8th-14th Review and Week Ahead Preview

A rather quiet week on the all weather to be honest and all the buzz of the Cheltenham Festival taking over! As far as eye catchers this week they have been few and far between. Tuesday at Southwell saw a decent class 4 handicap over a mile which saw the rapid improver Transonic take the honours rather easily and would suggest he can win again, second place Xpres Maite also deserves credit plugging on for second and probably ran his best race for a while and maybe worth watching over the coming weeks. On Wednesday in the 8.30 we saw the potentially very well handicapped runner Sworn Tigress run under a penalty and win ultimately very easily and if anything followed up the next night in the 7.00 at Wolverhampton even easier under a double penalty, is sure to get hammered by the handicapper when he can catchup but she currently holds a couple of entries for next week and is likely to prove very hard to beat. On the same card at 6.00 was a decent class 2 handicap which was won by the heavily backed Orchard Supreme who hadn’t won for sometime and had subsequently dropped rapidly in the weights he won well enough but not enough to suggest he would follow up but the second place is of far more interest clearly improving lately and is sure to pick up a race again soon off this sort of mark especially if getting the front which is where he does his best work. Tartan Gunna was the favourite for the race at the start of the day but drifted dramatically throughout the day and would suggest he wasn’t fully wound up and there is another day for this useful sort. Friday night saw a decent class 4 handicap over the extended mile at Wolverhampton at 7.50 and resulted in a potentially controversial finish with the favourite Mosqueras Romance only managing 2^nd after Atzeni appeared to be slightly cocky and not ride out as well as he should have when he appeared to have plenty of horse under him. Where as the winner Cheers For Thea continues to improve around Dunstall Park and is one to look out for under a penalty.

On Saturday we saw an extremely good looking card at Wolverhampton, the listed event was won by a gutsy Dunelight who just held on from Mias Boy who is sure to pick up a race soon. Then we had the Lincoln Handicap Trial which was won very easily by Vitznau and he remain on quite a good mark looking back over his form but doesn’t look the sort that is likely to be suited to a straight mile and is probably worth taking on in a few weeks. The second has clearly frustrated many of us, Fanunaltar has run many creditable races but does not look an easy horse to win with and appeared to idle in front today when looking the winner all over but again he should be able to pick up a decent pot at some point in the near future. Then at 4.35 we saw a decent looking class 2 6f handicap which was won in the dying strides by the ever improving Tiddliwinks, quite how much more he has got is yet to be seen but since getting on the aw he has improved 26lb in the handicap and set to go up another fair amount again this time after the first two were well clear of third. It will be interesting to see where they go next with him as he is yet to prove himself anywhere near as good on turf and with AW sprint races few and far between for horses rated in the 100’s he could prove hard to place from now on.

Onto the week ahead, well its sure to be dominated by The Cheltenham Festival of course now unfortunately that isn’t what this article is about so we shall concentrate on the flat racing which doesn’t get started till Tuesday as there is no All Weather racing on Monday.

Tuesday racing doesn’t have anything that jumps out of the page at you at Southwell. Wednesday sees a slightly better card at Southwell and if Veloso stands his ground in the 4.25 he may prove a little bit better than a 6lb penalty if come on for his first race for over 400+ days he won by some 8 lengths over 1m4f round here last week and a step up in trip should prove little problem, the ever consistent Calculating is the most likely forecast. Extremely decent looking card at Kempton on Wednesday night including a listed affair at 7.50 where Spruce is entered and he looks well ahead of the handicapper even off a mark of 90 and may not have to find too much to mix it with some 100+ rated horses, the other interesting entry is Buxted who again looks unexposed and ahead of the handicapper and in what looks like it could be a weakfish affair they could both prove popular. Before that there is a decent class 4 handicap over 7f which at the moment has the shape of being very competitive with many inform sorts set to lineup including Sutton Veny, Divine Force, Last Soveriegn and most interesting of them all Lucky Redback who made a winning comeback last week beating the useful yard stick Secret Witness up 3lb for that effort and is lightly raced for age and sure to strip fitter for first run for over 16 months.

Thursday sees yet another day on the fibresand at Southwell and a useful looking class 3 handicap over the flying 5f at 4.25 which has several useful sorts entered including Thebes, Onceaponatime, Wotashirtful and Wheres Reiley takes a marked step up in class but shouldn’t have any problem aquitting himself at this grade with the way he has been running of late. There is also another class 3 handicap at Wolverhampton at 6.45 and Thunderstruck ran extremely well in a similar race a week ago and if getting to the front again may prove a little too much as he is clearly in good heart.

