Saturday, May 03, 2008

1000 Guineas

Natagora looks the one to beat in tomorrow's 1000 Guineas at Newmarket; on Racing Post ratings she is clearly the best horse in the race. There has been a question about her staying the mile but connections are confident she can see out the trip - the draw in stall thirteen doesn't look ideal. Infallible was an impressive winner of the Nell Gwyn; in post race comments trainer John Gosden immediately identified Natagora as the big danger to his charge. Muthabara won at Newbury a fortnight ago while still sporting her winter coat. That prompted plenty of comment; the word is she still looks pretty woolly but she has also been the subject of an injury scare over the last forty eight hours and isn't certain to take part. John Fanshawe's Spacious is another worthy of serious consideration. If I get involved, I'll look for an each way bet on an outsider; two that catch the eye are Max One Two Three and Nahoodh. Andrew 'Bert' Black has a share in Max One Two Three and he's quite sweet on the filly's chances; she's 40/1 in most places and looks to have decent place prospects. Mick Channon's Nahoodh is priced up at 33/1 in some books which looks big. Granted, the yard has been slow into its stride and her performance in the Fred Darling at Newbury was below par. Having said that, it's obvious the trainer holds her in the highest regard.

A soccer postscript - I don't like football betting at all but Skybet go 5/1 Hibernian to beat Rangers in tomorrow's Scottish Premier League clash at Easter Road, while totesport go 11/4 the draw. Following Thursday's semi-final efforts in the UEFA Cup (extra-time and penalties), Rangers may well be vulnerable - the match is certainly no foregone conclusion. The two bets against a Rangers' win could yield a profit.

1 comment:

GeeDee said...

11/4 favourite Natagora raced from the front and won well, holding Spacious half a length at the post. Max One Two Three (33/1) lost her race in the preliminaries; the occasion had clearly got to her. She broke from the parade and went down to the start in a most ungainly 'rocking' motion, the jockey leaving his feet out of the stirrups. She finished eleventh of the fifteen runners. Nahoodh (33/1) appeared rather unlucky, encountering severe traffic problems inside the final furlong. The horse finished fifth; jockey Richard Hughes claimed he would have won with a clear run - he would certainly have gone close. That's racing.
Hibernian and Rangers played out a no-score draw.