Sport is made for betting

Ahead on both days so far, long may it continue! As per yesterday, not a day with the razzle dazzle of the bookends but a decent-looking betting day.  MARES' NOVICE Handy race this, quite a few chances. 2. Aurora Vega - will always be well supported being out of the mighty mare Quevega and in the W.Mullins camp. Has won all of her completed runs (three) over hurdles, with the one failure being when she pulled up at 1/10 at Wexford one day.  She's got a decent engine this one but faces her toughest test here. 9. Jubilee Alpha - the first of two Paul Nicholls runners, she has been cleaning up mares' races at Taunton & Windsor with relative ease, and the two horses who have been second to her in those will be outsiders here. Harry Cobden said it was his best ride of the week. A strong traveller, she will look a big chance coming down the hill but how strong are her rivals this time? 10. Just A Rose - won her first race under Rules by 26L when the jockey just let her go. Ho...

Never the strongest of day for betting, at least for me. The Festival used to be three days and packed to the brim with class. Over four days,  the middle two cards lack the razzle dazzle. TURNERS NOVICES Wednesday kicks off with quite a competitive race, for the mid-distance novice hurdlers. The Irish have won 10 of the last 11 editions, and Willie Mullins has six in the race. 1. Final Demand - winner of three from three and dominant every time. Switched from the three-mile Albert Bartlett back to 2m5f, doubt it will hurt his chances. Mullins & Townsend, very promising. 5. Kel Histoire - recent McManus purchase who looks destined for a staying chaser campaign in future years. Was running on late to take second against Salvator Mundi in the G2 Moscow Flyer at Punchestown in January, that winner ran fifth in the Supreme. In the mix for the placings. 6. Kiss Will - very inexperienced with just the one start over hurdles - an effortless win in a Fairyhouse maiden. Who knows what's...

SUPREME NOVICES HURDLE 5. Kopek Des Bordes ⁃ Unbeaten in three, bolted in by 13L in a Group 1 at the Dublin Racing Festival yet still running too keen, oh, and he’s trained by Willie Mullins who has won the opening race of the Festival three times in the past ten years. Yet only two and a half favs (Constitution Hill was a joint fav in 2022, can you believe that?) have won in the past 10 years but all of them were well fancied bar one - the stubborn Labaik at 25/1 in 2017. Of the five races in that past 10 which have had this many runners (12) or fewer, all of the aforementioned favourites have landed and the longest-priced winner was 9/2. Extremely hard to beat but will wear a hood for the first time. The stats on that piece of headgear are terrible so some bookies will be happy to take him on. 6. Romeo Coolio ⁃ Second in the Champion Bumper last year, he got his Maiden Hurdle win out pf the way at Down Royal then started 1/2 in the G2 Royal Bond but could only run second amongst a qu...

No detailed preview form me this year, I've been dealing with a concussion for over six weeks now (I'm not young and rubbery anymore), so unable to put the time in for the detail I want to provide. Quick predictions: 9. Absurde 12. Akita Soushi 8. Land Legend 14. Zardozi

Ah, the great race of Europe which has a petty grudge against geldings. The rhetoric of why they should be excluded is just nonsense. It's 2024 - has anybody ever backed any of their data theories up with some evidence? One race doesn't make or break a stallion, and there are numerous examples of geldings winning big races abroad without making the breeding industry collapse. For Goliath and Calandagan not be here is disappointing. Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe €5,000,000 Group 1, 2400m WFA (no geldings) Sunday 1620 local time, 1520 BST; Monday 0120 AEDST 1 Zarakem Very hot and cold this season: beaten over 20L in the Juddmonte at York (probably the highest-rated race this season in Europe) but ran second in the Prince of Wales at Royal Ascot (behind Auguste Rodin). Earlier in the season he ran second last in the Prix Ganay, won by Haya Zark, soon after winning the Prix Harcourt, both at Longchamp. The Royal Ascot run gives him a rating high enough to be competitive here ...

Great day on Thursday thanks to Port Fairy and Kyprios. Have only had time to do two races for Friday because I'm off to Berlin for some football tomorrow, and that's likely to be it for the week. Happy to declare while I'm ahead for a very rare profit for the week! Signing off with these :) ALBANY STAKES Mountain Breeze is a 3/4 sister to former champion 2yo Pinatubo and has won her first two starts with ease. The form hasn't turned out that strong though for either race but she gave them windburn in each case. Fairy Godmother looks to have a touch of class, Royalty Bay made hard work of her debut run at Ripon but really knuckled down at the end to show some talent, Twafeeg has a daft name but debuted strongly, Hot Darling has won both her starts and just changed ownership. MOUNTAIN BREEZE, Fairy Godmother, Royalty Bay, Twafeeg ----------- COMMONWEALTH CUP We've lost a few of the top chances here in the past fortnight and now Elite Status looks to be out due to the...

BRITANNIA Another candidate for toughest race of the week and hence the reason bookies donate all profits to charity for this one. Starlore was desperately unlucky at Goodwood recently behind Qirat, everyone saw it which means he's probably a little shorter than he should be, but it's ok for now around 8/1.  I don't really know how the Irish handicap form measures up against the UK races but Follow Me's last win needs to be seen to be believed. He squeezed up the rail bouncing off a couple of checks and blocks to win his second Irish race on the bounce, having been bought over the winter out of France. Might still have more scope to improve from a small stable. Dashing Darcey looked a very good type winning at Haydock recently, he must be seriously considered. Volterra and Skukuza come out of the same race at Newmarket in early May. Skukuza ran second but has since won and gets the services of William Buick today, while Volterra won nicely and looks to have scope for pl...

ROYAL ASCOT THURSDAY A much better day on day 2, back in the black after backing Leovanni, Doha and Aviation Time. Short summaries for most of the card... NORFOLK STAKES Looks very hard to beat Whistlejacket here. A full brother to Little Big Bear, he left Arizona Blaze for dead last time in the Listed First Flier Stakes at the Curragh, afer a nice second on debut behind Cowardofthecounty. The latter went OK on Tuesday, not really franking the form or dismissing it. Saturday Flirt won very impressively for Wesley Ward on debut at Keeneland, coming from back in the pack, which is unusual for a hypercharged US juvenile. Shareholder might be the better one on the Wathnan Racing pair, he only scraped in against Moving Force with a 7lb weight advantage but bear in mind they got James Doyle to go to Beverley on a Saturday to ride this one on debut - there must be something in the tank for the €460k recent breeze-up purchase. Alternatively Moving Force is a big price in comparison with the we...