The first chase of the week is the Arkle Challenge Trophy, a two mile event for novices. If it perhaps lacks a little star quality this year – there can’t be a Shishkin/Altior/Douvan every time – it remains competitive from a betting perspective. The last ten years (from 2013 onwards) have seen Irish runners dominate these events more and more. To spell it out, in the most recent two Cheltenham Festivals, Irish runners have secured 22 wins compared with just six for the UK.
Robin Goodfellow’s racing tips: Best bets for Thursday, April 21
- For a while this looked a matter of ‘how far’ assuming good health and a clear round, but the emergence of Energumene – an energumence?
- Perhaps the most progressive is BLESS THE WINGS and he is a tentative choice.
- Hence any female running this year at Cheltenham who won last time out might be a horse to consider as a betting opportunity.
- As with the handicap hurdles, it’s been hard work for the girls.
- It was a fourth Champion Chase for Henderson since Finian’s Rainbow broke his duck in the race in 2012 and his 60th winner in all at the meeting.
- I thought he was very impressive that day at Cork and with this race being in similar conditions I’m expecting a similar performance.
What is worth noting, however, is that 11 of the last 14 winners had raced fewer than ten times over fences and interestingly nine of the last 12 winners had worn some king of headgear (cheekpieces, hood or blinkers). Five of the last 13 winners had run in the Ultima Handicap the previous year. Willie Mullins naturally saddles a phalanx of blue bloods, and his first choice normally wins. Indeed, going back to Ebazayin, a 40/1 scorer for Mullins in 2007, that was his only – and therefore first choice – entry.
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True, he was well seen off by Marie’s Rock in the Relkeel, though that was over an extra half mile; and he was no match for State Man in the County a year ago. He has some impressive performances to his name, most of them on genuine good ground, but I can’t quite shake that County clunk from my memory banks. Kilbeg King got low at several of his fences at Ascot but still stayed on dourly at the end to force the winner to pull out all the stops. On that cheerful note, let’s dive into the latest renewal, with just the seven runners meaning there’s no point looking for an each-way angle into the race. All seven of the runners have a chance and the first thing I want to say is that the old advice that Derek O’Connor’s mount already has a 5lb advantage is not to be believed.
- Paul Nicholls is still the winning-most Open Grade 1 trainer in the past decade, with ten such victories to his name.
- A smallish field of nine sets the tone for a week where the non-handicaps are expected to be shallow affairs runners wise in the main, with the dominance of those aforementioned superyard chickens perhaps coming home to roost a little.
- Even to fast looks the most likely pace setup on the scant evidence we have.
- All the last ten winners of the Champion Bumper where LTO winners and all of them were aged five or six.
- We then start November with Uttoxeter and the opening day of the Charlie Hall meeting at Wetherby.
- The King of May ran a cracker on his first run in this country when a staying on third in a hot race at Musselburgh and can take advantage of a decent mark, especially as this stiffer track will suit.
- Lossiemouth’s nearest market rival, stablemate Ashroe Diamond, boasts an impressive record of five wins from six starts against her own sex.
- Willie Mullins has a fantastic record in open handicap hurdles at the Fez, scoring seven times from just 60 starters in the past decade.
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Jonbon is expected to sit slightly off the fiercest of the sizzle. Rare Edition was very disappointing when only second in the Sidney Banks at Huntingdon, a race won in 2020 by Shishkin en route to Supreme glory. He apparently scoped dirty after the race and there has been some whispering about back spasms, both of which appear to have now been resolved.
Horse racing tips: Newcastle, Southwell and Chelmsford – Thursday October 31
I suspect Latin Verse can similarly show that experience is no bad thing when it comes to the Boodles. At 33-1 and six places, he has to be worth a few quid each-way. Iberico Lord was supplemented for this after the defection of stablemate Constitution Hill, and he has serious handicap winning form this term. Specifically, he won the Greatwood over course and distance in November and then the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury in February.
Cheltenham Festival Trainer Form Conclusions
Hence any female running this year at Cheltenham who won last time out might be a horse to consider as a betting opportunity. Epatante has been thumped twice in Grade 1’s by Constitution Hill this season; and then beat a field of inferior mares in appropriate fashion. She’s only run once at this longer distance, when winning the Grade 1 Aintree Hurdle easily last season. Her main market rival that day fell at the last as Epatante was looming upsides, but she looked to have had him covered at that point. She is holding her form fairly well and is unexposed at the trip.
