Dettori chilled ahead of Derby farewell June 2, 2023 EPSOM’s weighing room will be full of tension, nerves and anticipation on Saturday afternoon, as 14 jockeys prepare for the most revered horse race in the world, the Derby. Yet, the man who’s getting a leg-up in the race for the final time is showing no such emotion. Frankie Dettori, who announced his retirement from [...]
Grand National stage looks set for Delta to Work his magic April 15, 2023 THERE’s nothing quite like the Randox Grand National (Saturday, 5:15pm) it’s a race that inspires dreams and writes its own script. It can change the careers of trainers and jockeys in an instant, or the approximate nine minutes that it takes to negotiate 30 formidable fences and four-miles two-furlongs around Aintree’s famous track. In recent [...]
Demachine a monster price at 25/1 to win Topham April 12, 2023 WITH plenty of rain in the air, the best short-priced bet on Friday’s Aintree card could well be GERRI COLOMBE in the opening Mildmay Novices’ Chase (1.45pm). Gordon Elliott’s seven-year-old was arguably unlucky not to reel in The Real Whacker at Cheltenham and the return to a more conventional track will help too. Davy Russell [...]
Zanahiyr to chase home superstar Constitution Hill April 12, 2023 YOU DON’T need me to tell you that the star of the show on Thursday is Constitution Hill, and barring one of the biggest shocks in living memory, he will win the William Hill Aintree Hurdle (3.30pm) with ease. His price of 1/8 suggests just that and the fact firms are betting on how far [...]
Galopin set for a Champs’ reception in the Gold Cup March 16, 2023 IT COULD be time for a new staying superstar to step forward in this year’s Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (3.30pm), as Willie Mullins’ GALOPIN DES CHAMPS sets his sights on the biggest prize in National Hunt racing. This horse has been a revelation since winning the Martin Pipe Conditional Hurdle at the Festival two years [...]
We can all Brag when Lossiemouth wins the Triumph March 16, 2023 WE ALL know Willie Mullins has a lot of strength in depth at his Closutton base, but he might not have had a stronger crop of juvenile hurdlers for quite some time. He saddles nine of the 15-strong field in the Triumph Hurdle (1.30pm), and given four of those occupy the top spots in the [...]
Go for Broke with Pem in the County March 16, 2023 WILLIE Mullins and Dan Skelton have won seven of the last eight runnings of the County Hurdle (2:10) between them. In that time, Mullins has four wins to Skelton’s three, but I think it could be level come around 2.15pm. PEMBROKE won a couple of two-mile novice hurdles on softish ground over the winter, but [...]
Hunter Chase Dream can come true March 16, 2023 CHELTENHAM’S biggest prize, in terms of trophy size, is today’s St James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Hunters’ Chase (4:10pm), known to most over the years as the Foxhunters. And, despite it being one of the less valuable contests over the four days, this race is the pinnacle for hunter chasers. Only open to horses holding [...]
Klassical a Dream bet to Floor rivals in the Stayers’ March 15, 2023 THERE can’t be many more open Grade Ones than the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle (3.30pm), where all 11 runners look to hold something of a chance. It’s a race with many great story lines. FLOORING PORTER, winner of the last two renewals, is looking for the hat-trick, 2019 winner Paisley Park is back for another [...]
Shishkin’s Road to victory might not be straightforward March 15, 2023 THERE is no getting away from the fact that if the real SHISHKIN turns up for this afternoon’s Ryanair Chase (2.50pm), he should make light work of his eight rivals. They say that one swallow doesn’t make a summer and that’s the dilemma facing punters as to whether his blistering return to form at Ascot last time [...]
