Us Brits are renowned around the World for whining about the weather come rain or shine but the last couple of days have been so hot that even racing was abandoned for the last couple of races on Thursday at Southwell as the temperature increased, which had to be a sensible move if you care a jot about the welfare of the horses involved as well as the people. Naturally, the rains are coming by the weekend (in late July) and guess who has his annual pool team barbecue this weekend, answers on a postcard to “Why me?” at the usual address.
With the exception of a few e mails from the BHA regarding re-written rules of racing that come in to force on September 1stthis year. I would love to tell you I have read them from cover to cover but I will leave that for trainers owners and so on as a mere scribe but I do applaud the idea of taking them out of a legalese equivalent that Einstein would struggle to come to terms with and in to a more accessible format for if and when I feel the need to interrogate the system.
Looking forward and although I am not offering up a tip on this occasion, good luck to Get Knotted who tries to win the first race at York on Saturday afternoon for the fourth year in a row. Top weight won’t help the now seven-year-old over the seven furlongs but he clearly thrives at this particular track and won this off five pounds higher in 2018, though I would suggest he may well be over bet on track for that very reason and much as I will be cheering him on, his price seems unlikely to represent any value.
On to the racing this weekend where Ascot have to take centre stage once again thanks to the King George v and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at 3.40pm, though I am old enough to remember when the race had the word “Diamond” in the title and saw some amazing trophies awarded that I think were sponsored by de Beers. Now sponsored by Qipco the valuable trinkets are a thing of the past, but with a list of winners including Harbinger, Taghrooda, Highland Reel, and Enable, it invariably throws up a top class winner.
Enable is back this season as a five-year-old and with her race record of eleven wins from twelve starts including the last two Arc’s her record is exemplary and makes her the one to beat. That said, she is heavily odds on in a class field making her a one out of ten in the value stakes and that gives me every reason to look for an each way alternative. Crystal Ocean is rated the best horse on the planet according to Longines (no, I don’t agree but that is another story) but has to give three pounds to the jolly while Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck was sorely tempting in receipt of eight pounds after being supplemented at great cost by connections. 8/1 looks big for him but I have always been a huge fan of Japanese racing and the 33/1 about Cheval Grand is just too big to ignore. Of course the Arc is Europe’s biggest race (though personally I think it is run at the end of the season when plenty of those involved are over the top for the year), but is it any bigger or better than the Japan Cup I wonder? My suggestion took that race by a length and a quarter in late 2017 from Rey De Oro (who was receiving five pounds) and that is top class form, while a second to Old Persian in Dubai last time out suggests he retain his abilities though a smarter start will be needed in this company.
Trying to hunt down any other realistic options was never going to be an easy task, but I did notice Hector Crouch has a couple of rides at Newmarket on Saturday, both for Godolphin and Saeed Bin Suroor. Trainer Gary Moore lives and trains locally to me and I have known him for more years than I care to admit to, and he has always sung the praises of a jockey he uses regularly on the flat and it appears that the all-conquering “boys in blue” have sat up and taken notice. To expect him to ride a double may well be asking a bit too much but the unraced Military March looks interesting ahead of his debut in the 2.15pm and is bred to be pretty smart as a son of New Approach out of Yorkshire Oaks winner Punctilious. He should give us a good run for our money as will Great Order who runs in the mile and a quarter handicap that follows at 2.50pm before the jokey shoots off to Lingfield for five mounts on the evening card. Now a six-year-old, he won a couple of races in 2016 but has only been seen twice since but a gelding operation may see him concentrate now, and a mark of 95 is certainly one connections can work with.
Horses to Follow.
This is an interesting one because as I write, the horse concerned is yet to see the race course which is a first. By the time moist of you read this the 7.40pm at Newmarket Friday evening will already be a memory but I am rather hoping Henry Candy’s Adonijah doesn’t win and spoil the party. A son of Sea The Stars, he cost a whopping 325,000 Guineas as a yearling at the October Sales and still holds entries in both the Group Two Great Voltigeur Stakes next month and the Group One St Leger in mid-September. Whether either of those options is a realistic wish is an open to question for now, but he is clearly held in high regard, and it would come as a big shock if his shrewd handler cannot find a race or two for him to win before the end of the season.
Sean’s Suggestions:
Cheval Grand each-way 3.40pm Ascot Saturday
Military March 2.15pm Newmarket Saturday
Great Order 2.50pm Newmarket Saturday
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