Equinties - Ascot Saturday, Deauville Sunday

Author

BGP Capital
July 27, 2024

Equinties

Gm Equinauts

Th sun is out, the Olympics has started, a full day of quality racing… it’s definitely Saturday.

Our new hire Norm hit the bulls eye again. If tipping was an Olympic sport he’d get gold. Easy.

He’s got one bet today in Risk On below.

Let’s dive in.

HEADLINE ROUNDUP

NEW JOCKEY, NEW DREAM

The hype around LIVE IN THE DREAM all seemed so good last year after his Nunthorpe victory.

The horse from Epsom went from winning at York to running at Santa Anita in the Breeders’ Cup.

However, since that trip to the land of the free, he’s taken a few knocks.

After his promising second on seasonal debut in the Group 2 Temple Stakes, he has underperformed in Listed and Group 3 company which is a far cry from his Group 1 win in August 2023.

So, the owners have thought about changing something, and the thing they gave changed is the jockey, Sean Kirrane, who has been chucked off.

Chucked off probably sounds harsh as it seems to be a mutual splitting, but Jason Hart is set to partner LIVE IN THE DREAM for the King George Qatar Stakes, a race he won last year with HIGHFIELD PRINCESS.

On the splitting, Kirrane said: "Understandably, I'm a bit devastated. I've had a lot to do with the horse since he was a two-year-old. Conditions have gone against him this year, so it's been difficult to get the right results.

"The owners have decided a fresh pair of hands would benefit him at Goodwood. Although I'm disappointed, they pay the bills and make the decisions and I wish Adam, the De'Lemos family and the horse all the best at Goodwood."

CHAMPION PERFORMANCE

As you’ll be aware, Champions: Full Gallop aired for the first time last Friday at 9pm, and despite our low opinion of it, we thought we’d check in on the all important viewing figures which have subsequently come out.

With 1.1 million viewers across the opening weekend, the racing-related docuseries cemented itself as the fourth most-watched sports documentary on any channel in 2024.

That means it attracted more than Drive To Survive, Full Swing, and Unchained. On the surface, that seems good, but all three of them are Netflix shows that require a subscription.

Overall, that’s fairly good numbers for a show on racing that occurred over six months ago but we think the producers have completely wasted their chance at making this great. It’s too boring, it’s too Saturday ITV Racing Opening Show, its too rehearsed.

A positive shows that the sport can bring in good viewership numbers and ultimately, that’s what the opening episode attempted to achieve and it’s something that hopefully we can continue to do going forward.

BOWEN BROS

There are too many superlatives to describe the individual rides brothers Sean and James Bowen gave this week on DR SEB and OLIVERS TRAVELS. They were insane. A mirror image of each other - both coming from stone cold last to get up in the dying stages - both sling shotting themselves into contention for ride of the year and the season hasn’t even started!

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