Hi all,
Given the lack of any sort of summer during July and August. It’s ironic as the schools go back the UK is going to see some of the hottest temperatures of 2023 in the next week.
Great news if you like the heat with temperatures in the high 20s low 30s. It’s also good news for those of us are looking for good quick flat racing ground.
September is the beginning of the changing of the seasons. In normal years it’s the month when the autumn horses start to return from their summer breaks in search of easier ground. Given the lack of summer this year, this September could be different.
There’s plenty of good racing to look forward to for the rest of the month. Next weekend we have Haydock’s Sprint Cup and Irish Champions Weekend. The following week its Doncaster St Leger Festival. Closely followed by the Ayr Gold Cup and finally Newmarket's Cambridgeshire Meeting and with it Group 1 juvenile action.
It’s a funny old game
Horse race betting is a funny old game. I couldn’t find a winner at York until the final day but since then it’s been winners all the way. Ok, I haven’t had many bets but it’s a more promising landscape.
I wasn’t disheartened after the Ebor Festival, a good final day helped of course. I knew that a good winning run wasn’t far away, and I was right. That’s no consolation to those who joined Victor Value for those four days at York.
The thing is you must think long term in this game. If you haven’t got the mindset to be able cope with, say a 20+ long losing run. Then you have to ask yourself the question. Is this game for you?
Even the big professionals have losing months and whisper it, the odd losing year. Yes, they have a whole year where they have lost on their betting. Now that’s a scary thought but not to them. They don’t like it, no one does, but they have ‘psychological resilience’ to deal with it.
I’m not pretending it's easy. Far from it but the longer you’re in the game the better you get at handling it.
Looking back at the weekend
It was a quiet weekend on the racing front in Britain & Ireland. Although there was the Group 1 Prix Du Moulin at Longchamp on Sunday.
Despite the prize money on offer at Longchamp there were no British horses involved. Nor were any British trained runners in the line-up for the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden in Germany on Sunday.
Granted we have Irish Champions Weekend coming up and York was last week. But it doesn’t say much about the state of British racing.
Today’s review of the weekend’s action from Sandown, Beverley & Chester is brief because there wasn’t much of it.
Sandown
Heredia came from last to win the Group 3 Atalanta Stakes. She had to be dropped in from her high draw, but a well-run race suited her.
Queen For You bounced back from a poor run last time and responded well to the fitting of the first time cheekpieces. Always in a prominent position she just had no answer to the late thrust of the favourite and had to settle for second.
The winner is in great form and looks worth her place in a Group 1 on the evidence of this performance.
Aablan made it from 2-2 in the hands of James Doyle when winning the Group 3 Solario Stakes. His success will be a big lift for the Charlie Appleby/Godolphin operation after a poor season so far.
The race turned into a bit of a sprint. They didn’t go much pace early and the winner was keen in the early stages. To the winners credit he had to dig in and it was good to see the colt find so much at the business end of the race.
There was an element of greenness to Aablan’s performance, and he should be capable of better. He needs 1m+ and you can see him being a more a Royal Lodge horse than a Dewhurst contender this season. Needs to learn to settle but a better run race will suit him.
Beverley
I thought the final line-up for Saturday’s Beverley Bullet was a poor one made worse by Judicial’s late scratching.
Tis Marvellous was bidding for a hat trick of wins on his final career start. It wasn’t to be a fairytale ending for the 9-year-old. Although to be fair he ran a cracker to finish a length fourth to stablemate Kerdos.
It looked like joint favourite Silky Wilkie had come to win his race when taking it up 1f out. However, Kerdos was flying late down the outside and picked off the leader close to home to win a shade cosily.
Trainer Clive Cox rates Kerdos highly and told the Racing Post that “all arrows point to next year for him”. The 3-year-old could go to the Abbaye at Longchamp but I don’t think he will get his favoured quick ground there.
Chester
Irish challenger Shanroe made all to win the Listed Chester Stakes. The winner was able to set his own fractions out in front and that was that. Pace indeed did win the race. Shanroe’s cause was also helped by both the favourite and second favourite underperforming.
The big disappointment of the race was 4/5 favourite Military Order. Last of 14 in the Derby when last seen in action he finished last of the five here. It’s back to the drawing board for Charlie Appleby team after this lifeless performance. The son of Frankel had looked a good prospect in the spring, but the wheels have really come off on.
There must be something amiss with the colt and you wonder if he might be gelded before too long.
Monday Preview
The most valuable card on Monday is at Roscommon but that’s not saying much. There are three meetings this side of the Irish Sea and the highest value one is worth £5,653 to the winner.
Each to their own but It’s a day I can happily leave well alone to enjoy the return of summer.
Good luck with your Monday bets.
John