RaceCafe..#1...Tipsters Thread.... Share Your Fancies For Fun...Lets See Who The Best Tipsters Here Are.
stodge

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Charlie Appleby trains the horse that beat Mojo Star  last time out , Manabo then bolted up by 4 lengths next time out and is 2/ 2 .  . A Sea the Stars gelding , his form stacking up pretty well . Appleby has a couple of lightly raced 3 year old geldings who look very handy, the other won on debut last week at Yarmouth .

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The first day of the Derby Festival at Epsom took place on an overcast and wet afternoon at Epsom. A forecast 1-2 mm of rain ended up at 11mm of rain and while the Clerk of the Course, Andrew Cooper, held the ground at Good, Good to Firm in places before racing, it was obvious after the first the rain had got in and the going was changed to Good to Soft.

It’s not of course the first time it’s rained on Oaks Day – it seems to with monotonous regularity.

The Coronation Cup over 2400m is in effect the Derby/Oaks for the older horses – it’s a key part of the middle-distance pattern and is the only part for the older horses (like the Lockinge for the milers) as the next stage is the King George at Ascot leading on to the Arc.

With ALPINISTA a late scratching, six went to post and the favourite was the easy Newbury winner AL AASY, but he placed a strong Ballydoyle challenge from the brothers JAPAN and MOGUL. In the end, they all had to give best to PYLEDRIVER who basically out-battled AL AASY in the final 350m. The winner had won the King Edward VII and the Dante last season, but it had all gone wrong in the Derby when he had got badly hampered at the top of the hill.

PYLEDRIVER is trained by William Muir and was ridden by Martin Dwyer, Muir’s son-in-law and they aren’t, I suspect they would both admit, in the Premier league any more but this was a wonderful win for the “smaller” stable and for Dwyer, he joins that select club of jockeys who have won the Derby, Oaks and Coronation Cup though SIR PERCY was in 2006 and CASUAL LOOK in 2003.

He’s in the Hardwicke at Ascot but connections may feel they should have a tilt at the King George.

AL AASY didn’t travel into the race as well as at Newbury but that was probably a weak Group 3, and his limitations were exposed for all he ran a perfectly good race in defeat. I think he’s a “bridle” horse and I thought PYLEDRIVER did him for heart in the final 300m.

JAPAN was beaten a further seven lengths in third while MOGUL clearly hated the ground and trailed home a long last.

Just to remind you all, this is what I said about the Oaks last week:

14 stand in the Oaks -the only scratching was NOON STAR. I fancy SNOWFALL and I'm on SAFFRON BEACH each way at 12s.

With the softening ground, the runners in the following handicap headed for the stands side and in the pre-race betting for the Oaks, SANTA BARBARA was weak while support came for the Cheshire Oaks first and second, DUBAI FOUNTAIN and ZEYEEDAH. 

As for SNOWFALL, I thought she'd relish the ground and backed her at 6s in the morning.

The story of the race (and I’d really recommend you watch the link below if you can’t find it elsewhere) is MYSTERY ANGEL set the running, but Frankie Dettori always looked happy on SNOWFALL and cruised up to lead 450m out and from there the race was over.

SNOWFALL came home an incredible 16 lengths clear – the time was very slow – 2:42.67 – reflecting the ground was probably genuinely soft. It was of course visually hugely impressive but I’m slightly cautious. The pacemaker MYSTERY ANGEL finished second and it may just be the winner was flattered by being the only proven stayer in a field of fillies, many of whom didn’t get home and others hated the ground.

It seems Aidan O’Brien is thinking of the Irish Oaks rather than the King George and the route to the Arc via the Yorkshire Oaks has been well travelled by some very good fillies of late.

SNOWFALL had been impressive in the Musidora at York and let’s not forget she is bred in the purple – by Deep Impact out of Best in the World (her first foal). Best in the World is a full to FOUND and oddly enough the third in this year’s Oaks, DIVINELY so the niece beat home the aunt (so to speak). We all know how good FOUND turned out so SNOWFALL could be a real champion.

As for the others, MYSTERY ANGEL ran a huge race for exciting new trainer George Boughey and DIVINELY ran a decent race in third.

SAVE A FOREST was the best of the Varian trio in fourth and she didn’t have the best of runs – I hope they bring her out in the Ribblesdale – while SANTA BARBARA finished fifth. She was held up out the back to get the trip by Ryan Moore but whether it was the trip or the ground she never got anywhere near the winner. I had a little hope for SAFFRON BEACH on the home turn but in truth she didn’t see out the 2400m.