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Gordon also has Braeside, whose two career wins have come on heavy ground, as Profiler handily highlights. He’s slow enough for the old four-miler but probably not quick enough for this classier, shorter iteration of the race. This is a really tricky race with if’s and but’s about most of them. In the absence of a reliable option, I’ll take a chance on Heaven Help Us being trained for the day in what seem to be her favoured conditions.
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LH – It’s a horse race («thankfully»), and stuff can go wrong; but it will very much have to for CH to get beaten in the CH. I Like To Move It the «wise guy» horse but his forward-going style may not be suited to the tactical shape of the race. Any of Jason The Militant, Not So Sleepy, or the big pair of Constitution Hill and State Man could take them along.
- ZENTA is an interesting runner here for the same stable and JP McManus’ retained rider Mark Walsh takes the ride.
- Many sensible players will focus on a subset of the full four-day card but, regardless of your plan of attack, there are some rules of thumb worth keeping in mind.
- By honing discipline and patience in your wagering strategies, you not only enhance your chances of long-lasting success but also develop a deeper understanding of the intricate world of horse racing.
- Omniscient failed to justify 5-4 favouritism but made no mistake over a mile and a quarter at Yarmouth eight days ago, still looking rough hewn in thumping At Liberty by five and a half lengths.
- Firstly, it’s well established that for all his talent he is ungenuine and has twice pulled himself up in front after trading at 1.01 on Betfair.
- He’ll need to improve again probably but he’s been gelded since and the hood goes on too which should sharpen him up.
- If you like to have a flutter, don’t put up with a mediocre bookie.
- AND of course this type of favourite can be confidently predicted before the off.
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KARMOLOGY looks the solid option in this competitive fillies’ handicap. She’s usually very consistent but never showed up at Yarmouth last time. Her earlier form is very useful and she can give weight and a beating to her rivals. The selection has no room for error off top-weight, but no one rides the straight course at Ascot better than Spencer. The micro-systems above will provide plenty of action for those who like a mechanical approach.
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“It was great that they thought of me and to win for them was really great. When I sat on her, they publicised the times and we didn’t go very fast at all, so it was very hard for me to say I would win the King Charles III Stakes beforehand off the back of that. “It’s special to be a part of and it’s a very difficult feat to bring her over here at this time of year when it is approaching the Australian winter and prepare her – Henry has done a top job. “It is sublime and some great names from Australia who have won here have trained over 150 Group One winners and that’s only my third. “It’s a good start to the week and he deserved that, he’s been great all year. He’s a fine horse, very consistent and seems to be thriving.
If you still think taking 7/2 is acceptable when you can get 4/1, you’re doing it wrong. The course has provided an early hunting ground for a number of national hunt legends. Multiple Grand National winners have scored at Bangor, while Gold Cup winning trio Norton’s Coin, Mr Mulligan and Denman all tasted success there before their finest hour. None of the runners with racecourse experience leap off the page, so it may be worth chancing SAINT SEGAL. His dam was a very talented hurdler in France and his half-sister has also won over timber this season, so there is hope that he could be above average.
Novices’ Hurdle result
He’s highly respected but not as much as Elliott’s dominance – as well as six from seven winners since 2017, he’s also saddled four of the second placed horses, a quite phenomenal record. Choosing between his entries is not easy and Delta Work might well be the one. But I’ve been drawn to Coko Beach, still relatively young at nine and in the form of his life.
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The overall figures now stand at 8/467 (1.71% SR, A/E 0.58) since 2008. Ignoring the Albert Bartlett, horses priced 16/1+ in novice Grade 1’s are now 3/327 (0.92% SR, -251 at SP) since 2008. Even allowing a little latitude in the ‘potato race’, the four rags came from a total population of 336 horses sent off greater than 16/1. All of the above verbosity is by way of suggesting that Shishkin will probably win assuming he turns up in one piece (never a given). But a top priced 8/11, whilst still very far from offensive in value terms, is unexciting for those of us with limited elevens to risk in the pursuit of eights.
