Sport is made for betting

Day One of Royal Ascot sets the scene for a great week, starting off with three cracking Group 1 contests and a G2 for the 2yos (which would be a G1 anywhere outside Europe). For the detailed preview, I've gone with the St James's Palace Stakes which is a fascinating contest. With the English, French and Irish Guineas all held in quick succession, this brings the form all together, with a few other impressive formlines thrown in to muddy the waters. This is traditionally a favourites race, there have been no winners over 10/1 for two decades and 12 of those winners have been at 11/4 or shorter. Without Parole winning for John Gosden in 2018. ========================== ST JAMES' PALACE STAKES Royal Ascot, Tuesday Group 1, 3yo colts only, £350,000. One mile. 1620 BST, 0120 AEST 1. Battleground (2) - flopped in the 2000 Guineas after being truckloaded late, 8/1 into 9/2 which takes a bit of doing in a Classic. Apparently he didn't handle the undulations of the Rowley Mile...

A Classic race which changed complexion entirely on Thursday when Aidan O'Brien changed tack sharply and threw all the eggs in one basket on the favourite, rather than running six as was mooted just 48hrs earlier. Usually the team run pacemakers and back-up options in case of bad luck, a policy which has worked well for them in recent years, winning six times in the past decade. So one probably has to deem this a very strong vote of confidence in the favourite. Although perhaps they think so much of High Definition, they want to keep him for the Irish Derby where the flatter Curragh course may suit him better. Anyhow, that's not a matter for today, let's focus on the big race on the goat track of Epsom! ======================================= Cazoo Derby Group 1, 3yo colts, £1.125million 1m4f6y (approx 2400m) Epsom, Friday 1630 BST (Sat 0130 AEST, Fri 1130 EST) 1. Adayar (1) Frankel colt running for Godolphin. Touted as a Derby prospect in October when winning a maiden by 9...

A step back towards normality this week with the running of the Epsom classics in the traditional time slot, with at least a few paying customers. An intriguing battle awaits, we've not yet seen a star filly emerge and I'm convinced the front pair in the market are there on stable reputation alone. Bring it on. ------------------------------------- Cazoo Oaks Group 1, 3yo fillies, £395,000 1m4f6y (approx 2400m) Epsom, Friday 1630 BST (Sat 0130 AEST, Fri 1130 EST) 1. Divinely (11) A full sister to Arc and Breeders' Cup Turf winner Found, this filly has a long way to go yet, with a record of 1/6 so far on the track . Her best two perfomances have been on rain-affected tracks and that's not happening here. Found has five other full siblings, none of whom have reached a level high enough to win a race such as this. She will start significantly shorter in price than the three rivals who beat her at Lingfield, and that's just nonsense. 2. Dubai Fountain (6) Trainer Mark J...

The highlight of Saturday's racing, at least for me, is the Tattersall's Irish 2000 Guineas. An intriguing battle of the colts where at least, in comparison to the Newmarket equivalent, every horse has had a run this year, in theory making the puzzle a little easier to decipher. One cat amongst the proverbial pigeons though will be the weather. It was already classed as Heavy on Friday, without much chance of respite before the meeting. No sign of crowds at race meetings yet in Ireland, a darn shame for a great racecourse like The Curragh, but let's hope management have managed to sort out the whistling grandstand issue . 1. Agrimony One of only two runners not from a multi-million owner/trainer, and has the form to earn his place. No worse than second in his three starts, breaking his maiden last time out in beating Emporio at Gowran Park. On that occasion he settled closer to the lead and ground out the win in the latter stages (first and second finished 6.5L ahead of thi...