Frankie Dettori said after the race he thought they had gone hard early – I’m not sure – the sectionals showed, as often happens at Epsom, they went hard up the hill and then steadied at the top of the hill and down into Tattenham Corner.

I made money on the race thanks to Frankie and SNOWFALL but I'm to be convinced we've seen a champion.

Coronation Cup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVpfIm9fqzY

Oaks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_xICumxF0k

 

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On 6/5/2021 at 6:55 AM, meomy said:

Who owns GLOUCESTERSHIRE @stodge?

Very fittingly named and aimed for related races..the wider circular economy

Registered as owned by Team Valor and Manton Park.

http://teamvalor.com/welcome.asp

http://www.martynmeaderacing.com/manton-estate.htm

Martyn Meade is the trainer of GLOUCESTERSHIRE so this is some business venture he's stated with these American investors.

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10 hours ago, stodge said:

The first day of the Derby Festival at Epsom took place on an overcast and wet afternoon at Epsom. A forecast 1-2 mm of rain ended up at 11mm of rain and while the Clerk of the Course, Andrew Cooper, held the ground at Good, Good to Firm in places before racing, it was obvious after the first the rain had got in and the going was changed to Good to Soft.

It’s not of course the first time it’s rained on Oaks Day – it seems to with monotonous regularity.

The Coronation Cup over 2400m is in effect the Derby/Oaks for the older horses – it’s a key part of the middle-distance pattern and is the only part for the older horses (like the Lockinge for the milers) as the next stage is the King George at Ascot leading on to the Arc.

With ALPINISTA a late scratching, six went to post and the favourite was the easy Newbury winner AL AASY, but he placed a strong Ballydoyle challenge from the brothers JAPAN and MOGUL. In the end, they all had to give best to PYLEDRIVER who basically out-battled AL AASY in the final 350m. The winner had won the King Edward VII and the Dante last season, but it had all gone wrong in the Derby when he had got badly hampered at the top of the hill.

PYLEDRIVER is trained by William Muir and was ridden by Martin Dwyer, Muir’s son-in-law and they aren’t, I suspect they would both admit, in the Premier league any more but this was a wonderful win for the “smaller” stable and for Dwyer, he joins that select club of jockeys who have won the Derby, Oaks and Coronation Cup though SIR PERCY was in 2006 and CASUAL LOOK in 2003.

He’s in the Hardwicke at Ascot but connections may feel they should have a tilt at the King George.

AL AASY didn’t travel into the race as well as at Newbury but that was probably a weak Group 3, and his limitations were exposed for all he ran a perfectly good race in defeat. I think he’s a “bridle” horse and I thought PYLEDRIVER did him for heart in the final 300m.

JAPAN was beaten a further seven lengths in third while MOGUL clearly hated the ground and trailed home a long last.

Just to remind you all, this is what I said about the Oaks last week:

14 stand in the Oaks -the only scratching was NOON STAR. I fancy SNOWFALL and I'm on SAFFRON BEACH each way at 12s.

With the softening ground, the runners in the following handicap headed for the stands side and in the pre-race betting for the Oaks, SANTA BARBARA was weak while support came for the Cheshire Oaks first and second, DUBAI FOUNTAIN and ZEYEEDAH. 

As for SNOWFALL, I thought she'd relish the ground and backed her at 6s in the morning.

The story of the race (and I’d really recommend you watch the link below if you can’t find it elsewhere) is MYSTERY ANGEL set the running, but Frankie Dettori always looked happy on SNOWFALL and cruised up to lead 450m out and from there the race was over.

SNOWFALL came home an incredible 16 lengths clear – the time was very slow – 2:42.67 – reflecting the ground was probably genuinely soft. It was of course visually hugely impressive but I’m slightly cautious. The pacemaker MYSTERY ANGEL finished second and it may just be the winner was flattered by being the only proven stayer in a field of fillies, many of whom didn’t get home and others hated the ground.

It seems Aidan O’Brien is thinking of the Irish Oaks rather than the King George and the route to the Arc via the Yorkshire Oaks has been well travelled by some very good fillies of late.

SNOWFALL had been impressive in the Musidora at York and let’s not forget she is bred in the purple – by Deep Impact out of Best in the World (her first foal). Best in the World is a full to FOUND and oddly enough the third in this year’s Oaks, DIVINELY so the niece beat home the aunt (so to speak). We all know how good FOUND turned out so SNOWFALL could be a real champion.