But as a professional you do not have bets just for the sake of it. 2016 Cheltenham Champion bumper winner Ballyandy could well improve, but is very short in the market on hurdles form achieved. Essentially a 2m 6f horse who would have to make this his first ever win over 3m. At the 8/1 on offer worth considering a win only value bet. Beyond Conceit impressed when returning from a long absence on hurdles debut.
His run in the Lockinge last time was an outstanding run, and he’s confirmed that today, so I’m thrilled. “We’ll see if anything comes out in the wash, and the one thing is, we always questioned the mile and whether that would be the end of his gauge. Whether this horse with racing has got quicker and so maybe coming back in trip might be what we need to be looking at.
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Likely to be quick, as forward-goers like High Definition and Rare Edition collide with an ocean of adrenaline coursing through the jockeys’ veins for the first rising tape of the week. The 2023 Cheltenham Festival is here, and it’s going to be a belter! 28 races, almost all of them head-scratching puzzles in terms wagering possibilities…
Things could be teed up once more for LARRY, who nearly always saves his best for Ascot and has won a couple of times coming from off the pace over this course and distance in the past. He was pulled-up by Fergus Gillard on that occasion but he’s such an in-and-out sort that you’re going to have to overlook the odd one of those before the case for him winning becomes that bit clearer. She won this race 12 months ago and is back from a 3lb higher mark with every chance again. Racing Post Members’ ClubRacing Post Members’ Club is the ultimate community for racing fans and punters, providing award-winning journalism, expert insight, comment and opinion, and tools designed to give you an edge. Few sports are as easy to watch as racing and nobody need ever miss any of the many thousand races run each year.
True, since transferred to Closutton he’s won his maiden by a street, but again that form looks shallower than the toddlers’ end at your local baths. He’s pretty exposed is this chap and he’s shown very little. Of course, he can win, but there’s now’t in the book to say he should. Minella Indo won the Gold Cup in 2021 and was second a year later; pulled up in the Blue Riband twelve months ago, his sights have been lowered considerably and he had a reconnaissance visit in the December handicap over track and trip. There he conceded a stone and a half to Latenightpass but was beaten only five lengths or so. He’d started out this season winning a Grade 3 at Punchestown but was last of the four in the Grade 1 at Down Royal after which this new plan was hatched.
We’re talking the likes of Cause Of Causes, Tiger Roll, and Delta Work, all of them ‘medalling’ in the Grand National subsequently. And all of them trained by Gordon Elliott (by Bolts Up Daily proxy in one case), a man who trained a National winner before he’d trained a winner in his native Ireland. It’s pretty clumsy and there’s no getting away from that fact.
For all of the obvious upside of those ‘opening batsmen’, their second picks have arguably more substance in the book. Jonbon, representing Seven Barrows, is also unbeaten in four, a bumper and three hurdle races, most recently a couple of Grade 2 contests. The first of those was a steadily run small field heat, but the second, the Rossington Main at Haydock, was well contested and Jonbon came home in a good time. He’s not been nearly as flashy as those shorter in the market but he’s highly effective and has been well on top each time in spite of narrower margins of victory. Jonbon cost £570,000 after winning his point to point, a price based as much on being a full brother to Douvan as to the manner of his win between the flags.
In the five previous renewals, the race went more in keeping with the form already in the book as 5/1 Duc Des Genievres was the only one of the quintet of Arkle winners between 2015 and 2019 to score at odds against. The four odds-on scorers, in reverse chronological order Footpad, Altior, Douvan and Un De Sceaux, scored by, respectively, 14 lengths, six lengths, seven lengths and six lengths. APPLE AWAY is seemingly held on Reynoldstown form, but I thought she was better than the bare result at Ascot, jumping really well on the whole and trying to battle back when getting squeezed out at the final fence. She was picking up again at the line, and appeals to me as the sort to relish a thorough test of stamina.
It’s worth recalling that she was a Grade 1 winner over hurdles at Aintree last April, and it’s typical of Lucinda Russell’s horses to only show their very best form in the spring. O’Connor rides Corbett’s Cross, who was a big talking horse before running out here last year, and he was brought down in his prep race for this when the rider was given his traditional ‘feeler’ at Fairyhouse. He has a chance, for sure, but is of no great interest at around 2/1 given his imperfect preparation.
