Dundalk 2yo Fillies Maiden review, Mar 31

Dundalk 6.00 Friday Mar 31
EBF Fillies Maiden
5f, 1m1.55s (slow by 3.85s on RP standards)
Standard AW

Fille du Septembre, foaled Apr 10. Fifth winner from six foals for the dam, and cost €130k at the sales, considerably more than the rest of the field put together. Dwelt at the start slightly and was then bumped around in the early stages. Handled that well, settling in the middle of a tight bunch without over-racing. Wore the seemingly common Weld stable noseroll, and came through traffic to win in a tight finish. Think the strength of Smullen made the difference in the closing stages, over the claiming apprentices aboard the placegetters. Handy win as rated with a RPR of 80. Started favourite, stable obviously recognised some ability.

Sirici, foaled Feb 1. First foal of a debut 2yo winner who started favourite in the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot but never bettered her debut win. Drawn widest of the field but not a big disadvantage given this trip has a single right-angle turn, and first and third saved hardly any ground in comparison. Sat comfortably wide and just behind the pace, was last of the front three to pull the whip and only just missed. Inexperience of apprentice offset by the 7lb claim. Stable in great form with several winners in past fortnight. Nominated again this week, should find a race for her fairly soon.

Summerseat Mist, Apr 28. €35k yearling. Jumped well, good early speed to sit on the lead. Wide on the turn but soon beat off the inside pair. Drifted left under pressure in the straight, fought on well to be beaten a head by a head. Outsider of the trio, should be more to come.

Social Butterfly, Apr 5. Jumped quickly butdived left and caused interference. Sat on the fence, behind the leaders. The placegetters got away from her, but stuck on well in the straight. Minor interference with Summerseat Mist wanting to lay in but didn't affect result.

In The Dip, Apr 27. Walked out of the gates and settled last. Came wide, tracked Sirici, got left behind a little when leaders accelerated. Battled on OK without threatening, and this group finished 4L clear of the rest. Started 33/1 so wasn't much expected of her. Could be useful with improved barrier manners.

Sandbanks Road, Feb 7. First 2yo for a rookie trainer, cost just €2,000 as a yearling. Bumped early, settled towards rear. Didn't see much room as rivals were making their run, but wasn't bursting to break through either. Made up some ground when given plenty of room.

Dark Waters, Feb 12. Hampered early but able to sit midfield alongside the winner. Left behind at top of the straight, didn't show much.

Stormy Tale, Feb 4. Slow to start, switched to inside rail on the back of Soclai Butterfly. Left behind when the others accelerated. Dam won one race over a mile and a half, sire a Group 3-winning miler. Looks limited but time might help her.

Lady Evanna, Apr 29. €9k yearling. Jumped well, copped a decent bump from Social Butterfly on her inside, but continued forward to lead on the rail. First 2yo race of the season, few of them settled so no peace in front and was beaten as soon as the jockey asked her for more. 33/2, unfancied. Not pushed out.

Tuamhain, Jan 17. Earliest foal of the field, from the first crop of July Cup winner Mayson. Backed into second favouritism but disappointed. Suspect something may have gone wrong with her. Stumbled first stride then pushed through to pressure for the lead. Nothing in the tank when jockey went for her 2f out, eased down final stages.

KEY POINTS

Winner is nine weeks younger than the runner-up (who has since won), a significant disadvantage, but at the same time, she's a blue-blood compared to this lot. Suspect the front three are decent, would be intrigued to find out if there were any excuses for Tuamhain.

Spot-fixing - you will never, ever be able to stop it

According to this report , IPL tournaments so far have been rife with spot-fixing - that is fixing minor elements of the game - runs in a single over, number of wides bowled etc. The curious part of that article is that the Income Tax department are supposed to have found these crimes. What idiot would be stupid enough to put down 'big wad of cash handed to me by bookie' as a source of income? Backhanders for sportsmen, particularly in a celebrity- and cricket-obsessed culture like India are not rare. They could come from anything like turning up to open someone's new business (not a sponsor, but a 'friend of a friend' arrangement), to being a guest at some devoted fan's dinner party etc. The opportunities are always there, and there will always be people trying to become friends with players and their entourage - that is human nature. This form of match-fixing (and it's not really fixing a match, just a minor element of it) is very hard to prove, but also,

It's all gone Pete Tong at Betfair!

The Christmas Hurdle from Leopardstown, a good Grade 2 race during the holiday period. But now it will go into history as the race which brought Betfair down. Over £21m at odds of 29 available on Voler La Vedette in-running - that's a potential liability of over £500m. You might think that's a bit suspicious, something's fishy, especially with the horse starting at a Betfair SP of 2.96. Well, this wasn't a horse being stopped by a jockey either - the bloody horse won! Look at what was matched at 29. Split that in half and multiply by 28 for the actual liability for the layer(s). (Matched amounts always shown as double the backers' stake, never counts the layers' risk). There's no way a Betfair client would have £600m+ in their account. Maybe £20 or even £50m from the massive syndicates who regard(ed) Betfair as safer than any bank, but not £600m. So the error has to be something technical. However, rumour has it, a helpdesk reply (not gospel, natur

lay the field - my favourite racing strategy

Dabbling with laying the field in-running at various prices today, not just one price, but several in the same race. Got several matched in the previous race at Brighton, then this race came along at Nottingham. Such a long straight at Nottingham makes punters often over-react and think the finish line is closer than it actually is. As you can see by the number of bets matched, there was plenty of volatility in this in-play market. It's rare you'll get a complete wipe-out with one horse getting matched at all levels, but it can happen, so don't give yourself too much risk...

Sport is made for betting

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