As for the others, MYSTERY ANGEL ran a huge race for exciting new trainer George Boughey and DIVINELY ran a decent race in third.

SAVE A FOREST was the best of the Varian trio in fourth and she didn’t have the best of runs – I hope they bring her out in the Ribblesdale – while SANTA BARBARA finished fifth. She was held up out the back to get the trip by Ryan Moore but whether it was the trip or the ground she never got anywhere near the winner. I had a little hope for SAFFRON BEACH on the home turn but in truth she didn’t see out the 2400m.

Frankie Dettori said after the race he thought they had gone hard early – I’m not sure – the sectionals showed, as often happens at Epsom, they went hard up the hill and then steadied at the top of the hill and down into Tattenham Corner.

I made money on the race thanks to Frankie and SNOWFALL but I'm to be convinced we've seen a champion.

Coronation Cup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVpfIm9fqzY

Oaks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_xICumxF0k

 

James Cook ( Galileo - Red Evie ) went for 42k Guineas as a Coolmore cast off to stand in Uzbekistan   that's some decent bloodlines there for about 80k kiwi bucks . Looking forward to seeing his first runners Tashkent Downs .

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Couple of very good performances here at the weekend Stodge.

Lovely 2 year old Frankel filly Argentia out of good NZ mare Princess Coup, was very impressive at Flemington over a distance that you would think would be far too short for her ( 1100m ) …in the right hands and looks to have a bright future.

Wicklow,  NH two year old with Chris Waller 3 g Twilight Son (GB)-Wake Up (GER ) also impressive over 1880m at Rosehill. Given he is six months behind the locals he looks to have a lot of upside.

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On 6/7/2021 at 6:08 AM, Ohokaman said:

Couple of very good performances here at the weekend Stodge.

Lovely 2 year old Frankel filly Argentia out of good NZ mare Princess Coup, was very impressive at Flemington over a distance that you would think would be far too short for her ( 1100m ) …in the right hands and looks to have a bright future.

Wicklow,  NH two year old with Chris Waller 3 g Twilight Son (GB)-Wake Up (GER ) also impressive over 1880m at Rosehill. Given he is six months behind the locals he looks to have a lot of upside.

WICKLOW is still showing as being trained up here but the sale went through last September. He raced three times as a juvenile up here, the last time over 1600m on Heavy at Newbury when he finished third. The winner, ALEAS, hacked up in a Haydock maiden and was made favourite for the Cocked Hat at Goodwood but was very disappointing. The second, a horse called TITLE, won a maiden at Yarmouth a couple of weeks ago.

Twilight Son's best progeny so far is the filly TWILIGHT SPINNER, who bolted up in a Listed at Haydock last time.

 

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On then to Epsom and Derby Day and after a miserable Friday, the weather turned fine but despite glorious sunshine, the ground was Good to Soft.

The easing in the ground led to William Haggas scratching MOHAAFETH an hour before the race leaving just 11 runners. BOLSHOI BALLET was strongly fancied to maintain Aidan O'Brien's fantastic record in the race but Godolphin did three including Dante winner HURRICANE LANE, ONE RULER and ADAYAR and the last named was punted down from 50s to 16s in the last 20 minutes before the race.

Frankie Dettori had the ride on JOHN LEEPER while Lingfield and Chester trial winners THIRD REALM and YOUTH SPIRIT had their supporters. The Irish 2000 Guineas winner MAC SWINEY represented the experience of Jim Bolger while SOUTHERN LIGHTS was trained by Aidan's son, Joseph.  

The field was made up by GEAR UP representing Mark Johnston and the outsider, the maiden, MOJO STAR.

The English Derby 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDOJvUT-TyM

As always, an extraordinary race won by a moment of inspired jockeyship from Adam Kirby, who had been due to ride JOHN LEEPER before being "jocked off" by Frankie Dettori when Ballydoyle withdrew all their runners bar BOLSHOI BALLET. He got a late call to ride what seemed to be the third string for Charlie Appleby and Godolphin but a moment of courage has probably transformed his career. By getting up the inside of the weakening pacesetter GEAR UP, Kirby saved lengths and momentum and from then on the race was over.

