Skip to main content

Dundalk Fri Apr 7 2yo race review

Dundalk 2yo Fri Apr 7 17.55
EBF Median Auction Stakes
5f Standard, 1m1.93s,
(slow by 4.23s on RP standard)

Sirici, Feb 1. Backed up quickly after close second seven days earlier here, once again drew the outside gate. Sat three wide, not a big concern on a one-bend trip. Jockey timed his run better this week, not saying go until the furlong pole and kicked away nicely to win. Given same RPR figure of 79.

Spirit Power, Mar 05. Big, rangy colt by Swiss Spirit, looked a bit new to it all. Dropped in sale price from foal to yearling, rarely a good sign. Jumped well, sat just behind Sirici, outpaced on the turn but kept on well when urged along. Ran through the line nicely. Might have been reluctant to challenge or run past the leader - keep an eye out for blinkers.

Pak Army, Apr 4. Significant upgrade in jockey from Ronan Whelan to Declan McDonogh and the addition of pacifiers since beaten a long way on debut at Naas on rain-affected track. Dwelt slightly, fell out the back of the field. Allowed to settle comfortably, pulled out wide in the last furlong and responded well to the whip. Sharp improvement here - maturity or switching to a firmer surface? Still learning the game.

Royal Diplomat, Mar 20. Made favourite after nice second at Naas on debut. Started well, pushed forward to lead, causing minor interference to My Silver Nails, crossing too early. No match for the winner when moves were made, and faded to miss the place. Came up remarkably short in betting, , was backed from 15/8 into 11/10. (not just after-timing!)

Ragtime Red, Apr 30, €46k yearling. Leading stable, well supported at 11/4. Jumped well, soon eased into midfield. No real acceleration shown but kept on OK towards the end, not pushed out.

My Silver Nails, Apr 1. Another from the Naas race where she went too hard and emptied out. Tried to sit handy, was checked by Royal Diplomat on the turn, costing her a length or two and momentum. Bumping match with Lady Epaulette down the straight, trying to work past Royal Diplomat but when the gap emerged, there was nothing in the tank. Needs to settle or this will keep happening.

Amenette, Feb 18. Stablemate of Spirit Power and based on odds & jockey bookings, the weaker of the pair. Slow to begin, lost 3-4 lengths, pushed to stay in touch, took advantage of cutaway rail to make her run. Improved slightly then weakened late. Not pushed out.

Lady Epaulette, Apr 8. Dwelt slightly, pushed up to lead on the rail until the turn. Bumped with My Silver Nails early in the straight but simple answer is, just not very good. Started 25/1 beaten just over ten lengths.

KEY POINTS

Winner backed up quickly and looks good to hold form for a while. Keen to follow Spirit Power, he's a big colt who ran on nicely late. Once he works out what it's all about, we might see a pretty handy horse.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...