Friday finally sees a trip to Lingfield and Lady Kent currently holds an entry in a 1 mile race at 3.45, she was last seen winning quite nicely over 7f but does have some good form over a mile and only up 2lb for that win and still looks well in on some of her Irish form. Wolverhampton hosts a potentially interesting class 4 staying handicap which looks as though it might produce a small field and if that is so and Calculating stands his ground again he most hold a solid chance as he can handle a muddling pace which is often a problem in these small fields, will be interesting to see how this race shapes as the week goes on.

Have a good week and enjoy the Festival if you’re playing, check out FREE daily tips at http://horses4punters.com

Weekend Preview 13th-14th March

This week seems to have flown by and to be honest the All-Weather racing has been lacking slightly this week whether it’s all this Cheltenham hype or just that were getting itchy feet over the turf season starting in 2 weeks times.

There is just the one meeting on the sand over the weekend and that is at Wolverhampton on Saturday. It has the look of a decent card about it and here is the low down on 3 of the main races.

The 2.15 Wolverhampton is a decent enough listed event and although several of these a running off marks in 100+ but most of them not really running to their mark at the moment where as completely different can be said about the inform Mahadee for the in form Brittian yard. He won a handicap in good style on penultimate start and was seen last time out finishing all to late to force a dead heat and showed that he can handle a sharper 7f, Callan takes the ride again and should be well up for this on the back of these latest efforts. Mias boy could pose the biggest threat barely ever running a bad race, effective on the aw and goes well fresh.

The 3.25 Wolverhampton The Lincoln Trial Handicap. 2 weeks until the start of the flat season and this warm up trial to the curtain raiser for the season. Flipando bounced right back to his best last time out when easy winner over an unusual 6f for him, be interesting to see how he goes back over this trip again today off a 10lb higher mark, but did win this race last year off a 4lb lower mark. Collateral Damage was in fine form last year up another 4lb and un proven on the aw surface, but has gone reasonably well when fresh. Autumn Blades has been in cracking form this winter and always appears to give his running at the moment and his last run can be forgiven pushed so wide around the bend and he is better than that right now only concern is this marked step up in trip. Another useful sorts to come out of the wood work this winter is Black Dahlia she has run 2 solid races in listed company but a big concern has to be she is now 19lb higher than last win in handicap because of those 2 runs and surely they arent gonna want a penalty on top of that for the Lincoln.

And finally the 4.35 Wolverhampton has the shape of a useful class 2 handicap, with 3 good inform sprinters lining up that interest me the most. Tiddliwinks was progressing very nicely over the winter up a total of 21lb since first handicap win, and last win came off a 8lb lower mark and probably best forgetting his last run she might prove better over 6f than 7f and has a smart turn of foot. Thebes is a useful performer but does tend to be a bit hit and miss but did get back to winning ways last time out up just 2lb for that effort and 2nd has gone on to win since and would suggest the form could be quite useful but perhaps worth taking on consistency stakes. Bajan Tryst has been in good form recently but was well held by Flipando last time out off new mark and unlikely to get own way upfront.

1st-7th Review & Week Ahead Preview

Pegasus Again was been a consistent sort on the all weather and ran a solid race on Sunday in the 4.55 at Kempton interestingly most of his races have come with a fair gap between runs, where as this run came after 5 days after a good looking win last time out. This run is therefore probably worth forgetting about and is one to look out for again in the coming weeks especially if it looks like he could get an uncontested lead.

On Tuesday we saw an interesting comeback runner in Lingfield’s 3.40, Lucky Redback sent off joint favourite with the useful and inform Secret Witness, he didn’t look like a winner in running having to be pushed along from a long way out but nonetheless he eventually knuckled down and got the job done well and may be open to a bit of improvement having not been seen for over a year and making his all weather debut.

The other eye catcher of the week has to be the ever improving Spruce who ran in the 4.10 at Southwell on Thursday, it isn’t very often we see a front runner with such a smart turn of foot and he proved far too good for two unexposed rivals. Reports are he is gonna be aimed at either a listed event or valuable handicap on Winter Derby Day at Lingfield.

Now onto the week ahead after a rather quiet weekend with no all weather racing things start to step up with some better horses starting to appear ready for the start of the flat season at the end of this month.

