Apologies for the lack of updation but my second year at university is now complete and the broadband quality is not quite comparable here in sunny Suffolk as it is in the multi-million pound computer facility of the uni.
So, what's been going on? Derby (tipped you the winner didn't I?), 'Conegate' at Salisbury and Royal Ascot. Plus, the weather's pretty mild at the minute isn't it?
Before we speak of the Derby, I just want to get something off my chest. It involved a participant in the feature race on the Friday of Epsom's Classic meeting. A horse that goes by the name of Phillipina. Hype horses are aplenty in Newmarket and this must be the one on the highest pedestal of the lot. Gambled on debut (got beat), punted on at Chester (got beat) and supported in the Oaks (got beat), there must be a group of stable lads absolutely broke because of this horse and I can't think of a way they'll get their money back. Run the filly in a maiden and she'll win... at odds of 1/10 on a good day. But try and get a bigger price in a group race and she won't win. Lesson learnt = if it can't win a maiden, it can't win a Classic.
The Derby itself was like taking candy from a baby. The best horse in the race was favourite and duly obliged, so why was anybody trying to oppose him?
Royal Ascot was another whirlwind of glamour and sunshine. I don't mind the BBC's coverage of fashion, it's actually quite entertaining. That camp guy Sherwood cracks me up with his catty remarks and constant pouting. He's more use than Willie Carson anyway.
What surprised me the most was the success of the American horses. Who would have thought that their two-year-olds would be so good? And the sprinter Cannonball was no slouch either. This invasion is sure to become a annual event from now on and it would be good to see some more visits from our friends across the Atlantic. The only concern I have is the use of drugs and if some horses have been on steroids, surely the muscle they have gained will remain even if the drug is clean of the body, and this muscle will create more power and speed. An unfair advantage? Just clean up the drugs Obama.
There is little I have to say about the Salisbury ice cream fiasco but it has opened up a whole debate about customer care at the races and this is something that desperately needs revising. Admission prices need a radical makeover.
Being at home has it's perks; regular meals, comfortable accommodation and a regular income from the job but this has lead to some trouble, notably an increase in gambling. Gone are the days of the 10p Lucky15s all my budget could afford, now I'm rolling with the Harry Findlays of this world on Betfair, backing and laying all the same. Although my figures are showing a nice profit, it's the laying where it all goes wrong. On good days you can only make a small profit, bad ones yield a huge loss. It's the old mutts that do me in, things I've seen running around places like Folkestone and Beverley that I'm confident will never win a race but oh no, when Birkett's backing them to lose, they find a new lease in life (and 20lbs improvement) and scoot up. Ouch.
30 June 2009
5 June 2009
Derby Drivel
It's Derby time, roll out the same old debates: Is Epsom a suitable place to run racing's most prestigious event? Can the Irish dominance ever be overturned? Yawn, sleepy, yawn.
The fact is, if it wasn't for the Irish, then there would only be five runners in the Classic. That would be a farce. Thanks to Aidan O'Brien alone the number horses starting the race is in double figures.
It's all swings and roundabouts - some years the Irish seem to be taking over British racing, other times they can't get their name on the board. Come the Breeders' Cup, the media are all to happy to adopt any Irish success as 'ours'.
It is a bit of a sorrowful state though this year that the most fancied English participant is available at odds of 20/1.
What surprised me about the race was the number of runners who are sired by a Derby winner themselves: five by 2001 hero Galileo and one by 2002 victor High Chapparal. This goes to show that far from being unable to inject class, speed and stamina into their progeny, Derby winners can produce Derby winners themselves. Gone are the days when the Cheltenham Gold Cup was the most likely race an Epsom winner would create.
Albeit, and timely with the death of Coolmore genius Vincent O'Brien, this fact has been helped by the impetus of Messrs O'Brien (x2), Magnier and Tabor.
Anyway, you probably want to know who's going to win. I don't know but I'll have a guess:
1st - Sea The Stars
2nd - Crowded House
3rd - Gan Amhras
The Guineas form will be crucial and Sea The Stars won at Newmarket like he was a horse who would get the Surrey venue's 1m4f with ease. I genuinely feel that he is a horse who could win the Triple Crown, ironically, 39 years on since the last horse who did it, Nijinsky. Trained by? Vincent O'Brien. But more is the case that he'll go to Longchamp for the more lucrative prize of the Arc d'Triomphe rather than a gallop on Town Moor.
Crowded House is a tentative selection. The manner of his victory at Doncaster late last year is still fresh in the memory and it thrusted him to the head of the market during the winter. Since then though, he has disappointed in the Dante. The son of Rainbow Quest may have come on since then and if he's back to his best, stays the trip and Spencer doesn't f*ck it up, expect him to be coming home with a surge.
As said the Guineas is a terrific form guide and Jim Bolger's Gam Amhras should stay true to my word without reversing the Rowley Mile form of his conqueror.
Or maybe not...
The fact is, if it wasn't for the Irish, then there would only be five runners in the Classic. That would be a farce. Thanks to Aidan O'Brien alone the number horses starting the race is in double figures.
It's all swings and roundabouts - some years the Irish seem to be taking over British racing, other times they can't get their name on the board. Come the Breeders' Cup, the media are all to happy to adopt any Irish success as 'ours'.
It is a bit of a sorrowful state though this year that the most fancied English participant is available at odds of 20/1.
What surprised me about the race was the number of runners who are sired by a Derby winner themselves: five by 2001 hero Galileo and one by 2002 victor High Chapparal. This goes to show that far from being unable to inject class, speed and stamina into their progeny, Derby winners can produce Derby winners themselves. Gone are the days when the Cheltenham Gold Cup was the most likely race an Epsom winner would create.
Albeit, and timely with the death of Coolmore genius Vincent O'Brien, this fact has been helped by the impetus of Messrs O'Brien (x2), Magnier and Tabor.
Anyway, you probably want to know who's going to win. I don't know but I'll have a guess:
1st - Sea The Stars
2nd - Crowded House
3rd - Gan Amhras
The Guineas form will be crucial and Sea The Stars won at Newmarket like he was a horse who would get the Surrey venue's 1m4f with ease. I genuinely feel that he is a horse who could win the Triple Crown, ironically, 39 years on since the last horse who did it, Nijinsky. Trained by? Vincent O'Brien. But more is the case that he'll go to Longchamp for the more lucrative prize of the Arc d'Triomphe rather than a gallop on Town Moor.
Crowded House is a tentative selection. The manner of his victory at Doncaster late last year is still fresh in the memory and it thrusted him to the head of the market during the winter. Since then though, he has disappointed in the Dante. The son of Rainbow Quest may have come on since then and if he's back to his best, stays the trip and Spencer doesn't f*ck it up, expect him to be coming home with a surge.
As said the Guineas is a terrific form guide and Jim Bolger's Gam Amhras should stay true to my word without reversing the Rowley Mile form of his conqueror.
Or maybe not...
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