While the winner was being cheered home, the main sound was the bursting of reputations in behind. Aidan O'Brien reported BOLSHOI BALLET had come back "very sore" after trailing home seventh while Frankie Dettori had at last on JOHN LEEPER until an audacious move round Tattenham Corner but that was as far as he got and he finished ninth. SOUTHERN LIGHTS was tailed off last and GEAR UP fell back through the field after setting the running.

ONE RULER threatened 500m out but palpable didn't stay and finished sixth. THIRD REALM was completely lost when the pace quickened but ran on well to put himself in the Leger picture in fifth. MAC SWINEY never looked happy but plugged on for a respectable fourth but he'll be better back at 1600m and on slower ground.

HURRICANE LANE ran well in third for all he never looked like getting in a blow - William Buick said the colt lost both his front shoes which is a reasonable excuse and I think they went at the top of the hill when, after a frenetic opening 600m, the pace slowed abruptly as so often happens. I think HURRICANE LANE could be the sort to go well at The Curragh and you couldn't say he didn't stay the trip.

MOJO STAR ran a huge race for a maiden - I think Terimon might have been a maiden when he was second to Nashwan in 1989 - at 50s (backed in from 80s). He's the best maiden in training by some way on this evidence but it throws a big question over the quality of the race.

ADAYAR had run second at Sandown and at Lingfield and there didn't seem any excuses for his defeat on the latter occasion though perhaps with hindsight the quick ground might not have bene ideal. He relished the juice at Epsom and I'd be wary of following him on a firm surface. There's talk of a King George clash with PYLEDRIVER which would obviously be interesting though you'd think others might feel that's a party which could be readily spoilt.

To be fair, the time was very good -2 minutes 36.85 seconds so 6 seconds quicker than SNOWFALL so was it a better race, had the ground just dried up or was the Oaks just not that good?

All these questions await a response.

 

 

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Just to note the best 5 days racing in the world (I would say that, wouldn't I?) kicks off next Tuesday as 12,000 spectators will be witness to the opening day of Royal Ascot.

One or two slight changes to the running order but basically we get the quality races at the front of the card each day and the handicaps later on.

Tuesday has the Queen Anne, the King's Stand and the St James's Palace as Group 1 races with the Coventry as the Group 2.

Look out for my Royal Ascot thread.

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On 10/14/2020 at 6:49 AM, stodge said:

There are no full brothers or sisters to ENABLE. The dam threw two by Dansili, CENTROID and ENTITLE, the latter was second in last year's Musidora before being beaten a long way in the Diane and hasn't run this season.

A half-brother by Sea the Stars, DERAB, made a very encouraging debut over 1400m at Ascot in early September, running second and he's in the notebook for next season.

The dam's first foal, by Oasis Dream, was a moderate handicapper.

Unraced half sister to Enable by Oasis Dream called Birdwood has first runner tonight  in second from Sandown  , colt by Frankel called Bold and Loyal. , Moore teams up with Stoute yard again . That's a well bred colt , could be cheap at 100k as a yearling , see how he goes tonight . Will go out as Fav by looks of it .

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10 hours ago, Red Rum said:

Unraced half sister to Enable by Oasis Dream called Birdwood has first runner tonight  in second from Sandown  , colt by Frankel called Bold and Loyal. , Moore teams up with Stoute yard again . That's a well bred colt , could be cheap at 100k as a yearling , see how he goes tonight . Will go out as Fav by looks of it .

It's a pity I have to work for a living - it would have been glorious to have been on the Esher slopes this afternoon.

BOLD AND LOYAL ran okay in fifth - didn't have the best of runs 600m out but was never to bother the principals.

The second division had a very taking winner in the Godolphin NATIVE TRAIL, who bolted up by four lengths albeit in a much slower time. NATIVE TRAIL is by Oasis Dream and is the first foal of an unraced mare out of Observatory. The one to take from that race is IMPLORE who is by freshman sire Ulysses - only his second runner so far.

The opening division went to another newcomer, this time from the Roger Charlton yard, called LA PULGA who is by Kodiac and again another first foal but the dam was modest in France in 2015 and is herself by Pivotal so the fact he went on the sound ground was a slight surprise.

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Aidan O'Brien bounced back from BOLSHOI BALLET's failure by taking the Jockey Club at Chantilly with ST MARK'S BASILICA who followed up his Poulains win fairly comfortably. Despite the big field, the favourite was always going well just off the pace and Ioritz Mendizabal produced him beautifully with 300m to go and he was pushed clear to win by just under two lengths. 

