Weekends Thoughts (Not Many) And A Podcast Link

ALL VIEWS ARE MY OWN

Just as I thought I had fully recovered from Cheltenham, my delightful children (in their 20s by the way) have kindly given me a delightful man-flu of sorts, and I have just discovered that typing while sneezing and coughing is a new skill I am yet to manage.

Talking of Cheltenham, I hope you all did Ok – I did give Doddiethegreat at 25/1 both on the day and in my Nicky Henderson preview and a few others though to be honest, it was a funny old meeting with defeats for the likes of Constitution Hill, Jonbon (cost me dearly that one), and Galopin Des Champs to name but three. When we talk about the Irish domination, which we do every year, we have to remember that it is not all about them having the better horses – it also about the numbers. According to my “quick glance” maths they had 252 runners at the meetings – or an average of 9 for each and every race, and thanks to the victory of Poniros at 100/1 in the Triumph Hurdle, you could have backed them ALL at Betfair SP for a tenner each – and made yourself over £2000 quid which is utter madness! There is clearly a lack of the better horses in the UK at present with favourable tax concessions in Ireland making it too tempting for British owners to send them to Willie and Co but hopefully moves are afoot behind the scenes to address the imbalance over the years ahead.

Sticking with the Festival, and although the crowds were down, the fun was up by all accounts, with the betting ring reporting some decent action from both large and small bets each day. Allowing drink into the betting ring has been put down as the reason for the increase (who want to leave a Guinness at that price on the side to go and have a bet?), but I am sure that they can go further and get the numbers back in the long-term. I won’t pretend I know who runs the bars but I suspect it isn’t the course themselves (ditto the food outlets), in which case aren’t they just adding an additional layer to the costs – surely dealing direct could keep the prices down and encourage more punters? May continue to complain about the price of local accommodation (supply and demand, so what can you do?) and I note more and more heading off to watch the racing in Spain where a beer is two Euros on a bad day, and The Jockey club need to at least take note of WHY racegoers are going missing – and try to do a little bit more about it.       

Lastly, a mini review is needed each and every year, and much as I walked away unscathed financially in the end, the results did remind me how fickle us racing fans are. One year we are bitching away about too many short-priced favourites (guilty, M’lud), the next year we are complaining that most of them got beaten – racing can’t really win, can it? I genuinely feel that Constitution Hill would have won if he stood up (but we all know he didn’t), Jonbon lost his race both at the start and with a poor jump at the ninth, Ballyburn lost his race at the seventh, and Galopin Des Champs ran a blinder but found the younger Inothewayurthinkin six lengths too good in the Gold Cup, though in his defence he was also hampered during the race. All in all, it felt like the changing of the guard with the next generation coming to the fore (The New Lion would be a prime example), with Constitution Hill rapidly running out of time to prove himself as an all-time great.   

On to the racing – but with a podcast link here… https://theworldofsport.co.uk/2025/03/21/cheltenham-review-and-four-winners-tomorrow/

Sayva Looks Each Way Value For Jonjo and AJ

Saturday racing

Kelso 1.50pm

It looks like being one of those embarrassing weekends with small fields left right and centre, but we deal with what the put in front of us, and that hopefully means an easy victory for Wyenot here for trainer Henry Daly. The six-year-old mare does have to give wight to all of her rivals (between 2lb and 4lb) but as she is officially rated 9lb better than Irish raider Ottizzini, that didn’t ought to be an issue.  She drops in class to this Listed event after a sold third in a Grade Two at Doncaster, has won at the track albeit over two miles in 2023, has a distance win at Doncaster (nine lengths ahead of Ottizzini that day and only 4lb worse off here), and with a win on the predicted going – too many ticked boxes to ignore for my liking, and with a clear round she really ought to come home alone.

Kelso 2.25pm

With the bookies offering 6/1 the field for this two mile five furlong handicap hurdle it clearly isn’t easy to solve – but since when has that stopped me having a go? With only two previous runnings the stats are out the window, and with so many in-form horses this could go to any of them! The Jeweller’s Pet is looking for his hat-trick but his recent wins have been on a softer surface and he may struggle for pace here, while Ballyfort showed plenty of improvement for a wind operation when winning impressively at Ayr and with further improvement likely, an added 9lb may not stop him if he handles the quicker ground. Looking for a bit of value and I will stick with the O’Neill’s trained Sayva who is worth – well a little saver I suppose (sorry). A lightly raced five-year-old who has won two of his four starts over hurdles and one of his two bumpers, I am hoping there is a lot more to come from the son of Harzand who is one of the few in here guaranteed to appreciate the ground.

Newbury 3.50pm

A field of ten for this novice hurdle means we can look for an each way option, and the lucky pin has come down on the side of unknown quantity Coconut Grove. The winner of his only start in France for Luciano Vitabile by four lengths at Divonne-Les-Bains in the provinces, that form means nothing to me other than the fact that he knows how to get his head in front when needed. A son of Mastercraftsman out of a High Chapparal mare he is bred for the Flat but his new connections have other ideas for now, and if he has been well schooled at home with Harry Fry as expected, he could be the surprise package here.

Newbury 4.25pm

A valuable pot of over £59,000 to the winner has attracted 13 runners for the bumper at 4.25pm, but with almost half the field unraced, this looks a minefield. Stuart Crawford runs two and a market watch may suggest who is better between Blue Du Neuf and Talk The Talk, Talk To The Man cost £100,000 and must be better than his Exeter fifth, point-to-point winner Hard Stare may try to make ever post a winning one, but it is Kadastral who will carry my money. A beaten favourite on his one start when second at Kempton last month, the winner got first run on him that day and I felt he did well in then circumstances, while bypassing Cheltenham may pay rich dividends this afternoon.

Sean’s Suggestion:

Wyenot 1.50pm Kelso