A brief summary of every runner in the 2021 Grand National, including the arguments for and against each of them. 1.Bristol De Mai Multiple Grade 1 winner, all at Haydock, stepping up to the National fences and trip for the first time. Should have the stamina but topweight in the National is a massive ask. WHY HE CAN WIN Class gets you a long way. WHY HE CAN'T WIN The last horse to carry this weight or more to victory was Red Rum in 1974 (although Many Clouds carried 11st9 in 2015). 2.Chris's Dream Good Irish chaser who has never lived up to the hype in Britain, flopping on all four occasions.  WHY HE CAN WIN At his only run in a big handicap, he won the Troytown at Navan in 2019. WHY HE CAN'T WIN Jumped terribly at Cheltenham, seems like he is here to fulfill an owner's dream rather than have a genuine chance. 3.Yala Enki Seems to save his best for very soft ground. Reliable jumper, very experienced WHY HE CAN WIN Paul Nicholls is on fire this week and in an era where ...

Around the mark on opening day but nothing really to show for it. The Place 6 ticket was looking nice until Sod's Law deemed that the only leg we had one out went down. Paid a whopping £804.62 for those who collected. Pertemps Hurdle Day two kicks off with a devilishly hard hurdle with a swathe of chances. Whatsupwithyou ran fourth in the Martin Pipe at Cheltenham behind some handy types and gets his chance to go even better here with useful claimer Kevin Brogan aboard. Topweight Wilde About Oscar has won four from five over hurdles, his only blemish being in the Challow behind the high class Bravemansgame. Edwardstone keeps running honest races high in the handicap, (third in the Betfair Hurdle, fifth in the Coral Cup) and will be in this for a long way.  Nightboattoclyro completes the quartet, he won a trio of handicaps in the winter on left-handed tracks and returns to favoured conditions at a price. Watch out for Monte Cristo who was staying on well in the Coral Cup before bein...

Another major racing festival unfortunately robbed of the crowds and the atmosphere, but soon enough we'll be over this, or at least a bit more relaxed. Fingers crossed the racing can focus on the very best of jumping and runners & riders all get home safely. Onto the tips! Manifesto Novices' Chase A very competitive little race to kick off the Aintree Festival, with even the roughie Phoenix Way having some hope (bled last time when he faced Eldorado Allen and Hitman). Starting with Cheltenham form, Eldorado Allen ran second to Shishkin in the Arkle while Fusil Raffles took silver against Chantry House in the Marsh after Envoi Allen fell early. The Shunter was the handicap snip at the bottom of the weights in the Paddy Power Plate but goes up to Grade 1 company here and will run in the colours of JP McManus who bought him on Wednesday. Umbrigado won the Greatwood just before the Festival while Hitman is the most lightly raced runner with seemingly plenty of scope ahead of h...

Friday, Day 4, I hope you're in front so far because it doesn't get much easier. There were a couple of decent exactas, even a boxed trifecta, in my picks from yesterday if you bet that way. (No I didn't. GRRR) A better day for Placepot/Colossus Place 6 dividends, paying £810 and £932 respectively, although to be fair to the Tote, there were pushing the shot to nothing bets in 'night before' insurance yesterday, so there'd have been a higher than normal proportion of selections other than Envoi Allen in the first leg. That insurance offer covers the final day as well. Unsurprisingly, the respective Jackpot/Win 6 pools rolled over again, so if you can unlock this card, you deserve a big reward! Zanahiyr and Elimay will be the shorties of the day. Triumph Hurdle The best of the juvenile crop open the card and on face value, four are genuine chances, the other four are here for the day out... although that doesn't work for 2021, and it's probably a bit hars...

Success again in landing the Place 6 but the outlay far outweighed the return as favourites only missed the frame in the two big handicaps. Much tougher card tomorrow but how full are the accounts of those who want to land it? The Tote Jackpot and Colossus Win 6 pools also rolled over to Thursday. For those who prefer the Tote option - they've got Placepot Insurance this week if you place your bets before midnight the day before. Lose in the first race, and they'll refund you up to £10. Marsh Novices' Chase Day three begins with another favourite's benefit, this time the mighty Envoi Allen. The star 7yo is undefeated in 12 starts, 11 under Rules and the Point-to-Point win which earned him a £400k price tag in 2018. This will be his third visit to the Festival, he won the Bumper in 2019 and the Ballymore last year. In three chase starts, they haven't gotten near him and that's unlikely to change this time. The challengers are a fairly even lot, Fusil Raffles has ...