He's in everything as you might suspect from the Sussex to the King George but the next likely target looks to be the Eclipse at Sandown where he'll likely encounter quicker ground and the older horses. He's currently 4/1 second favourite behind MISHRIFF at 5/2 and LORD NORTH (runs in the Prince of Wales on Wednesday) at 5/1.

The Gosden pair DERAB and MEGALLAN finished midfield and while VAN GOGH was well held, I thought he was finishing well and I do think 2400m on soft ground could be just what he needs.

Elsewhere, IN SWOOP duly won the Grand Prix de Chantilly holding off SUBLIMIS a shade cosily. He's in the King George for which he's 8/1 (Derby winner ADAYAR the 9/4 favourite).

Outsider PRADORO won the Gros Chene at 22/1 but the French sprinters look very average currently so the Abbaye looks open for another British or Irish raid.

As you might expect, with Ascot at hand, this is a very weak weekend in the UK and Ireland in terms of quality - probably the worst of the whole summer in truth.  Only three Listed races across all the meetings on Saturday and Sunday so we'll take a breather before next week's fun.

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Just to note from yesterday's racing, the two Listed races both went to favourites. At York, ROBERTO ESCOBARR won the 2800m Grand Cup which is another race which grants automatic entry to the Ebor. With only four runners it was a tactical affair with a sprint for gone from 400m out and whether the winner will truly appreciate the end-to-end gallop of the Ebor is debatable.

One not short of speed is ATALIS BAY who won the 1000m Scurry at Sandown - he was well beaten by WINTER POWER who is 4/1 for Tuesday's King's Stand. I wonder if they'll put him in a race like the King George V at Goodwood.

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On 6/6/2021 at 1:05 PM, Red Rum said:

Charlie Appleby trains the horse that beat Mojo Star  last time out , Manabo then bolted up by 4 lengths next time out and is 2/ 2 .  . A Sea the Stars gelding , his form stacking up pretty well . Appleby has a couple of lightly raced 3 year old geldings who look very handy, the other won on debut last week at Yarmouth .

The lightly raced gelding from Yarmouth looks very tidy , Kemari won Queens Vase easy last night . Melbourne must be on radar with these two after what they did with Cross Counter . Faster going no issues last night .

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On 6/16/2021 at 11:27 PM, Red Rum said:

The lightly raced gelding from Yarmouth looks very tidy , Kemari won Queens Vase easy last night . Melbourne must be on radar with these two after what they did with Cross Counter . Faster going no issues last night .

This really belongs in the Royal Ascot thread, my friend, but you're right in that because he's a gelding, KEMARI might well be seen as a Melbourne Cup horse.

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Soft ground at Chantilly tomorrow for a decent card featuring the Prix de Diane over 2050m.

17 go to post and with the bookies in the UK going 11/2 the field, it's as wide open a Group 1 as any I've encountered for a while.

Aidan O'Brien saddles favourite JOAN OF ARC who was runner up to EMPRESS JOSEPHINE in the Irish 1000 Guineas last time,

The Pouliches winner COEURSAMBRA runs but there's a serious question about her seeing out the trip on breeding and it may be Andre Fabre holds the key - BURGARITA has been supported on the back of her win in a Listed at Longchamp last time over this trip but I prefer Pouliches sixth PHILOMENE who will enjoy this trip on breeding.

The Saint Alary form is represented by winner INCARVILLE and close fourth SIBILA SPAIN but this is a very hard race to call.

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3 hours ago, Ohokaman said:

NH horses still cleaning up down here yesterday Stodge.

Wicklow won again, Degraves impressive, if a little wayward and had to withstand a protest, and Dice Roll unbeaten in three starts.

Plus Unique Artist and South Pacific , they had a field day at Flemington.

Berdibek, Lackeen and Crystal Pegasus all runners up at Rosehill .

I thought you were going to go through card at one point last night at Ascot . Had Gulliver in 5th in Wokingham at 20s so not a bad each way payout from UK .

Tatts July  horses in training sale lots out , some big drafts from the big players . Be a few heading down I'd guess .

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The rain which lashed Ascot on Friday and Saturday largely missed Chantilly and the ground was Good to Soft for the Diane yesterday.

