Another good ride yesterday by Frankie Dettori on Star Catcher at the Curragh, taking Group 1 races seems to be second nature to the Italian.  It helps when you are riding good horses, and riding for John Gosden.

Hopefully Frankie has a lot of years left, he looks after himself, and does not ‘burn’ out riding everyday, so he should be ok, barring injury.

I will try and do an updated message later, another busy Sunday race cards.

Football:

Everton Academy were as tough as I expected ! It’s a good experience for the group of young players, enjoying it and doing as well as they can is the main thing. With 6 points so far, we need to get 5 or more points out of the next 3 games to progress.

Plenty of rain overnight in Guernsey.  Assuming more rain has fallen in the UK, the ground will ride slow at most of the racecourse’s today.  At Newbury, The Tin Man 3.00 is a course winner, likes cut in the ground and has had a run this year, he ran ok at Ascot.  With improvement for that run, he would be my choice.  Silvestre de Sousa could start the day with a winner, he rides Fox Chairman at 1.50.  Form on the soft and a really good run last time makes a lot of appeal.

It is the  Betway Summer Handicap Hurdle At Market Rasen today.  Won last year by L’Inganno Felice, who is back in training after been given a bit of time off.  Today the race looks as competitive as ever.  The topweight Longhouse Sale has done nothing wrong in four runs.  He has a solid chance of defying topweight, although this will be his hardest task so far.

I will miss live racing, one of my son’s is playing in a tournament here in Guernsey.  With the first match against Everton Academy ! So it will be tough, they have won the tournament for the last 9 years, so it will be a hard start, but good experience.  Hopefully the local teams can perform well over the next couple of days.

Nice to find a winner yesterday for my subscribers.  Lyndon B 3.50 Leicester, was advised at 5/2 (without two others) yesterday morning.  Running out the outright winner was a plus, having been boxed in well inside the the last two furlongs, when travelling strongly, the gelding was faced with little room to get out,  fortunately  a gap appeared on his left, rider James Doyle seized his opportunity, and  with a willing partner in  Lyndon B,  who really quickened well to put the race to bed.

With widespread rain forecast today in many parts of the UK, caution on having a bet. I am waiting to see how much rainfall appears, a few horses I follow are running today, hopefully the rain will not be as bad as the forecasters predict.

More later.

A good day yesterday for my subscribers.  I advised backing Heritage 4.30 Bath at 11/10 and Captain Marengo At 6/5 in the morning, plus a double the two of them, which worked out at 3.62/1.  Todays advised bet was Quintada, at 11/8 this morning, she was heavily backed, before winning the 3.00 Catterick.

Looking at the remaining cards today.  It is really interesting to see Frankie Dettori riding tonight at Killarney.  He will be a massive draw, attendance levels will be up ! His old weighing room colleague Johnny Murtagh could provide him with a winner in the 8.30 on Finding Nero.  Showers of rain have fallen at Uttoxeter, as the track had been watered prior to the rain, the ground could ride a bit false.  I was quite keen on Gateway To Europe, in the last race.  Although  I am not sure how he will cope with the ground.  Wolverhampton will not be affected by rain, the all weather surface probably rides a little quicker if it gets the showers of rain.  Hydroplane will be hoping he can follow up from his recent win, he runs at 7.25, his main danger could be the unexposed Broughtons Bear, with Richard Kingscote booked to ride, he could well be a bit of value each way.

With dry conditions over the last few days, the racing today will ride on the fast side.  Looking for horses with a preference for faster ground is a must.  Bath is normally very quick ground during the summer months, it does not water.  Sir Mark Prescott has only just started to have runners recently, he must have been aware of some problem with his horses during the first 4 months of the turf season, as he ran very few of his horses.  With a few winners coming over the last week or so, he is a stable to watch closely at the moment.  He runs The Game Is On in the 5.00 at Bath today.  With his stable jockey riding, I think this horse can be very competitive, in what looks an average race.

A good article in today’s racing post about Lester Piggott.  What a jockey he was, the best I think I have ever seen, and ever likely to see !

Many years ago, when Lester was making one of his mini comebacks, it was 1992 I think, or around that time.  Lester knocked on my door at 9am one morning, he wanted to speak to my brother Ian, who was training at the time.  Ian was at the breeze up sales at Doncaster.  We had a horse running on the Saturday called First Stage.  Lester told me he would ride it, and it would win !

