EP: 123 Aintree – Friday April 7, 2022 We can look forward to some high class jumps racing at Aintree on Friday, a day before the Grand National takes place. Four Grade 1 races feature on Friday, alongside the Topham Handicap Chase which is run over the national fences, albeit over a shorter trip. City A.M. racing editor Bill Esdaile previews the best [...]
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 [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Size to regain the Winning feeling in Champion Trainer race April 5, 2022 MULTIPLE-TIME Champion Trainer John Size has suddenly found his quest for another title seriously under threat from his very own ‘sorcerer’s apprentice’ Frankie Lor, a former assistant to Size before taking out a trainers’ licence. Both are tied on 61 winners each and with around a third of the season remaining it will be interesting [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Moreira can make Sure of Joyful day for his supporters April 5, 2022 EXPECT the ‘Magic Man’ Joao Moreira to be sitting at the top of the Jockeys’ Championship table when the dust settles after a nine-race programme at Happy Valley today. Moreira is currently in a ding-dong battle with his arch-rival Zac Purton at the top of the leaderboard and trails the former four-time champion by just [...]
EP: 122 Ayr, Newbury & Hong Kong April 1, 2022 The Scottish Grand National & Scottish Champion Hurdle are two of the highlights at Ayr on Saturday, while the veteran chasers line up under conditional jockeys at Newbury on the same afternoon. Trainer Michael Scudamore sends a couple of runners to Ayr on Saturday and he joins us today to discuss their chances. City A.M. [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Throw out the formbook and chance well drawn Blissful Star March 29, 2022 FORMBOOK students will tell you the second division of the Hap Mun Bay Handicap (2.45pm) over six furlongs is a match between the Zac Purton-ridden Thunderstrike and Joao Moreira’s mount Fiery Diamond. Both jockeys are riding at their peak of their powers at present, with Purton currently leading his arch-rival by 95 winners to 92 [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Lightning can strike twice for Majestic Shum and Teetan March 29, 2022 PUNTERS didn’t find it easy at Sha Tin last Sunday when three out of four odds-on favourites were sunk, leaving the majority of multiple and exotic wagers consigned to the litterbins and bettors left stony-faced. It’s likely not to get any easier today with Sha Tin hosting an eight-race programme on the all-weather surface, something [...]
Opinion: Crypto brands’ sporting land-grab is only just beginning March 29, 2022 As Lionel Messi and Fifa become the latest to do huge deals with cryptocurrency and blockchain-related brands, sports sponsorship expert Henry Nash of Octagon assesses the major new player in the market. I suspect I wasn’t alone in thinking the Nielsen 2022 Global Sports Marketing Report would be a story of Covid’s brutal impact on [...]