Friday, August 30, 2013

Lord Mildmay Memorial Chase

The highlight on Saturday's Newton Abbot card is the listed Lord Mildmay Memorial Handicap Chase at 3.55. Eleven have been declared with last year's winner Shoegazer trying to repeat the trick off a mark ten pounds higher.

Toubab tries this trip for the first time while Kian's Delight possesses plenty of potential but looks short on chasing experience against some of these - no five-year-old has obliged in the past ten years.

Twirling Magnet is a more likely sort as is Bobowen, winner of the Market Rasen Summer Pate - Sam Twiston-Davies clearly prefers Dr Newland's charge to Billie Magern trained by his father. Both Bobowen and top weight The Disengager finished well-beaten in the Galway Plate 31 days ago - the former was pulled up while perhaps the latter ran better than his finishing position of twentieth (beaten over 171 lengths) might suggest after leading five out before being headed following a mistake three from home.

This race has thrown up some big priced winners in recent years including Snoopy Loopy 10/1 2008; Star Of Germany 14/1 2009 and Passato 14/1 in 2010.

I'll chance previous course and distance winner The Disengager, back on better ground after Galway; his running style is well-suited to this track.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Carson and Cartmel

Earlier today my attention was drawn to a snippet in The Times...

The box Willie Carson used to gain height when co-hosting BBC racing coverage with Clare Balding is be auctioned for charity.

The box, ambivalently inscribed 'This is the extra seven inches you asked for', has a price guide of £150-£200.

I don't intend to bid.

Tomorrow's Cartmel Cup Handicap Hurdle (5.20) looks the best race of the day at the Cumbrian track. A competitive-looking affair, the winner has come from the first three in the betting in the past five years  - Oliver's Gold arrives in good form and has a racing weight to boot while the booking of McCoy for Tinseltown won't go unnoticed.

I'm tempted by Donald McCain's Sud Pacifique. This one isn't the most consistent but was done for toe at the business end of affairs at Stratford last time. He boasts course and distance winning form  and shouldn't be inconvenienced by forecast rain - a short-head second to Starluck at Cheltenham in April reads well and the handicapper appears to have given him a chance here off a rating of 117.

Sud Pacifique, 10/1 in the tissue, is the each-way suggestion.

Postscript: Nice to see Mini Muck (by Kayf Tara out of Madam Muck) make her return to the track after an absence of 733 days for team Twiston-Davies in the opener at 2.30.

Friday, August 09, 2013

Shergar Cup Stayers

Ascot's Shergar Cup meeting has never been one of my favourites...

Ten go in the Stayers' Handicap at 1.30. Mark Johnson's filly Broxbourne bids to repeat her course and distance victory over Homeric in the Brown Jack Handicap fifteen days ago. Since then this tough filly has won the Goodwood Stakes but now Homeric is eight pounds better off for a three and a half length defeat. There was also a hint that that Ryan Moore may have left his charge with too much ground to make up on that occasion.

Kieren Fallon is in the plate tomorrow. Homeric, 6/1 in several places at the time of writing, is the suggestion.

Friday, August 02, 2013

Saturday's summer jumping at Newton Abbot

Glorious Goodwood for many, but it's Newton Abbot for me where there's a decent card on offer for the time of year.

The highlight is the two mile handicap chase at 3.55. Three weeks ago at Stratford Dineur beat Tindaro half a length while West With The Wind trailed in fourth and Anquetta fifth. Tindaro is two pounds better off this time around while Dineur appeared to have a hard enough race when fourth in the Summer Plate at Market Rasen six days later. McCoy rides Paul Webber's charge tomorrow - I'm going to side with Tindaro (4/1 with Paddy Power this evening).

The two Ferguson horses (Plain Sailing and Beachfire) are likely to dominate betting in the opener and Akdam looks the answer to the 3.20 but will be no price.

On the other hand the three mile three furlong handicap hurdle at 4.30 appears far more competitive. A case can be made for several but this evening William Hill's 8/1 about Jeremy Scott's On The Bridge looks reasonable value - On The Bridge is the each-way suggestion.