Sport is made for betting

Good day of racing around the British and Irish Isles today, weather permitting, and speed figures expert Steve Lines, @sjlone1 , has singled out the Criterion Stakes at Newmarket for his analysis. It's always worth a read. John Sunley Memorial Criterion Stakes A Group 3 race containing a Group 1 horse; Hoof It was arguably unlucky not to win the Betfred Sprint Cup when third behind Dream Ahead at Haydock. That was over 6f; today he tries further for the third time in his career - his form figures read 8, 4, and 18 beaten 11, 13 and 16 lengths respectively! The pace set up is likely to be ‘honest’ with Libranno, Bannock, Firebeam and Majestic Myles to the fore; testing any stamina doubts. Any softening of the ground would also be to the detriment of Hoof It. This is surely a ‘scouting’ mission for the July Cup and I can’t imagine he will want a hard race a fortnight before the ‘cup final’. The only other available ‘pipe opener’ would have been the Sprint Stakes on Eclipse day –...

A quick look at three matches, now posted on TheShark.com.au website. Pleased to say the early morning weather in London is quite pleasant, max temp of around 21C expected, with small chance of a shower during the afternoon.

This fortnight, all of my content can be found on TheShark.com.au , but not all of the content will be posted online - the website owner's wife will be having a baby any moment, so he might have better things to do than post my tips! So if they don't go up, I'll try posting them here... MEN'S DRAW PREVIEW As unique as grass court tennis in the Grand Slams, it's probably the least likely to throw up an odd result. It has been donkey's years since anyone other than Federer, Nadal or Djokovic won it, and most recently, we have had a year of Slam finals fought out between the latter two, Wimbledon's top two seeds. Having such an elite trio at the top of the game is fabulous to watch, but it gets a bit dull after a while - any sign of some new blood breaking into their domain? Laying the top four in the Betfair market (well, after all, you can't barrack for Murray to win it can you?) gives you about 7/1 the rest of the field. A big serve, a forehand grip...

It wouldn't be a feature meeting without a decent handicap thrown in, and there's only one man to call on in those circumstances, Dan Kelly - @muffinmannhc ------------------- 5:00 Ascot SAT 23 JUN 2012 Duke of Edinburgh Handicap Another fiendish handicap to look over, but with the favourite 13lbs higher and in a far better race this time around, I think it may pay to look away from the market leaders in a race that has had double figure payouts over the last three years. Mark Johnston has already struck in handicaps this week with Fennell Bay, and I feel he has a good chance this time around with Eternal Heart . Recent form doesn't look too inspiring, however I have been waiting to see him return to 1m4f since his Chester Cup run. 4 time winner on turf, 3 of those wins have came over this trip, recent one being a Conditions Stakes win over King Of Wands, but he also has an Edinburgh Cup to his name, where likes of Namibian, Mulaqen and this years Colour Vision were ...

Speed ratings expert Steve Lines, @sjlone1 , got it spot on with his lay of Astrology on Friday, is there more success to follow? --------------- Hardwicke Stakes Hopefully the weather will be kind to Black Caviar. A bog, where the draw may be a factor, is not what her sporting connections deserve, although the new straight course doesn’t get as soft as the older round course. This year, as last, being close to the rail on the round course seems to be a disadvantage; Astrology and Homecoming Queen, both short price favourites, failed to make the frame after racing close to the inside yesterday. In 2011 all the runners on the Saturday raced way from the rail. The reasoning above makes Memphis Tennessee a risky proposition for today’s race. The likely pacemaker is ideally drawn in stall 1. Although he won on soft ground at Chester his previous form had all been on better ground; with Brown Panther running poorly (not seen since) at Chester he had only handicappers to beat. His run ...

Didn't want to steal any of my guest blogger's thunder, but since I'm heading to the track and most of Australia will be tuning in to watch the Black Caviar show, I feel duty bound to leave a few notes at least.... Chesham Stakes Odd race, restricted to 2yo sired by horses which won over at least 1900m in their careers. The favourite is the impressive Move To Strike from the Jim Bolger stable in Ireland, who earlier in the week won the Coventry with Dawn Approach. He bolted in by 9L last time at The Curragh on soft ground. That form should make him exceptionally hard to beat here, but he will start quite short. The value could be one of the Godolphin runners in Lovely Pass . Very impressive but incredibly green (immature) on debut at Lingfield when she won easily. De Sousa retains the ride, not necessarily because she is second string, possibly because his knowledge of the horse will be an asset. If she has learned a bit more about what to do in recent weeks, she will g...

Need a quick summary of Saturday's Royal Ascot card? Then take a look at this.... -------- The fifth and final day of Royal Ascot, and thankfully we are in the fortunate position of not having to chase profits, so no desperate lumping, we hope anyway, unless the dreaded thought of not a bean from the first five races, but that doesn’t even bare thinking about! It has been intense so far, and the pressure has been on, hopefully if you’re reading this, you’ve made a few quid and are either playing with Billy Hills, Joe Coral, Paddy Power or Mr Ladbrokes money! The Chesham Stakes is a listed race over the specialist seven furlongs open for two year old colts and fillies. The race has a long history of going over to the Irish Sea, and they have the favourite once more with the Jim Bolger trained Move to Strike. She hacked up in a six furlong maiden at The Curragh last time out and is respected, but she looks plenty short in a race where many others are open to further improvement. ...

For me Saturday will be all about Black Caviar, but she's not really a betting option, so we need to look a bit wider. Examining the conundrum which is the Wokingham Handicap is a first-previewer on my blog, Sunday Independent writer Ronan Groome. You can follow him on Twitter @ronangroome20 -------------- If, by the time the Wokingham Stakes comes round, you’re still looking for your first winner at this year’s Royal Ascot meeting, there is a good chance you’re not going to find it in this 29-runner field. On the flip side if you do manage to unlock the code, there is every chance your punting week could be turned right around. Double figure odds the field, with most firms offering ¼ the odds first five each way terms, there is some cracking value to be found in this the last big handicap race of the week. By far the most interesting runner in the race is ex-Aussie sprinter Scarf . This son of Lonhro moved to Godolphin earlier this year and started his campaign with a coupl...

A two mile race for horses only midway through their three-year-old season seems a bit early for me, but what would I know? It's called the Queen's Vase and Dan Kelly, @muffinmannhc , cast a close eye over the field and came up with this.... ----------- 17:00 Queen's Vase (Group 3) 3yo only, 2m A race that has been farmed by Mark Johnston in recent years it is strange to see a field without a runner of his, but this years field does look a high class renewal. 1(12) 13-4153 Athens (IRE) A P O'Brien J P O'Brien Closely related to Admiralofthefleet, he has looked to be shy of Group class on starts so far back in Ireland and France where he has yet to place in 5 attempts, once as a juvenile, and 4 times at 3yo. A confirmed front runner he looks like he could get all his own way up front which could be dangerous, but if you delve further through pedigree isn’t laden with stamina. Admiralofthefleet was tried over 6f on second last run, and Dam Rafina hasn’t produc...