post title is my attempt at positive thinking!  

Talking of which (thinking that it), my bedtime reading is a stack of Cheltenham Festival guides.  This has resulted in my waking thought on morning #1 being Al Ferof, morning #2 was Simonsig and morning #3 an unnamed  Donald McCain trained beastie running in a handicap!  

Now if these three (well two and a concept!) win then I could be on to something - Nostradamus eat your heart out.  More sensibly, my subconscious has been filing my form study whilst asleep and these names have made it to the front....hmmmm

Back to the more rational and difficult method of selection by research and study!  Is anybody still reading....? Given that the two Doncaster selections on Friday were both winners, this is the course that I'll most likely concentrate on for Saturday.  
The last time I looked closely at thje Doncaster card on a Saturday, the top line of my 'sheet' found 4 out of 5 winners on the top line (despite my talking myself out of them in a couple of instances - e.g. shouldn't have stayed, so I'll put these up in the second column as well as my 'considered' choice in the first column (if different) which means I then run through a 'must-have' checklist of several points.  Should be interesting!


A terribel day (relatively speaking!) with a minus -7.3.  It didn't help that Doncasters later races turned into bumpers with the home straight fences being omitted but even so....must do better!

	Lingfield	First Choice	E/W or RF Choice
1	13:40	Blueberry Fizz 2nd	Super Frank (EW) UP

	Doncaster	‘Considered’  Choice	Top Line Choice
1	14:20	Corkage 1st	Sir Harry Ormesher UP
2	14:55	Five Star Wilsham UP	Five Star Wilsham UP
3	15:25	Junior 2nd	Junior 2nd
4	16:00	Pittrodie Star UP	Amron Lad  2nd
5	16:35	Takeroc 3rd	Quicuyo UP
6	17:10	Loden UP	Loden UP

1/         Sir Harry Ormesher’s ‘no-show’ LTO was worrying and he ran so badly that it’s enough to put me off.  Noel Fehily (on Kangaroo Court) whilst a most excellent jockey, has never won a hurdles race here in 14 attempts and (can you believe it?) has never race ridden KC. Corkage has never been unplaced here (4 runs = 2 wins, 1 2^nd, 1 3^rd) and although tight between him and KG, he has the better record in class races.

2/         First one that matched both columns!

3/         Ditto

4/         Amron Lad would have a question mark over this longer trip.  I don’t think too much should be read in to Aland Island’s Triumph entry as you can get 50/1 about him and he also has a few alternative entries leading up to Cheltenham so obviously connections aren’t convinced he’s good enough (plus Tim Vaughan’s yard is 0/25 in recent days (cold enough by anyone’s standards)

5/         Neither selection has won off a mark this high before – the extra weight may be too much for Quicuyo whereas Harry Derham’s 7lb claim will make a valuable difference

6/         Both columns – just a slight Q over the galloping course as he had his best results on sharp tracks but I can see no reason to think he won’t perform here

My nightly nap is an anagram and runs in the 16:35 Doncaster:          RAT COKE!

It's heart warming to see that Lingfield has named their first two races "Hey, Hey We´re The Monkees Handicap" and the second is the "In Memory Of Davy Jones Selling Stakes"

Friday Friday Selections & Updates - 02 March

Spectacular start to the month yesterday with 149% profit -  three winners, a 2nd (so nearly another winner - Tara Rose) and three losers unplaced selections.

No one won the Kempton Jackpot so it rolls over to Newbury for Friday with at least £477,696.62 in the pot.  I think it's safe to assume that this will be in excess of £500,000 by 13:50.


Doncaster is the course with my best strike rate of 38.1% on Friday with Dundalk and Newbury at 30%.


Quite telling that the two Doncaster selections with my higher strike rate there both won whereas I had no Newbury winners!  Still a tiny loss today of -0.30.

	Doncaster	First Choice	E/W or FC Choice
1	14:00	Fourth Estate 1st
2	16:15	Justazippy 1st	Aegean Destiny 3rd

2/         Aegean Destiny would be first choice if she’d not fallen LTO (can’t be sure of her confidence today) but I’ll dutch/rev forecast these two.  Dreambrook Lady looks to need more cut.

	Newbury	First Choice	E/W or RF Choice
1	13:50	Lyvius 2nd
2	14:20	Let’s Get Serious 2nd
3	15:30	Carabinier (EW) UP
4	16:00	Henry San UP
5	16:35	Ballyallia Man (nap) 3rd

My Nightly nap is running in the 16:35 Newbury - there's no clue for Ballyallia Man (impossible!) and the only anagram I could come up with was too rude so here's a nice photo of a lake with the same name .....this being 'Ballyallia Lake' near Ennis, County clare not  'Man Lake' !

Ballyallia Man
Newbury 16:35
3rd

A couple of trainers who have been on the cold list seem to be warming up nicely just in time for Cheltenham - Philip Hobbs and Nigel Twiston- Davies have both turned the corner it would seem.  Still on ice though are Peter Bowen, Caroline Keevil and Tim Vaughan.

Fingers crossed that Kauto Star who had a hefty fall while schooling with Ruby last Friday is fit and well for the Gold Cup.  Paul Nicholls reckons its 50/50 at the moment if he'll run.