Prix de Diane: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sScZULJQU60

A strange race and not for the first time they all finished in a heap. JOAN OF ARC was prominent throughout and well positioned by Ioritz Mendizabal to cover the increase in pace in the straight but the frontrunner SIBILA SPAIN clung on tenaciously until the final 100m. I thought HARAJUKU was coming to win the race as well as BURGARITA but in the end it was PHILOMENE, flashing down the outside, who got closest to JOAN OF ARC failing by three quarters of a length but the winner looked to have matters in control close home.

The winner is in the Eclipse, the Falmouth and the Sussex to name but three and it'll be interesting to see if they drop her back in trip. I'd love to see the second over further and I wonder if she could be Fabre's Arc contender.

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A quick word about the coming weekend. 

In England, we have the Northumberland Plate which is probably the nearest thing we have to the Melbourne Cup albeit now on an artificial surface.

The main interest is in Ireland where's it's Irish Derby weekend at The Curragh. Ireland has missed all the rain which has plagued southern and eastern England (Windsor off this evening) and the ground is Good to Firm, Firm in places.

It's a three day card starting with that is normally a well-attended Friday evening but Saturday sees the Irish Derby and the Group 2 Railway while Sunday has the Group 1 Pretty Polly as well as the Group 2 Airlie for the juvenile fillies and the Curragh Cup for those looking for early Melbourne Cup pointers.

More on these later in the week.

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3 hours ago, stodge said:

A quick word about the coming weekend. 

In England, we have the Northumberland Plate which is probably the nearest thing we have to the Melbourne Cup albeit now on an artificial surface.

The main interest is in Ireland where's it's Irish Derby weekend at The Curragh. Ireland has missed all the rain which has plagued southern and eastern England (Windsor off this evening) and the ground is Good to Firm, Firm in places.

It's a three day card starting with that is normally a well-attended Friday evening but Saturday sees the Irish Derby and the Group 2 Railway while Sunday has the Group 1 Pretty Polly as well as the Group 2 Airlie for the juvenile fillies and the Curragh Cup for those looking for early Melbourne Cup pointers.

More on these later in the week.

Sadly bookies haven't missed Prescotts lightly raced type in " Pitmens Derby " . Stands out a mile as type he gets in light on the weights . Likes the sand too .

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19 hours ago, Red Rum said:

Sadly bookies haven't missed Prescotts lightly raced type in " Pitmens Derby " . Stands out a mile as type he gets in light on the weights . Likes the sand too .

61 have been entered for the Plate - only 20 can run but there's a consolation race immediately before so you get two Plates for the price of one so to speak.

TRUESHAN, a late withdrawal from the Gold Cup because of the ground (and how connections must have regretted the rain arriving 24 hours too late) is 6/1 favourite with OPERA GIFT at 7s and the aforementioned LONGSIDER at 9s. The trouble is, LONGSIDER is number 25 so needs five to come out above him to get a run.

Elsewhere, 17 have been entered for the Irish Derby. The second, third and fourth from Epsom,  MOJO BAY, HURRICANE LANE and MAC SWINEY are all in the field but the favourite is Dante third HIGH DEFINITION for whom the Curragh will work a lot better than Epsom. The Curragh is a big galloping track ideal for the long-striding type and while those who took to Epsom won't have any problem, those who don't generally find it a lot easier.

LONE EAGLE was fourth to King Edward VII winner ALENQUER (ABAYAR second) at Sandown before a good win at Goodwood but you'd think he'd want a bit more juice than seems likely. SIR LAMORAK and WORDSWORTH both ran well at Ascot while EARLSWOOD won the Gallinule last time but this will be much quicker ground than he has ever experienced.

It's really unusual for Ireland to have such fast ground so we may find some horses come on a lot for it making this more difficult than it appears on paper. 

At a big price, I'd offer Nijinsky winner FERNANDO VICHI who we know goes on decent ground. The second, THE MEDITERRANEAN, ran fourth at Ascot but he might not have enjoyef the wt ground.

The Group 2 Railway is Ireland's equivalent of the Coventry - 20 have been entered. 

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As perhaps expected, LONGSIDER won't run in the Plate on Saturday and is being aimed at the Old Newton Cup at Haydock in a week's time.

Entries are through for Sunday at The Curragh - 13 go in the Group 1 Pretty Polly for the fillies and mares over 2000m. It looks an open race but favourite is THUNDERING NIGHTS from the Joseph O'Brien stable at 3/1. She was a close second to BROOME in the Alleged back in April and last time was runner up in the Grade 2 New York Stakes at Belmont Park for which she picked up £102k in prize money.

