Lingfield Tues Apr 11 2yo race review

Lingfield 2yo Tues Apr 11
Novice Median Auction Stakes
5f, Class 5, 58.87s (slow by 1.77s)
Standard

Corinthia Knight, Jan 26, €15k yearling. Half-brother to ten-time winner Chiswick Bey who won a Brocklesby on debut and is still winning aged nine. Flew the gates, restrained to settle behind leader, edged closer down the side, then outpaced on turn as leader kicked. Showed nice turn of foot when asked to go at the furlong, won very nicely. Drifted from 5s out to 13/2, either outshone his work at home or stable not keen to back their own.

Black Orange, Apr 21. Backed up quickly after placing in one of the Brocklesbys at Doncaster and started 11/10. Started OK, urged along to hold the rail and take the lead. Kicked for home on the turn but winner far too good. Weakened sharply once passed inside the half-furlong. Think this one is fairly limited, just ready to go early and trainer will try to cash in while she can.

Crownthorpe, Mar 24, passed in as a yearling (14k reserve). Dam won twice as a 2yo, retired with peak rating of 72. Half-brother still a maiden after five starts. Settled at rear of pack but only 3-4L off the lead. Outpaced when leader went for home on the turn, took a while to balance up in the straight but worked home nicely without much urging. Straight track, perhaps over further... in top stable, expect him to be well placed shortly.

Our Man In Havana, Apr 6. £16k yearling (11k gns foal). Dam won once from 18 starts, off rating of 50 in heavy going. Started OK, restrained and tucked in behind. Alongside Crownthorpe on the turn, cornered better and got ahead of him under hard riding from Morris, but overtaken late and not pushed out to the line.

Brian Ryan, Apr 20. 15k gns foal, 3200gns yearling - not a good sign. First runner for £2500 sire. Third foal of dam, other pair both winners. In behind leader to the home turn then left behind when leader kicked. Didn't get any closer in the straight, even with the whip pulled.

Swiss Psalm, Apr 26. First foal of seven-time winning dam, 5-6f, Class4-6. Started OK, restrained to take a position and then just didn't want to go. Beaten long way out.

Tie Em Up Tel, Apr 12, £8k yearling. Dam placed once from six starts, peak rating of 69. Full brother Oakledge is five start maiden rated 77. Went hard early to challenge for lead then hung badly on turn, caught three wide and lost the plot completely for the final bend. Headcase.

KEY POINTS
Winner looked impressive, nice turn of foot, but don't rate the runner-up. Crownthorpe will win a decent race.

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, ...

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...

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...

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