Sport is made for betting

It's Derby weekend in Europe in case you hadn't noticed, and rather than focusing on the goat track that hosts the Investec Derby, I'll attack the French equivalent on a much fairer, flatter course at Chantilly. While the O'Brien stable seem to have their pecking order, it's difficult to line up the preferences of the local trainers. If you're not familiar with much of the French form, I've included replays for most of the major lead-up races.

======================

OLMEDO
Had dream run early in the Poulains then got caught up in the middle of the interference when the mad early pace suddenly stopped. Boxed in and caught flatfooted when the pace went on, it was a tough, grinding win in the end. Highly rated his whole career, and with a top jockey-trainer combination, he'll be well supported but in a big field, drawn the rail and at a tricky track like Chantilly, I wouldn't be rushing to take the current price on him. 5/1



AL ADAID (scr)
Won his maide…

The Harness Jewels meeting is quite literally, the jewel in the crown of New Zealand harness racing. Interest and turnover in racing is quite evenly split between the galloping and trotting codes in NZ, much like France, and thus it's this meeting which gets all the attention this weekend, every race is a Group One. Previewing the card is Kiwi odds analyst extraordinaire Stephen Richardson. Welcome aboard!==========================Cambridge Harness Jewels DaySaturday, June 2.Cambridge, NZRace day prize pool NZ$1,275,000 Race 1 - 2 Year Old Fillies 1609m #1 Platinum Revolution is an Australian raider who has the draw and the right form to win but will have to break the record book as no Australian-trained runner has won a Jewels race. The favourite #8 Princess Tiffany is the runner to beat having won all four race starts and while the draw is a major concern, her trainers Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen have dominated past Jewel races (won five from nine races at the last Jewels m…

Worth giving a plug to blog protege Luke Humphries (@WorldRacingLuke), who is now scoring some paid work in the media. The Elitloppet is one of the premier races on the world trotting calendar, and with globalisation, it's now receiving dedicated coverage in Australia.

Luke's comprehensive preview of #Elitloppet18 can be found here.


If you fancy yourself as a bit of a writer and would like to follow in the footsteps of several guest writers on the blog who have gone onto paid work/regular employment, drop me a line. There's always a feature race somewhere worth previewing to the outside world!

The wonderful Dante meeting kicks off at York tomorrow. Let's hope we'll be able to focus on the racing rather than a bunch of tossers brawling on the lawn after a session on the turps & nose candy!

My go at the previews for the week - why not start with the opener on day one?

=================

Sky Bet First Race Special Jorvik Hcp
Class 2, £50k, about 1m4f
14.20 local, 23.20 AEST

Banksea
New to this trip but on breeding and recent runs in Dubai, I can’t see it being an issue. Placed each time in his three ‘winter’ starts since being acquired by Godolphin. Dry track suits but doesn't have the killer burst of speed to put a race to bed. Has promised plenty of the years but eternally stuck high in the weight in handicaps and not quite good to step into pattern class.

Grandee
Previously trained by Jessica Harrington, likely to try a few different things to work him out in his early runs for David O’Meara. Good run at Ripon on stable debut, never turned up at Chester last week.…

The first Saturday in May is synonymous with the Run for the Roses, the one day of the year that the majority of Americans hear of horse racing in mainstream news. This year takes on a special dimension with world champion trainer Aidan O'Brien pulling out all stops to land America's biggest race with leading chance Mendelssohn. By popular demand after his winning debut on the Breeders' Cup, it's the return of Nathan Cripps, @hoodooguru81, with his detailed assessment of the classic.  -------------------------- On Saturday 5th May (Sunday AEST) we will witness the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby worth $2,000,000 US. This year, unlike a few of the previous renewals, is a high quality contest. There are four or five outstanding colts that have looked dominant in their lead up races and recorded impressive ratings in doing so. Everything is in place for a brilliant spectacle and given the strength of the race, an exciting finish. We are in for a classic on Saturday! Post …

Hong Kong International raceday preview from international racing aficionado, Luke Humphreys, @WorldRacingLuke.

------------------------------

Champions Mile G1, 1600m, 1m, HK$18,000,000 Race 6 Sha Tin, 0820 BST, 1520 Local Time, 1720 AEST
(PRICES LISTED ARE BEST AVAILABLE FRIDAY AFTERNOON)
1 Beauty Generation(7/2): Two times G1 winner this season in the Mile on International Day and over 7f in February. Had a big weight last time when every chance 5th. Deserves to be one of the chances back to level weights.
2 Helene Paragon(SCRATCHED):
3 Seasons Bloom(15/8): Winner of the trial race of the International Mile in November before not much luck in that. Subsequent G1 Stewards’ Cup victor and then 3rd in the Gold Cup over 10f. Back to preferred mile distance deserves favouritism.
4 Beauty Only(9/1): Won Hong Kong Mile in 2016 and narrow 2nd in this 12 months ago. Won trial race off a hot pace last time.Will need similar luck again here.
5 Western Express(10/1):Little unlucky when 2nd in the trial …