She faces SANTA BARBARA from the Aidan O'Brien yard who was the big spring "talking horse" and ran fourth in the English 1000 Guineas and fifth in the Oaks - this is a real recovery mission. CAYENNE PEPPER looks the best of the older fillies - she was second in this last year to a certain Magical and there's nothing of that standard in this year's renewal. Coronation Stakes failures DIVINELY, SHALE and PRETTY GORGEOUS are all entered but I'd be surprised if any of them ran.

The two supporting Group 2 races are very different - the Airlie is for the juvenile fillies over 1200m. Aidan O'Brien has entered four, Joseph O'Brien three and Fozzy Stack two so we'll see who actually turns up. The Curragh Cup is over 2800m and has attracted a strong entry of 18 albeit including a number who ran at Ascot last week.

Lloyd Williams has four representatives trained by Joseph O'Brien - CORMORANT, PONDUS, MASTER OF REALITY and DAWN PATROL and one can imagine all of these will be on a plane to the southern hemisphere before too long.

TIGER MOTH and SEARCH FOR A SONG are the two top rated but if this is Ireland's Melbourne Cup Trial, we'll know more on Friday.

In other news, the racecourses over here are frantically lobbying to be allowed more than 4,000 spectators at any meeting - the extension of the current regime of restrictions until July 19th is a huge blow to courses as the lucrative summer evening season gets into full swing.

There's also a big debate over whether Cheltenham should go to five days.

I'm completely opposed - I think Ascot last week was diluted by the additional handicaps adding a seventh race to each day. Had the handicaps been run on the Friday, Sunday and Monday before the meeting and the Sunday and Monday after the meeting as the top races on each of those quiet days, they'd have done much better.

Both Ascot and Cheltenham are "Mr Creosote" meetings - already stuffed and a "wafer thin mint" of an extra couple of races won't make things any better.

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Some  big drafts in that July HIT Stodge, over 100 from Shadwell alone plus the odd one owned by them listed under the stable banner , a lot of 3 year olds getting moved on early  , clearly looking to streamline now . 

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15 hours ago, Red Rum said:

Some  big drafts in that July HIT Stodge, over 100 from Shadwell alone plus the odd one owned by them listed under the stable banner , a lot of 3 year olds getting moved on early  , clearly looking to streamline now . 

The whole sale is about the clear out of moderate animals as far as I can see. Horses rated in the 50s and 60s from some of the bigger yards - presumably they can be sold down to a smaller yard where perhaps they'll do better. May be a prospective early jumper or two in that lot as well. 

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Final declarations through for Saturday.

Maximum fields of 20 for both the Plate and the consolation race and both look wide open.

Over at The Curragh, some welcome rain has eased the ground to Good, Good to Firm in places for the Derby meeting. 11 stand in the Derby which will be shown free-to-air (as will the whole Breeders Cup meeting apparently in November which is a real coup for ITV Racing).

HIGH DEFINITION is the 13/8 favourite and for many this is all about him being on a course that works for him. In the Dante at York, he looked one of the first beaten but came home really well hitting the line in third. Epsom wouldn't have suited at all but The Curragh is a very different track - galloping and with a long straight. The theory (and the evidence of his Beresford win as a juvenile supports this) is he's a relentless galloper not blessed with an immediate turn of foot so he needs time and space. Frankly, he's got no excuses especially if there's a strong gallop and I expect him to win.

The Derby runner up MOJO STAR is arguably the best maiden in the UK and has claims but I think HURRICANE LANE is the real threat. He beat HIGH DEFINITION fair and square in the Dante and I thought he saw out the Derby trip well enough - he got caught in traffic while ADAYAR had a clear run up the rail. I'm not convinced about MAC SWINEY on the ground.

Of the others, WORDSWORTH ran well behind KEMARI at Ascot but this is 400m down in trip and the two I like outside the principals are LONE EAGLE and FERNANDO VICHI. The former won the Cocked Hat at Goodwood after running fourth behind ALENQUER and ABAYAR at Sandown. On a line through ABAYAR, you could argue LONE EAGLE would have been in the mix for the places at Epsom so why is he 8/1 and HURRICANE LANE 9/2? I've backed him each way and I like FERNANDO VICHI is overpriced at 22s.

I think HIGH DEFINITION is the one and I expect LONE EAGLE to chase him home.

14 go in the Railway and this looks wide open - GO BEARS GO ran a fine race in the Norfolk and if he can translate that form up 200m in trip, he looks the one.

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