I said, I’ll call Ian and let him know if he could ride it,  off he went.   Any way I called Ian, who was with the joint owner of First Stage, and told him that we had a visitor during breakfast, and what he had said.  Ian told me, well you better ring the press and tell them he rides it, I called the press and said I would like to put a jockey down for First Stage on Saturday, the reply from the other end was Lester Piggott ? Low and behold, Lester had already put himself down to ride it.  He of course won on it as well.

A good winner for my subscribers yesterday.  Moon King was advised at 5/4, he returned at 6/5.  A very easy success for this improving gelding, storming clear in the last two furlongs, putting a lot of daylight between himself and the eventual second in the 3.45 at Haydock.

A big group 1 race just about to take place at Longchamp.  The favourite Japan looks to have a good chance of winning this prestigious race for Coolmore.  The Ballydoyle band wagon keeps going on.  Ten Sovereigns was a ready winner of the July Cup at Newmarket yesterday.  He looked back to his high class self, after a slightly below par effort last time.

More tomorrow.

With a few races already ran, another busy day.  I always try and find a winner or two for my followers on a Saturday.  One race I thought was a really competitive event was the 2.40 York.  This is a Group 3 over almost 14 furlongs, for 4 year olds and upwards.  Two that met over the same course and distance last time out 28 days ago, on softer ground than today were, Gold Mount and Raheen House, it is quicker ground today, and I would not be surprised to see Raheen House turn last month’s form around.  He was having his first run of 2019, so should come forward for that.  He would be my choice.  At Newmarket the Group 1 Darley July Cup Stakes, ran over the straight 6 furlongs of the July racecourse.  It has some really useful sprinters lining up.  Dream Of Dreams was a really good second to Blue Point last month.  I think he should run a big race for his connections again today.  He should be ok on the very fast ground.

More later.

A good day of racing at Newmarket and Ascot on the level today.  One race that had a good finish, with a lot of really promising colts lining up, was the 4.10 Newmarket.  I did think the second horse Al Suhail was unlucky not to win, he hit the front about a furlong and a half from the winning post, and literally won his race, only to be caught in the shadow of the line.  If his rider had switched his whip, from right to left, he would of won.  It was pilot error, his rider thought he was going to win and put his stick down, when he should of pulled it through into his left, Al Suhail had just edged left, close to the finish.    Jim Crowley on Al Hamady who had his horse balanced, was able to seize his opportunity to win, he had a willing partner as well, which helped.  This race is one to watch a few times, lots of winners will appear from it.

It is interesting to see the Sir Mark Prescott running well again. He had two winners yesterday.   He should be followed with his runners, as when he hits form, he usually has a good number of winners, if he turns out Blame It On Sally, who won at Epsom last nigh, in the next week or so, try not to miss it ! He looked a well handicapped horse, with a lot more to come.

The main race looking at the Newmarket card is the Darley July Cup Stakes Group 1.  Ran over the straight 6f, it is a really good race, with lots of good sprinters lining up.  Hopefully I can find a winner for my followers tomorrow, although Saturday is the hardest day of the week !

Good racing today from Newmarket.  The 2.25 Tattersalls July Stakes, a Group 2 race for colts and geldings, was won by Royal Lytham, who got up in the shadows of the winning post to beat Platinum Star. It looked a good renewal, as the third horse Visinari, who was short priced favourite to win, was a good third, beaten a nose and a short head.

The 4.05 is a maiden fillies Stakes over 6f.  With some really well bred two year olds in the line up.  Dubai Paradise makes her debut, she has been well supported in the betting, and is clearly well regarded. Hopefully she can make a better showing than Masar, her older stable mate, and last years Derby winner.  He was an eased down dissapointing last of 6.  I would not be surprised if that is his last race.  He raced too free in the early part of the race, with little cover from the small field, he didn’t really see out the stiff 12f, although it is hard for any horse to come back from an injury, he is clearly a fair way off his current rating of 119, on today’s performance.

More later.

A  nice winner last night for followers.  I advised Takingitallin in the last race at Uttoxeter 8.50.  Given a good ride by William Kennedy, who set the fractions right, making all the running, the game mare found plenty over the latter stages of the race, to win quite cosily at the line.

Todays fields look pretty tough to solve.  I did think Model Guest 4.50 had found her chance to get off the mark today, she has been running in much higher classed races, including a third in a Group 3, that was last August.  She ran a good race last time in a really good race, maybe 8/13 is short, but she looks a penalty kick.

Good racing over the next few days, lots of nice horses running.

More later.