Equinties - brighter forecasts

Gm Equinauts

With the current forecast totally miserable and all the recent abandonments causing people to become overnight French racing specialists, we can use this quiet time in racing to created our own warmer forecast - checking out this weekends action…

Let’s dive in.

HEADLINE ROUNDUP

WEEKEND ACTION

This weekend isn’t a vintage one for racing as Sandown’s Saturday card is without the Tolworth for the first time and there is only one Graded contest across both days. That being said, the feature race in question is the Grade 1 Lawlor’s Of Naas on Sunday. 

Willie Mullins makes up for five of the 10 runners in the field, though the interesting omission is HIGH CLASS HERO, the current ante-post favourite for the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.

He instead fields ILE ATLANTIQUE, a 19-length maiden hurdle winner whom FIREFOX beat in a Fairyhouse bumper when ILE ATLANTIQUE had to do the donkey work from the front. FIREFOX is also set to run, so this should be an interesting rematch.

Early money in the race has come for CROKE PARK as Gordon Elliott’s Grade 3 winner is 5/1 from 8s in a race that looks tailor-made for him. Our full preview of this race will be in our Weekender newsletter.

Over at Sandown, the most valuable race is the £100,000 Veterans’ Handicap Chase Final. 18 horses remain in the contest at the five-day stage including SAM BROWN and FRANCKY DU BERLAIS, two horses who have not run in a qualifier this season. However, they are both able to run as they were set to run in a qualifier at Haydock on December 6th but the meeting was abandoned. 

GROUND FASOR SLOW?

Following his withdrawal from the Grade 1 Savills Chase over Christmas, Martin Brassil is considering running FASTORSLOW in the 2m1f Dublin Chase at the Dublin Racing Festival. 

The eight-year-old beat GALOPIN DES CHAMPS at Punchestown at the end of last season and again at the start of this season in the John Durkan. Although a fourth meeting between the pair could be on the cards in the Grade 1 Irish Gold Cup, connections of the 4/1 Gold Cup second-favourite might bring him down in trip as a prep for his ultimate aim in March.

"He'll go to the Dublin Racing Festival and I'll probably enter him in the Irish Gold Cup and maybe the Grade 1 over two miles one [the Dublin Chase], in case the ground did come up very testing," said Brassil. "We're getting nothing but rain here at the moment. He'll run somewhere anyway." Speaking of the Gold Cup, entries were released for the blue riband event yesterday. 

Among the expected entries, A PLUS TARD and NOBLE YEATS were notable omissions as connections are thinking of retirement for A PLUS TARD and NOBLE YEATS has the Grand National in his sights. 

AN UNHAPPY FELLOW(ES)

As is the case regularly in racing, many stories are picking up plenty of traction in the media. Whether it is the first premierisation meeting of the year, crowd sizes or ticket prices, there is always something to be unhappy about. 

Among the new things that the BHA have brought into our sport ahead of this year, the first Sunday evening ‘floodlit’ racing fixture is set to take place at Wolves this week and they have been rewarded with 203 entries across seven races. Everyone knows that stable staff work incredibly hard, so this Sunday evening racing hasn’t been well-received by many stables, but trainers have supported the series due to its increased prize money. 

One of the trainers that has had his say is Charlie Fellowes who said: "There's two sides to everything. As amazing as the prize money is, it's another moment of our week when we are racing, and with all the respect in the world to my owners, I don't want to be racing on a Sunday evening.

"I have a one-year-old and a three-year-old and I don't get to spend as much time as I would like with them as it is, and Sunday has always been a day when I can spend some time with them and watch them grow up. "Now, I've entered two horses this weekend, so not only are you worried beforehand because you need to speak to the jockey and make sure the horse travelled okay, but if they disappoint you have to speak to an upset owner and, trust me, you're put in a bad mood.” 

Fellowes certainly didn’t hold back on Twitter yesterday.

And it’s true, the prize money horses at this level are running for is peanuts. If you are finishing fourth or fifth, you’re probably not even covering the the petrol. So, despite its slot in the calendar, trainers are dammed if they do and dammed if they don’t run their horses, because £26,500 for a Class 4 handicap is welcomed. It will certainly be intriguing to see how this floodlit series goes over the next few months.

YOUNG BLOOD

17.30 KEMPTON

Subbing the usual bumper slow for some aw action here, not necessarily for betting purposes but more because there are some notable pedigrees to follow…

Roger Varian and Victorious Racing have ARTS OF WAR here and she is the warm favourite. Beaten nearly 10 lengths in two Novice races last term, Aiden Keeley could be important taking off 3lbs.

WREN HOUSE, by KINGMAN has a lovely pedigree. Descending from Classic winners LEGATTISMO and bumper king FAME AND GLORY (who has sadly passed now). Ran at Newbury on soft ground, never troubling anyone coming in 8th of 10. Maybe a sounder surface today would be beneficial?

BAS BLEU is Marquand’s ride. By MASAR who has done ok with his progeny, but they’ll get better with time. This filly was 4th at Lingfield at odds of 125/1, any support today might prove she has come on for that run.

Sir Mark unleashes a beautifully bred daughter of Cheveley Park Stud in APOSTLE. By their own sire ULYSSES, she is out of HEAVEN SENT who was 2nd in the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes to the all conquering Goldikova. She has also produced 4 horses with an RPR over 100, including Firmament.

PRIVATE GETAWAY is trained by Marco Botti, has a rating of 70 and the Jock is taking off a further 5lbs. Wouldn’t dismiss her to get in the frame. Dare we say it, the rest have looked a little slow in their only runs. 

Maybe MISS MONTE CARLO will need watching as her sure STUDY OF MAN, has done alright with his first runners. But she is out of a mare who is quite useless as a producer of stock.

Verdict: The fave is a £210k DUBAWI breeze up - not the best price for a DUBAWI. WREN HOUSE has a nice page and we’d warm to her on pedigree alone. BAS BLEU ran 28 days ago and despite her massive odds she showed some promise but her sire MASAR is not very exciting. She does have the services of the best jockey in the race though and could be the one to take on the fave who is too short. The page to follow long term might be SMP’s APOSTLE.

RISK ON

Obviously HAVANAZAM went in yesterday at monster odds having backed him the last twice. We knew he was going better than he had shown.

No bet today, ourselves for when the jumps are back!