Doncaster Apr 29 2yo race review

Doncaster 1725 Sat Apr 29
Newcomers Maiden Stakes
5f, Class 5, 1m0.04s (slow by 2.14s)
Good to Firm (Good in Places, watered)

Koditime. Feb 1, £65k yearling from maiden dam. Away nicely, parked midfield right beind Dahik. Accelerated nicely when the gap opened. One tap with the stick and a comfortable win. Impressive.

Dahik. Mar 6, £62k yearling. Half-brother to five winners. First 2yo runner of the season for Roger Varian. Backed from 8/1 into 5s. Jumped nicely, contested lead under comfortable hold. Given a bit more rein at 2f, challenged 1f out. A little green after a couple of strikes with the whip but couldn't match the winner. Will learn plenty from that.

Jellmood. Mar 3. First foal, dam had form in South Africa and Dubai. Settled close to the pace and improved without effort to challenge approaching furlong. Given a couple of cracks with the whip but unable to match the first two. Solid debut.

Central City. Mar 28, €50k yearling. 8/1 into 9/2. Not the fastest away but to no harm. Settled close to Dahik and Koditime, outpaced by them in final furlong but kept on well. Not pushed through the line, infuriating each-way punters, missing third by inches. Has talent.

Dontgiveuponbob. Apr 26. Broke well, restrained to gain cover and sit midfield. Urged along approaching 1f, stayed on nicely without ever threatening. Not the stable pick on jockeys and odds but will learn plenty from that.

Funkadelic. Apr 4, £26k yearling. Slow to begin, lost a couple of lengths. Wanted to overrace and jockey had to let him move up on the outside. Pushed along at the 2f, stuck to the task well without making ground on leaders.

Angel Force. Feb 20, £33k yearling. Dam a half-sister to dam of Dancing Star. Away poorly, lost four lengths. Settled at the tail without being pushed to stay in touch. Made ground weaving through the field, might be decent.

Levante Player. Mar 15, £100k yearling (€77k foal). Dam terrible on the track but well related. Backed from 16s into 11s. Settled close to the pace, made move at halfway but soon ended. Weakened final stages.

Darkanna. Jan 16, £205k yearling. First foal. Dam ran third in G2 Cherry Hinton at two. Drifted, 4s to 6s. Overraced early but eventually settled by halfway. Urged along at 2f but had burnt so much petrol early, there was nothing left. Forget the run.

Shay C. Apr 3, unsold at sales. Dam won at two, peak OR83. Out fast, straight to the lead in centre of track. Under riding at halfway, didn't find much, soome weakened.

June Dog. Apr 5. Great piece of pinhooking, 5500gns foal up to £62k as 2yo. Well supported, 11/1 into 17/2. Slow to begin, lost a couple of lengths. Sat midfield, urged along at 2f, bit green but didn't show much. Disappointing.

Lord Of The Glen. Apr 6. Dam half-sister to handy Jack Dexter. Broke poorly, five lengths behind. That's about as close as he ever got to them.

KEY POINTS
Winner looks very handy, in fact you could make a case for several of them all the way back to sixth. Koditime likely to end up in a decent race at Royal Ascot for Clive Cox.

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!

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lay the field - my favourite racing strategy

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