Doing a bit of travelling this week, so a late post today.  Having missed the daytime meetings.  Windsor evening meeting looks competitive, it’s normally a good attended track, especially during the summer months.  Looking at the 6.30, Indian Raj has an easier task now that 3 have come out of the race, he won well on his latest run, I think he can win again.  At Bangor, it pays to follow previous winners at this tight left handed track. Sea The Sea 6.40 has course form, likes to make the running and the stable runners are in good shape, she could well be able to get her own way tonight, and win again.  Earthlight was a good winner in France yesterday, he looks as though he could be a colt to follow, as it looked a strong race.  Marmello was a good winner of the 2 mile Group 2, hopefully followers may have had a bet on him at short odds.

More later.

Pleased to get a good winner for my subscribers yesterday, Thuderous 1.50 Newbury was advised at 5/2 yesterday morning.  Heavily backed into 11/8 favourite, before his game win.

Todays French card at Deauville has two Group 1 races.  The Darley Prix Morny At 1.50 is a really good race for two year old colts and fillies.  Frankie Dettori looks as though he has opted for Raffle Prize over the colt A A’hli, having won on both horses before.  To pick the winner out of this race is very difficult, Earthlight has really good French form, Arizona has looked really good, having won the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, it is probably a race to watch, without getting involved in having a bet.  Marmello contests the Group 2 T Deauville at 4pm over 2 miles.  I thought he was given an average ride on his last run, beaten only a nose that day.  With a change of rider today, I would expect him to win.  Of the racing in the UK, Reaction Time 4.30 Pontefract,  put in a good debut run at Sandown last year,  he must be delicate to train, as this is only his second run at 4 years old.  I would expect him to be fit, and may be too good for Eva Maria, who did win well last time at Thirsk, she will not make it easy for the Godolphin horse, it will be a good race, I expect them both to fight out the finish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strong fields today at most of the race meetings. At Nottingham the ground is soft, the 4.45 is really good race.  Ojooba was a good winner at the track on her last run.  She is by Dubawi, so should be ok on the soft/heavy  ground today, it was good to soft when she won, she really enjoyed the step up to 10f that day.  You could make a case for the majority of fillies, Red Hot will cope on the ground and is improving, of the others Birdcage Walk is another with strong form, she should be ok on the ground as well.  It’s tough to decide on one of them, Ojooba would be my marginal preference.

Ghaly looks to have a fairly straightforward task at 3.05, he is improving with racing, and his task has been made easier with the withdrawal of Casanova.  At Thirsk, where rain showers are forecast, True Romance 8.05 was a very easy winner last time, with similar ground conditions and the same rider today in Graham Lee, I would expect this gelding to win again.  Some good racing tomorrow, and the York meeting next week is always a good one, the entries for the big group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes on Wednesday, has Crystal Ocean heading the betting market, Enable is entered, but rumours are she will likely miss the race.  It will still be a good race if she does not run, although Crystal Ocean is currently still rated higher than anything entered, and will be hard to beat. At Yarmouth yesterday, the Godolphin trainer Al Suhail was a cosy winner, not too sure if he beat much, but he really quickened up like a useful colt, his biggest obstacle could be himself, as he wears a hood and looks highly strung, it must run in the family, as his half brother Telecaster is very talented, but looks to be highly strung as well.

With the recent rain over the last few days, the ground at most of the race tracks is on the soft side.  Yarmouth on the east coast has avoided a lot of the rain.  The current ground conditions should be almost perfect.  Al Suhail 5.20 has three rivals in the 5.20 over the straight 7f.  He wears a hood today, having worn a hood in the paddock at Newmarket when second, he did not wear it in the race.  He is very talented, but like his half brother Telecaster, he is probably a bit quirky.  He should defy his short odds and win today, hopefully he can start paying some of his 1 million pound price tag off !

Later in the card at 8.00, Cent Flying has a strong chance of following up again from his recent win at Brighton.  He seemed to have benefited greatly from a wind surgery operation, his trainer William Muir mentioned post race that his palate had been “tweaked” to help him breath.  A large number of horses seem to be having wind surgery, usually when you ride a horse that has a problem, you can hear them making a “noise” when they come under pressure.

With soft ground at Salisbury, the main race over 1 Mile could well go to Flashcard, he loves some give underfoot, and is a course and distance winner.  He will have to take a step forward to win, as Mojito and King Ottokar will not make it easy, Accidental Agent has probably the best form previously, but that was quite a while ago, his recent runs have been below par, and a refusal to race amongst them, does not give you much confidence in backing him.

It was a very emotional interview for William Bethell on Sky Sports Racing on Tuesday, he spoke to Matt Chapman after Steel Helmet had won at Lingfield, he has took over with a temporary trainers license, as his daughter Harriet had a bad fall of a horse recently and is in intensive care.  She’s in an induced coma and it’s a life threatening situation, due to a bleed on her brain.  Fingers crossed that she makes a full recovery.