Icing On The Cake unseated at the third in that Ludlow race having dug deep to win at Newbury on his previous outing. There are a few firms quoting double figures for his chances. This year’s fundraiser will again be centred around the Cheltenham Festival. For a donation of £25 you will get the exclusive Cheltenham preview, horses to follow direct from the Lambourn trainers plus membership for the period 11th to 19th March. Your full £25 will go directly to the Lambourn Valley Housing Trust. Chef D’Oeuvre won unchallenged on desperate ground at Hereford and that piece of form is difficult to evaluate.
The one who might still be a little on the fat side is Minella Indo. 20/1 bar these, the first of which is Champ, now ten and last seen winning well in a Grade 1 hurdle. His last chase sighting was when pulling up after only six fences in the Gold Cup a year ago. Connections are publicly pointing towards this gig but I wonder if he might go t’other way in a very open looking and winnable Stayers’ Hurdle section. A test as unique as the Cheltenham Gold Cup makes it something of a specialist’s race. Best Mate famously reeled off a hat-trick of wins early in the century and, since then, both Kauto Star and Al Boum Photo have doubled up.
Charlie Fellowes’ speedy mare won this in 2021 and grows an extra leg when the mud is flying. She has won three times on soft and heavy ground and conditions are in her favour. Again we see winners up and down the odds boards, with the sweet (but highly unpredictable and potentially coincidental) spot being north of 25/1 and south of 80/1. Those unconsidered athletes have bagged nine of the 50 races for a profit of 23 points at SP and 331 points at BSP (thanks almost entirely to one enormous return). Of the 964 runners in such races in the past ten years, 842 (87%) were aged five to eight (ignoring the Fred Winter). They won all bar two of the races (95%), and claimed 92% of the places.
But he’s no bargain, especially if his jockey – presumably Rachael Blackmore though she has another option – allows others a head start. O’Faolains Boy set a fair but not searing tempo, aided and abetted by Smad Place, in 2016, the beneficiary of which was the handily-ridden Don Cossack. And in 2015, Coneygree made every yard under an inspired ride from Nico de Boinville. De Boinville’s measurement of pace there was brilliant, saving enough to repel a brace of Irish challengers up the hill to the line. In 2018, Native River won from Might Bite, the pair engaging in a ding-dong skirmish from flag fall; in theory, both should have wilted and been passed. This was definitely not a winner I could have found as it looked on paper beforehand that they’d have at it exactly as they did, an approach in this sort of cauldron which typically spells c-u-r-t-a-i-n-s.
Horse racing has long been one of the most popular sports in the UK, drawing audiences in the millions for some race events. Again, Betfair and Paddy Power have the largest availability of live streaming events, closely followed by SkyBet. At the time of writing, Paddy Power had an impressive 15 live streaming races – nearly double the 8 to be found on 888sport. Betfair allows you to stream their selection of live races from a minimum £0.50 bet. There, you will be able to see a list of all the runners and various stats about them such as their weights, ages, and jockeys.
They are 0 from 22, though then nine-year-old Whisper nearly benefited from Might Bite’s errant course up the hill last year in the RSA Chase. It is worth noting that nine of those 22 were priced at 7/1 or shorter. That would have netted 36 winners from 180 runners (20% strike rate, 69% race win strike rate) and a level stakes profit of 46.48 points at Starting Price. Moreover, the approach was profitable in eight of the ten years, exceptions being 2016 and 2009.
Evaluating the track record of tipsters at prestigious events like Royal Ascot can provide insights into their expertise and reliability. It’s crucial to stay updated with reliable sources to make well-informed decisions when placing your bets. Here you will find our Lucky 15 which includes our Notebook runners (now on oddschecker), the Daily Eye Catcher and Value Tip (also on oddschecker).
Earlier on the programme, CHECKANDCHALLENGE can keep Will Buick’s in-form run going in the Group 3 Bonhams Thoroughbred Stakes (2.25). This is the right level for the three-year-old, who still has plenty of potential on the back of his solid effort last time out. MITBAAHY is fancied to win the battle of the fastest horses on Goodwood’s card in the King George Qatar Stakes (3.35). He has plenty of gears and the drop to 5f worked the oracle last time. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was contesting Group 1 contests by the end of the season.