If you’re John Butler or Mick Appleby – with the greatest respect to those genuinely fine exponents of their craft – you don’t have the luxury of a conveyor belt of million-pound yearlings lolloping into your barn annually. He has progressed all season, and even though he may have put in his poorest performance so far, he clearly has the profile to continue stepping up in distance on route to a very promising chasing career. He has a huge career ahead of him and the question now is, does he go chasing, or does he remain over hurdles with a route towards the 2022 Champion hurdle.
Coral Cup result
In another life his jockey Nico de Boinville might have been one of those soldiers who is unexceptional in peacetime but extraordinarily cool under fire. After Douvan had crashed out at the last ditch, while leading, there were five horses in with a chance turning in. High quality Saturday with the second day at Wetherby who feature a pair of Grade Two races plus a Listed.
RELATED TOPICS FOR Grand National
Yesterday’s blog underlined why having a clear line on true value is so important in successful long term professional backing. I had La Breuil in at evens favourite, the impressive winner touched 2/1 before returning an SP of 15/8. Despite the drift from an opening 13/8 – getting around 2/1 for an even money chance is clearly value. The same happened later at Newbury for a race I briefed my private clients about.
David Pipe sends a rare runner on the 710-mile round trip to Newcastle on Thursday
So you can know exactly what people are talking about, you should make sure to learn some of the following lingo. The Betway Handicap Chase tops the bill at Kempton, with four LIVE races at the Sunbury-On-Thames track, while the stayers are out again up at Newcastle for the gruelling Eider Chase that’s run over 4m1f. Then down at Lingfield the All Weather racing fans get their fix with a top-notch card that includes the Group 3 Winter Derby. We’ve another busy afternoon in store with seven LIVE ITV races spread across three tracks – Kempton, Lingfield and Newcastle. AU FLEURON holds an each-way squeak in what is a typically tough handicap hurdle to conclude the Cheltenham Festival.
Paul Kealy’s five-step guide to finding a winner
A race that will probably play out in line with the market expectation of a duel between Jonbon and El Fabiolo. If El Fab’s jumping holds up, I think he’ll win, and if it doesn’t I think Jonbon will win. I don’t really see Dysart Dynamo sustaining his front-footed charge and prefer Saint Roi to travel round in his own time and pick up the each way pieces. Not especially a betting race if you haven’t already played, I don’t think. Olly Murphy runs two in the race, Chasing Fire and Strong Leader, and my preference of the pair is for the former. He’s unbeaten in a point, a bumper, and three hurdle races and, though untested in Graded company, he’s kicked to the kerb everything he’s faced hitherto.
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Five-year-old Marie’s Rock had won a Listed mares race at Taunton, and Love Envoi was a year away from making her debut. The outcome of the race largely depends on Lossiemouth’s ability to stay the 2m 4f distance today. However, her tendency to be keen raises a doubt about her effectiveness over longer distances. Last year’s runner-up, Love Envoi, is a contender for the places once again.
Breeders’ Cup 2024: Three European raiders form a 68/1 treble on Friday
- She’s a proven Group performer and David Egan will be hoping he can get plenty of cover from stall four.
- Of course, we know about the dominance of Irish winners at recent Festivals but there is still plenty on which to chew in relation to possible value edges.
- When you’re placing your bets, you’ll come across jargon specific to horse racing and betting.
- He has progressed all season, and even though he may have put in his poorest performance so far, he clearly has the profile to continue stepping up in distance on route to a very promising chasing career.
- If you’ve been reading stuff on here for any length of time, you’ll have noted myself, but especially Dave Renham and Chris Worrall, evangelising about the value of draw and run style.
- Paddy Power and Betfair are ahead of the pack here with their range of in-play options, which are handily accessible so you make quick decisions after the race has got underway.
- Sir Mark Prescott celebrated his first Royal Ascot winner since Pivotal in 1996 when Pledgeofallegiance saw off all-comers to win the Ascot Stakes.
I feel like the quicker they go the better for him, as he looks a very strong stayer. Marine Nationale was the early season poster boy – and he might perhaps be the late season heartthrob, too, except that we’ve not seen him since early December; his form has taken a few dents in the interim. Mr Vango has it to do on the ratings and the other three all met in the Reynoldstown Chase at Ascot last time, where Henry’s Friend held off Kilbeg King and Apple Away. It may look surprising that the winner is now the outsider of that trio, but he is the one least likely to stay this six-furlong longer trip, and I’m in agreement with the betting market, for all I like the horse. Love Envoi, winner of the Mares’ Novices Hurdle here in 2022, finished a 1 ½ length second to Honeysuckle in this race last year.