 

With a fair amount of rain forecast again today, waiting and seeing the going is important.  Carlisle is already on the soft side, it could be quite testing if they get a good bit of rain.

I will try and do an updated message later today.  Looking ahead to the rest of the week, a few horses that I follow are entered,  it all depends on the weather forecast!

More later.

With a good bit of rain having fallen across many parts of the UK, Catterick going is soft.  Medahim showed a return to form at York on his last run, second that day to Bedouin Story, he was clear of the third that day, and could well win the 3.45, he acts with give in the ground.  B Fifty Two 5.15 has a favourites chance of winning again over the minimum trip of 5f.  He likes the track, his issue is he is not a frequent winner.

At the all weather card this evening, where rain will not make that much difference, Fares Poet has a decent chance of getting off the mark at 6.50.  Of rivals, Street Poet has been really consistent , winning his last four races, and looks the one to beat, with a decent claimer taking a vital 5lb off his back.

More later.

 

With lots of wind and rain forecast today over many parts of the UK, it will be best to wait and see !

At the Curragh in Ireland, it is a first as far as I am aware that they are having a Group 1 race on a Friday evening.  The 6.50 is the Keenland Phoenix Stakes, ran over 6f for 2yo colts and fillies.  Siskin heads the betting market, unbeaten in three starts so far, he is the colt that they all have to beat.  He won well on his last run, beating Monarch Of Egypt that day, who lines up against him again today.  I think Siskin will be hard to beat, and win this.

At the evening card at Newmarket, Volkan Star lines up at 6.35.  This well bred son of See The Stars was a million pound yearling, so the £8000 added won’t make much difference to that, if he wins.  He has a big reputation, apparently he has been working very well on the Newmarket gallops, so a winning start will be expected.

Reading the press yesterday on the planned $20 million race in Saudi next year.  Hopefully it will go ahead, I saw Frankie Dettori has been in America promoting the race, planned to take place next February. Which could tie in nicely with the Dubai World Cup, which is ran in the last week of March.

A bit of rain likely at a few racecourses today.  It will not really change the ground much at Newcastle, as it is tapeta.  I was told the other day that the surface is riding really slow at the moment. Michael Dickinson who deigned this surface, told me that it should ride quite fast, although it all depends on ground staff, who can make it ride “slower” if required.   Having had some experience of riding on the tapeta surface myself when I was working for Godolphin, all I would say is that the surface was quite “sticky”, especially if you rode horses when trotting on it, we had a fair few horses that lost shoes, basically it is not designed for trotting on !  If it is riding on the slow side, it is highly likely that the groundsman has made sure of that !

The 8.05 at Newcastle looks a good opportunity for River Cam, she should be fine on the surface, this filly was slightly unlucky on debut at Yarmouth, when a closing second at the line.  I think with that experience, this filly can take a step forward and get off the mark tonight.  Her trainers horses are in good form, and jockey,  PJ McDonald rides this track well.  One race at Sandown tonight,  at 7.15, is a really competitive handicap.  Two horses that I believe are over priced, are Mokamaal and Durrell, both of these have live chances, it is a really difficult race to pick the winner, I have had a bit each way on my picks,  who are priced at 5/1 and 11/1.

 

A late post today.  Delighted to get a good winner tonight for my subscribers.  I advised backing Eshaasy 6.30 Kempton at 3/1 last night, heavily backed into 6/4.  A short margin win at the line, but possibly a bit left in the tank !

Looking at the remaining races tonight, not too much of great interest.  Some really good racing ahead at the weekend, I am waiting for a couple of horses at the weekend, hopefully the weather forecast over the next few days will be wrong, it is for rain and high winds, so it will be interesting to see what happens.

More later.

A fair amount of thunder storms are forecast over the UK today, mainly in the north and over Scotland.  So a bit of caution regarding having a bet.

In France yesterday, Advertise was another Group 1 winner for Frankie Dettori.  He has landed 12 Group 1 victories in the last 66 days ! I am sure that record will last for a long time.  With the backing of John Gosden, he may well extend his tally by some way, before the end of 2019.  He is riding so confidently at the moment, all those positive vibes, do help the horses.  Don’t get me wrong, you need to be riding good horses, when trying to win big races, but confidence is a good mindset !

Looking at the racing today, the racing at Windsor looks pretty tough to solve.  I have had a couple of bets at Ripon, hopefully they can win.  I am waiting for some really nice two year olds to run this week.  A couple of them I took note of a few weeks ago, hopefully they could run.  August is usually a decent month for me, so I would like to keep the good run going.

More tomorrow.