Clive Brittain has brought his out of the winter hibernation in fantastic form and all his runnings throughout this week warrant the upmost respect no matter what theyre form figures might suggest as we have seen some of his 3 yr old’s improve out of recognition recently. He has just 2 runners on what is a poor card at Lingfield on Monday he runs Jawal in the 2.10 Maiden. He steps up in trip after a decent enough effort over 7f running slightly green and if coming on from that should hold a solid claim. His other runner is perhaps of slightly less interest and that is Heading to First who runs in a 5 runner handicap for 3yr old’s over 1m4f. He was well backed before the off last time out but failed from a long way out, should strip fitter for that run but also takes a massive step up in trip which he really didn’t look to be crying out for in all honesty.

On Tuesday we move onto Southwell where there is a very interesting class 4 handicap at 4.40 with several useful sorts contesting the race with several making their seasonal debuts. Top weight Smarty Socks has a good record on the fibresand 3 from 5 although finished last season on rather a low point, Transonic has improved out of recognition on fibresand just recently, and General Tufto is certainly one not to discount on fibresand and his last race can be completely forgiven with his riding taking a hard tug at start and 6 lengths off the field but did stay on well past beaten horses.

Wednesday we have an afternoon meeting at Lingfield, Pha Mai Blue was extremely well backed last week on his seasonal reappearance which would suggest he has been working well at home and although only managed third it was a good run and if he can build on that he is extremely dangerously handicapped and would be of interest in the 4.00 which he currently holds an entry (he also holds and entry for the 4.30 but cant see him lining up for that as that is over 5f, 7f is his optimum trip). The 4.30 at Lingfield could produce a small but competitive field with Boyle yard currently holding 8 of the 10 entries. If Lady Kent lines up she would be of keen interest having finally got off the mark in this country. She was extremely well backed throughout the day and although she was made to work she looked worth more than what the handicapper has put her up by, just the 2lb. She is still extremely well treated on her Irish form. In the evening we have a class 3 handicap at Wolverhampton at 6.30 which is sure to provide some early season winners but Captain Macary is an eye catching entry at this stage having won readily at the end of last year at Kempton over 7f, up 4lb for that effort and may have potentially more improvement in him if fully wound up for seasonal reappearance he is also 3 from 5 on the all weather.

Thursday sees a return to the fibresand for Bel Cantor in the 3.55 at Southwell who strung several good efforts together often running out of the handicap and capatilised on running off his correct mark on penultimate start before being out of depth in a listed event at Lingfield. Up 4lb for that win and should have a shout if getting the uncontested lead he needs. The evening card at Wolverhampton looks a decent card at this stage the 6.00 looks as though it could be another handicap that could provide some winners at this stage its hard to assess but if Tartan Gigha lines up he would be an interesting runner for the in form Johnston yard. He is fit from 2 good runs in Dubai and wouldn’t need to be anywhere near that good to land a prize in this. Nacho Libre holds an entry for the 8.00, he was backed off the boards during the week but was withdrawn at last minute as he had the wrong head gear on, he is a decent horse if breaking on terms. Sanders was booked to ride him last time out and he is 1 from 1 on him and will be interesting to see if he stands his ground and what jockey is booked. Blue Eyed Eloise was another market mover a few weeks back in a handicap at Southwell before being a non runner, she is an interesting runner having not been seen for over 700 days she returns to handicapping off the same mark she won off when last seen, also interesting to see that the same trainer has stuck with her for all this time.

Just the one card on Friday which is the evening card in which Chjimes holds an entry in the opening race would perhaps be of more interest at his beloved Lingfield but even so he has been running just ‘ok’ currently but has dropped to a dangerously low mark (12lb lower than last winning mark) and if able to recapture the forum he was in last spring he would be dangerous.

Have a fantastic week whatever you bet enjoy the fantastic winter sunshine, look out for the Friday update with a preview on all the weekend action on the sand. Also check out our daily tips at http://horses4punters.com

Out Of Winter Hibernation

Ok apologies for anyone checking back to this blog regularly I havnt always been best at update htis throughout the winter, but anyhow we have enjoyed an AW season just ticking along no real profit no real loss. We are now just a few weeks away from the start of the flat turf season and even the AW meetings step up this week with many turf runners making their seasonal debuts. Wolverhampton also plays host to the Lincoln trial on Saturday which should be very interesting.

As far as where this blog goes from now, it will include regular updates throughout the flat season with eye catchers and also a preview of the week ahead updated every Sunday and Friday evening (hopefully). It will actually be an article I am writing for another site which I shall post up here so should be more regular than not!!

Anyhow good luck with the week ahead

Chris