Lingfield Horse Racing Trends (ITV)
Just a slight cause for concern was the poor performances of Nicky Henderson’s runners yesterday. Since the early days, horse racing has grown from royal entertainment into big business. For most bookies, it remains their bread and butter, alongside football and tennis as the most popularly wagered sports. So you’ve done the legwork, found the perfect horse racing bookmaker, but now what? Well, it’s time to lay down a bet, and it really couldn’t be easier.
How to quantify trainer form pre-Cheltenham?
Among a clutch of lightly raced juveniles, Bolt Action, Kaasib and Paddy’s Day all merit a second look. A short-head Wolverhampton maiden victor in November, Fast Company’s son made his return for 2022 in the Listed Burradon Stakes on Newcastle’s All-Weather Championships Finals card in April. Simply register, place you £10 bet on horse racing and you will receive £30 in free bets. The four-year-old grey has improved this season, winning a Listed race at Doncaster and the Group 2 bet365 Mile at Sandown, while he was second to Audience in the Lockinge at Newbury last time out.
Michael O’Leary, the owner, speaks
There might be 34 runners but MR.INCREDIBLE sounds so similar to my husband that I really have no other choice. The biggest race of the Jumps season is upon us and we’ve got you sorted. Over the years, the vastly experienced member of the weighing room has been Ireland’s champion jockey on three occasions. “I’ve been in the gym and have been doing lots of fitness work, but there is a big difference between being fit and being race-fit. In the months after the fall, Russell faced a gruelling recovery, having bolts drilled into his head and weights hung from his head to realign his spine.
Racing against the far rail from a draw in stall one, David Egan got bumped and bored when attempting to get through on the run to the final furlong, just as Raasel swept to the front down the outside. A neck separated the pair at the winning post, with Existent back in fourth and Equilateral, who also had a hard-luck story to tell, fnishing sixth. Roger Varian’s sprinter was unlucky not to take the spoils at Sandown, enduring a troubled passaged over the minimum trip. Raasel was in front that day but the selection has a fine chance of turning the tables. I’ve been quietly backing Tiger Roll all winter to win the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase.
- What I mean by that is, horses who are a much shorter price than the second horse in the betting tend to do best here at the festival.
- True, he was well seen off by Marie’s Rock in the Relkeel, though that was over an extra half mile; and he was no match for State Man in the County a year ago.
- “I just really hope the that one day they go a really good gallop so that we get to see him really show his true potential. At the moment he’s just showing how versatile he really is.
- I love a lot of sports but horseracing has something extra special about it – so special, in fact, that I left Premier League football to present horseracing on ITV.
- For many, the Cheltenham Festival is the highlight of not just the National Hunt season, but the whole racing year, writes Dave Renham.
- There was little between Jonbon and El Fabiolo in Liverpool and they may again be hard to separate.
- He’s undeniably well treated, then, but hitting a serious flat spot on heavy ground doesn’t translate brilliantly to the rough and tumble of a fast ground 22-runner charge across Cleeve Hill.
- Salvador Ziggy has achieved as much as the pair above but is a more realistic price, with his second under 12st in the Kerry National a fine effort for a novice.
Cheltenham Festival Handicap Chases
- There are eight races on the card, starting with two Grade Ones, the Novices’ Hurdle at 1.30pm and the Novices’ Chase 40 minutes later.
- Hayley Turner was proud of the performance of Docklands after the pair combined to fill the runner-up spot.
- And Tea Clipper is interesting with first time cheekpieces and first run after a wind operation.
- They also offer a Money Back Special on selected race events each day for horses that finish second to the SP favorite.
- This was a fine display – close to his best previous form – as Politologue had been in the ascendancy with three smart wins in top class races to his credit.
This approach works just as well for National Hunt races as it does for those on the flat, as example 6 perfectly demonstrates. After what has been a circuitous introduction even by my own highly verbose standards, it’s time for the meat. If you’ve got this far, I’m safely assuming you’re at least receptive to the notion that finding bargains is different from – and better than – buying cheap stuff. With that in mind, here are five angles I personally use when trying to isolate value; that is, before striking any bet. Arriving at a selection is also fun, the process taking a good bit longer than the actual event for most ‘serious recreationals’.
