Remastered to strike for Master of Pond House March 15, 2021 ROYAL Pagaille switching to Friday’s WellChild Cheltenham Gold Cup has given a completely different complexion to the Sam Vestey National Hunt Chase (4.50pm). Galvin, recently moved from Gordon Elliott to Ian Ferguson, heads the market at 2/1 with Fitzdares and it’s easy to see why after his impressive performance at Cheltenham in October. Second to [...]
EP:44 Cheltenham Festival Day 1 – Tuesday March 15, 2021 Tuesday is Day 1 of the Cheltenham Festival and the feature race is the Grade 1 Champion Hurdle, where the mare Epatante will try to hold on to her title after winning the race last year. City AM racing editor Bill Esdaile is joined by Fitzdares ambassador Cornelius Lysaght to set the scene for this [...]
EP: 43 Sandown & Hong Kong March 12, 2021 Only a few more days before the start of this year’s Cheltenham Festival. A new episode of The Punter Podcast will be available EVERY day of the Festival, starting on Monday, so please make sure you join us for four days of top class racing. Today, City A.M. racing editor Bill Esdaile previews Saturday’s card [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Perfect draw for Strive For Glory March 9, 2021 AN IMPORTANT factor to take into account at Happy Valley when racing takes place on the ‘B’ course is the significance of the draw in six furlong races. Records show over the past three seasons that horses drawn in either one, two or three have won nearly 50 per cent of the 94 races run over the [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Wisdom can Star at the Valley March 9, 2021 WITH arch-rival Joao Moreira sidelined through suspension over the last week, the old adage of ‘when the cat’s away the mice will play’ certainly applied to reigning champion jockey Zac Purton. Purton plundered eight prizes at Happy Valley and Sha Tin, including a masterclass of jockeyship with a five-timer at Happy Valley last Wednesday, and [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Moreira to work his magic March 9, 2021 BETTORS will be licking their lips with anticipation for the return of champion jockey elect Joao Moreira to Happy Valley in Hong Kong on Wednesday. The ‘Magic Man’ has sat out the last two meetings through suspension but, with a full-book of fancied rides on the nine-race programme, it shouldn’t take him long to return to the [...]
EP:42 Newbury, Kelso, Doncaster & Hong Kong March 5, 2021 It has been a very difficult week for racing with the emergence of horrendous footage of a trainer and jockey in Ireland showing an enormous lack of respect for horses in their care City AM racing editor Bill Esdaile discusses the implications of these images as well as the public’s response as racing looks to [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Fownes to hit back at the Valley March 2, 2021 WITH runaway jockeys’ championship leader Joao Moreira forced on the sidelines once again with a two-meeting suspension, it’s over to Zac Purton to produce the spoils for his many thousands of supporters at Happy Valley. The reigning champ has a strong book of rides in all nine races, with at least a half-a-dozen of his mounts guaranteed [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Chariot in with an Excellent chance March 2, 2021 REIGNING champion trainer Ricky Yiu has found it tough going in Hong Kong this season, with only 18 winners and languishing mid-table in the trainers’ championship. This is due to having a stable full of handicappers who, after last season’s successful exploits, are too high in the ratings and are waiting for some relief from the [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: All aboard the ‘Poon Train’ March 2, 2021 MATTHEW Poon is the jockey to follow when racing takes place under floodlights at Happy Valley in Hong Kong on Wednesday. The ‘Poon Train’, as he’s nick-named by the locals in the territory, has been on the crest of a wave over the past month, riding seven winners including a hat-trick at the city track three weeks back. He [...]