Hi all,
Inside today’s main piece I’m looking for future winners from last week’s action.
Looking Ahead to the Weekend – Part 1
Another big weekend of Classic action kicks off on Friday with the Oaks at Epsom. The Betfred Oaks (4:30) features Ylang Ylang, who finished fifth in the 1,000 Guineas, as the warm favourite. The filly aims to give Aidan O’Brien his seventh success in the race over the last 11 years.
The Oaks isn’t the only Group 1 on the Epsom card. The Coronation Cup (3:10), run over the same distance as the Oaks, sees Emily Upjohn as the odds-on favourite, seeking her second consecutive victory in the race. The first five races on the Epsom card will be broadcast live on ITV.
Saturday is Derby Day at Epsom, with the Betfred Derby set for 4:30. City Of Troy, after a disappointing run in the 2000 Guineas, is now a best priced 3/1 favourite with William Hill. However, he’s been drifting in the last 24 hours likely due to the possibility of soft ground. Aidan O’Brien still has faith in City Of Troy, and it will be interesting to see if he’s right.
The Epsom undercard includes two Group 3 contests: the Princess Elizabeth Stakes (2:00) and the Betfred Diomed Stakes (2:35), as well as the Epsom Dash Handicap (3:45).
The Classic action doesn’t end on Saturday. Sunday features the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) at Chantilly. In the UK, there’s another leg of the Sky Bet Sunday Series at Hamilton. ITV Racing will cover all seven races at Hamilton plus three from Nottingham, making for a 10-race programme on ITV4 on Sunday teatime.
Future Winners
Readers of yesterday’s column will know I wasn’t able to complete my future winners segment on Tuesday. Well, here it is on a Wednesday.
Let’s begin on Thursday at Sandown. Crack Shot a good winner at Newmarket on his previous start ran well on much softer ground when 4 ¾ length 4th of 9 to Dual Identity in the Whitsun Cup Handicap. He remains high on my shortlist for Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot provided he gets good or quicker ground (3 wins from 5 runs +21.75).
Onto Friday and the action at the Curragh on the first day of the Irish 2000 Guineas Festival. State Actor, a rare punting success for me over the weekend, was a good winner of the Emerald Mile Handicap on handicap debut. He’s defintely one to keep onside going forward. However, the horse to catch my eye from the race was Cheers Again. Cheers Again remains an 11-race maiden on turf (3-3 on the all-weather) but significantly he’s now posted his best RPR’s on his last two starts. It was a personal best, despite not getting the best of runs, from the 5-year-old in finishing a 1 ¾ length 3rd of 14. He will surely break his maiden tag on turf in the coming weeks.
Goodwood – Friday
Racingbreaks Ryder – Charlie Hills
After a string of poor performances since his Ascot win last May, Racingbreaks Ryder showed a return to form by finishing fourth, 4 ½ lengths behind Wild Tiger, in a seven-furlong handicap. He did his best work at the finish and will likely benefit from a return to a mile. Off a mark 7lb below his last winning mark, he looks well-treated if he can build on this effort.
Qirat, trained by Ralph Beckett, returned from an eight-month absence to win a seven-furlong handicap on his handicap debut. Despite having to wait for a run 2f out, he showed a good turn of foot to win by 1 ¼ lengths. Still open to improvement, he could be aimed at the Britannia Handicap (1m) at Royal Ascot.
Haydock – Saturday
English Oak demonstrated his effectiveness on soft ground by winning a seven-furlong handicap at Haydock. He has entries at Epsom (7f) on Friday and for the Wokingham Handicap (6f) and Buckingham Palace Handicap (7f) at Royal Ascot. Effective over both 6f and 7f, he’s one to watch out regardless of which race trainer Ed Walker chooses for him at the Royal meeting.
Nothing To Sea – Ralph Beckett
Nothing To Sea, making his first start since a handicap debut win at Sandown (1m 6f) last July, ran well for most of Saturday’s two-mile handicap until lack of race fitness took its toll in the closing stages. He might not have stayed the trip on rain-softened ground but is worth another try at two miles on better going. This was only his fifth career start, and with improvement to come remains a horse to follow.
Wednesday Racing
There are seven meetings across Britain and Ireland today, featuring a total of 48 races. Notably, none of these races offer more than £10,000 to the winner. I was initially tempted to examine this evening’s Kempton card, but I decided to preserve my brain cells for the Epsom Derby meeting, which kicks off on Friday. I have to say its been nice not to look at the day's racing.
Good luck with your Wednesday bets.
John