This has presumably been the target for Paul Hennessy’s charge; he also owns and bred her. Of the others on the shortlist, Does He Know’s trainer, Kim Bailey, has had a winner (in 1999) and two places from four Ultima starters, including last year’s second, Happygolucky. And Tea Clipper is interesting with first time cheekpieces and first run after a wind operation. He was no match for Bravemansgame in the Grade 1 Kauto Star (Feltham as was) but this will be more his cup of, well, you know. Full Back won at the New Year’s Day fixture and was probably looked after a little at Taunton in his only race since.
- You can look at a horse’s past performances to work out whether the ground conditions will suit – and it’s understanding these crucial variables that can give punters the edge.
- Teenager Jack Kennedy made sure there was no hard luck story by keeping out of trouble on the outside and cruised into contention on the final bend, taking up the running from Vision Des Flos.
- This horse is having its second run after a wind op and its first wearing a tongue tie.
- The standout juvenile all season has been the well regarded LOSSIEMOUTH.
- He too wears a hood here and, though more likely to run his race than Gaelic Warrior, I feel, his best race is not as good as that one’s, and only a fine margin in front of Found A Fifty, just a neck back last month.
Hovering over the coloured blobs in the ‘Race Speed vs Par’ column (title unhelpfully obscured in the image above), shows the sectional percentages for our OMC (Opening / Mid-race / Closing) format. Identifying front runners is is a challenge, but these tables articulate unequivocally why it is worth our time to attempt that act of clairvoyance. Geegeez Pace Maps, available for every race, assist considerably with the challenge. Day 2 of the Cheltenham festival has been equally as magical as day 1, as we really have been treated to some incredible action. The best meetings are broadcast on either ITV or ITV4, with racing broadcast every single Saturday afternoon, plus lots of big festival meetings (like the famous Cheltenham Festival in March) which are staged through the week.
LH – Thyme Hill form awful, the time was “glacial” 😆 Rain might be important for Gerri Colombe. Without rain, not sure he’ll enjoy downhill sections of the track. MT – Would love to own Hermes Allen, but wouldn’t run him in this race!
Horse racing tips: Newcastle, Southwell and Chelmsford – Thursday October 31
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Baron Bolt in 2018, winning for Paul Cole at odds of 28/1 under the guidance of Cameron Noble. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 4 winning favourites in the race. Whilst we wait for the 2025 Ayr Gold Cup remember you can get daily racing predictions from the top racing tipsters on the best racing tipsters page.
While he has obviously got his work cut out reversing that form, it is easy to envisage him staying on when others have cried enough, into the minor places. Place a min £10 bet on Football on odds of min 1.5 (1/2), get £50 in Free Bet Builders after the qualifying bet has been settled. Only deposits via cards will Bolts Up Daily qualify (Apple Pay excluded). There are multiple leading jockeys in the Futurity Trophy Weekend 6f Handicap over the last 13 renewals with Tom Eaves, William Buick and Silvestre De Sousa having all won the race two times. Tom Eaves winners have been with Nameitwhatyoulike (2015) and Magical Spirit (2021).
Gaillard du Mesnil is opposable at the prices in the NH Chase. Don’t think that race’s profile suits such a strong stayer any more. Churchstonewarrior could be a playable alternative – going slower could suit him. Mahler Mission ran a fair race (7th of 16) in last year’s Albert Bartlett and, though he was whacked in a novices’ chase at Cheltenham early in the season, that was surely a sighter on ground much faster than ideal. More recently he’s won a beginners’ and then ran a gallant second to Churchstonewarrior. The second possible in that context is I Like To Move It, whose Greatwood and Kingwell Hurdle wins have advertised his ‘dark horse’ claims.
This year it started on May 4 and runs until April 26, 2025. It’s such a thrilling sport and at its best when you get the chance to see the horses close up in the flesh. You can spend a wonderful afternoon or evening with friends, grab a drink, have a meal and, if you want, place a bet. Horses race over obstacles and on the flat – these are called, simply enough, jump racing and Flat racing.
Last year’s runner-up Popmaster is a big price and United Approach can reward each-way backers. Five-time Irish champion Colin Keane takes the ride and that is a huge plus. Last year’s impressive winner Inspiral is a class act but it’s hard to have any confidence in her given she has blown the start on her last three runs.
