It looks just the White Thyme to take Rum Before Midnight  April 6, 2022 YOU’VE got to have a few pounds in hand to win today’s Red Rum Chase (4:40pm) at Aintree. Last year’s winner, Editeur Du Gite, won off a mark of 132, and has since gone on to win competitive handicaps at Cheltenham off 140, 147 and finish fourth in unsuitably heavy ground Grand Annual off 153. [...]
Fresh Kemboy can give Mullins another Bowl April 6, 2022 THERE is no mistake that currently the Irish have the upper hand in National Hunt racing. Tornado Flyer’s dominant victory in the King George and a clean sweep of all four championship races at the Cheltenham Festival were further evidence that they are streets ahead of their British counterparts at the moment. It’s certainly a [...]
Brazil set to silence the Piper at Aintree April 6, 2022 PLENTY predicted another Irish whitewash at this year’s Cheltenham Festival but luckily the home team held their own until the last day at least. That said, one division where the Irish appear to hold all the aces is the juveniles with dominant performances in both the Triumph Hurdle and the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle. Irish-trained horses [...]
Life is definitely Good for Dubai favourite backers March 24, 2022 Bill Esdaile’s Dubai World Cup 1-2-3: 1. Life Is Good 2. Hot Rod Charlie 3. Chuwa Wizard WHILE it may no longer be the world’s richest race, the Dubai World Cup (4.30pm) is still a huge draw, and this looks a top-class renewal of the £8.8 million spectacle at Meydan. Form from the best middle [...]
NO DESERTING GALVIN IN GOLD CUP March 17, 2022 Bill Esdaile’s Gold Cup 1-2-3 Galvin Protektorat Royal Pagaille WEDNESDAY’S deluge at Cheltenham has meant the ground for today’s Gold Cup (3.30pm) will be on the soft side and whichever way you look at it, the 3m2f trip is going to take some getting. With that in mind, you’ve got to be looking for horses [...]
Irish pair Banbridge and I A Connect can go well in the Martin Pipe March 17, 2022 ALL THE talk in the build-up to the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (5.30pm) has been around last season’s runner-up Langer Dan who is back attempting to go one better off just a 2lbs higher mark. Dan Skelton’s six-year-old bumped into Galopin Des Champs this day 12 months ago and actually did well to get as close as he did when [...]
BACK BOB TO TURN A DECENT PROFIT IN HUNTERS’ CHASE March 17, 2022 PROPERTY entrepreneur, racehorse owner and amateur jockey David Maxwell isn’t everyone’s cup of tea in the saddle, but he is a huge supporter of horseracing and I think he should be celebrated rather than criticised. His win on Dolphin Square at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day was a dream come true for the jockey who [...]
Fil Dor can Triumph in rematch with Vauban March 17, 2022 ONLY the 12 runners stand their ground for the JCB Triumph Hurdle (1.30pm), the curtain-raiser on Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Day. The betting suggests that the Irish hold all the aces in the juvenile division with five of the top six in the betting. All of Tuesday’s rain will have been music to the ears of [...]
Royal Kahala to Floor Porter in Stayers’ March 16, 2022 Bill Esdaile’s Stayers’ Hurdle 1-2-3: 1. Royal Kahala 2. Flooring Porter 3. Thyme Hill THERE are few races at the Cheltenham Festival which are easy to solve and today’s Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle (3.30pm) certainly falls into that category. Many of the leading contenders have put in performances more than worthy of taking this race but [...]
King can rely on his Queen for more Cheltenham glory March 16, 2022 IT HAD been a long time in between drinks for Alan King at the Cheltenham Festival before Edwardstone landed Tuesday’s Sporting Life Arkle. His last winner at this meeting was Uxizandre in the 2015 Ryanair, incidentally also AP McCoy’s final Festival winner, but he may not have to wait too long for the next one. [...]
