Its been a busy old time recently and I was away losing at a pool tournament last week hence my “missing in action” excuses for my usually on time article.
This week I have very little to talk about (some will be delighted to hear), with the exception of the Breeders Cup which was frankly a bit of a mixed bag. The opener on Saturday will have been gone over elsewhere time and time again I am sure, and I am told that the powers in charge at Del Mar did follow the rules to the letter, but am I the only one quietly chuckling that another jurisdiction can mess things up, and not just us here in the United Kingdom. For those unaware, and put in to terms I can understand, Modern Games was scratched from the race and the betting after getting out of the stalls (let out, by all accounts), and tan allowed to race after all – but only for the prize money having been removed from the odds list. As is sod’s law, he won the race by a length and a half under William Buick, but in theory, all those who backed him failed to collect with runner-up Tiz The Bomb paid out as the winner with the local oddsmakers. It wasn’t clever and it wasn’t pretty, and amusingly the largely local crowd let their feeling be known, with plenty of booing after the race was over, not a great look for the sport we love as it was beamed to hundreds of Countries across the globe.
Followers of the boys in blue (Godolphin) did collect twice on the evening via Space Blues and Yibir so it wasn’t all bad, but from the 11 races on the Saturday there were the only European winners, and that was not the return we were all hoping for.
The closing race on Saturday night (well, Sunday morning to be exact) saw Knicks Go get an easy run at the head of affairs after a slow start from Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit before the Brad Cox trained five-year-old came home close to three lengths clear of his field to earn connections over two and a quarter million pounds (£2,277,332 apparently), to add to the £4,000,000 he had already won. It was good performance and it was a good night, but the World Thoroughbred Championships – don’t make me laugh, and give me day one of Royal Ascot any day of the week.
And on to the racing this weekend….
Saturday
Punchestown 12.38pm
Well, I clearly have things all wrong for our first race of the day which is a concerning start but I am still happy to oppose the odds on favourite here erven if I do use the excuse of “value”. Cape Gentleman hasn’t done anything wrong I agree but he has also made mistakes over his fences on both runs over the larger obstacles so far, but he was only rated 6lb superior to Riviere d’etel over hurdles (140 to 134), yet he has to give the Elliott horse 18lb today over fences. Add an easy chasing win for the selection at Fairyhouse and you can seem my remaining if nothing else and at 4/1, what’s not to like?
Lingfield 3.05pm
A Listed contest on the all-weather next and with a six furlong sprint and a race that Judicial won in 2019. He is back for more as a nine-year-old and is not without a shout, but I quite like the each way chances of Misty Grey at 7/1 or so and will be backing him accordingly. A relative baby at the age of four, he notched up three wins on the bounce in November and December last year, and followed that with a close up third in Listed class when last seen in February. He has been off since which is a concern, but can go well fresh, and with a fast pace expected here, the fact that he sees out a seventh furlong may be an added bonus.
Lingfield 3.40pm
Sadly thanks to the dreaded covid I won’t be in Hong Kong this December for their amazing International meeting, but if I had been, I would expect to run in to William Muir and Martin Dwyer who currently plan to be there with Pyledriver. That may not seem a relevant comment but the top-class four-year-old runs here over a woefully inadequate mile and a quarter, and you have to wonder if this is little more than a prep race before the main event? He is classy enough that he should still prove far too good for these, but I won’t be going in big time – just in case.
Cheltenham 12.30pm
By the time this race is over I may well be telling myself that opposing Magistrato was a mistake, but as things stand I cannot resist the 6/1 about Caramelised here as an each way alternative. Trained by Alan King whose horses continue in good form, he was an odds-on third last time out after pulling way too hard early on at Market Rasen, nine lengths behind Addosh. If we are brave enough to ignore that contest, he had beaten the same rival by an easy 19 lengths at Stratford, and with a hood tried for the first time here to help his attitude, he looks almost as good as the 7/4 favourite at more than three times the price.
Sunday
Cheltenham 2.20pm
A four horse race and here I am backing a 5/1 shot but at that price how can I possibly resist? Politologue may not be the force we once hoped he would be, but he is still the top rated in this contest (by 1lb after you take the weights in to consideration), and as he goes well fresh and won first time out last season we have no fears on that score. The yard are going well enough with a 23% strike rate in the last two weeks, and he has also had a wind operation since his last start when fourth in the Melling Chase at Aintree when stepped up to two and a half miles. Back at his favourite trip and allegedly ready to roll, today could be the best time to catch him and the price is just too good to resist – famous last words.
Cheltenham 2.55pm
With one winner and two placed efforts from ten runners in the Greatwood Hurdle, trainer David Pipe seems to have a better idea than most about the type needed to win this valuable handicap and if he relies on Adagio, that is good enough for me. Last season the four-year-old won three of his six starts over hurdles, coming home second in the other trio, including the Triumph Hurdle here at the Festival (behind Quilixios), and the Anniversary Hurdle at Aintree (behind Monmiral). Wind surgery over the summer may well bring further improvement, but his overall form already entitles him to a huge say here even carrying top-weight, and he should put in a big run and hopefully a winning one.
Cheltenham 3.30pm
I Like To Move It has always been held in high regard at the Twiston-Davies yard, and with two wins and a second from his first three bumpers before a ninth in the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival, that confidence was clearly not misplaced. Since switching to hurdles he as a 100% success rate with wins at Worcester and over this course and distance last month, staying on strongly each time, and he may well be good enough to make it three out of three here, despite an exciting if small field.
Sean’s Selections:
Riviere D’etel 12.38pm Punchestown Saturday
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