Tag: Jamie Spencer

Newbury Friday Preview

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Following two fascinating days of action at Newmarket, the flat turf action moves on to Newbury featuring the Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup Conditions Stakes.

There are only six runners but it is possible to make a case for each of them. The favourite is the Godolphin-owned Winters Moon, a daughter of New Approach trained by Saeed bin Suroor. She is entered in the England and Irish classics and certainly has the best form in the book.

She won her maiden at Newmarket when beating Shagah by a length before finishing a one-paced third behind Muraaqaba at the same course. She could not compete with the smart Elm Park in the Stonehenge Stakes at Salisbury next time but ran a fine race when third to Together Forever in the Group 1 Dubai Fillies’ Mile.

She stayed on really well that day after being shuffled back early on. The runner-up was Agnes Stewart while Lucida was back in fifth, both fillies with classic pretentions. That was over a mile on softer ground but she ran as though she will relish the extra two furlongs.

The big danger could be Star Of Seville, trained by John Gosden. She didn’t look anything special when beaten into third on her debut but she made all to win by six lengths at Doncaster next time. She also has 1000 Guineas and Oaks entries and has to be respected, as does the unbeaten Ooty Hill. Roger Charlton’s grey colt won well at Newmarket in soft ground in October and could be one to follow this season.

The seven furlong handicap that follows looks wide open but it is difficult to ignore the claims of Her Majesty The Queen’s Capel Path. Sir Michael Stoute’s horses are shaping as though they need a run but Capel Path looks on a very tempting mark.

The son of Street Cry ran green on his debut and was well beaten at Sandown next time before winning impressively at Newcastle. Graham Lee looked as though he had plenty up his sleeve when beating Taysh by four lengths. There are any number of dangers here including Mujassam, Upstaging and Sugar Boy who all won last time while top weight Strong Chemistry is not out of it.

Our final selection at Newbury is Lucky Beggar in the 3.55. The grey is trained by Charles Hills and won this race last year off only a 1lb lower mark. He was never really involved in the Cammidge Trophy at Doncaster where he was held up off a slow pace. I would expect Jamie Spencer to try to force the pace here, tactics which have paid off handsomely for Lucky Beggar in the past.

Winters Moon 2.50 @7-4 Ladbrokes

Capel Path 3.25 @6-1 Ladbrokes

Lucky Beggar 3.55 @11-4 Bet365

Lingfield Friday Preview

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The winter weather has returned to the UK this week and Friday’s Chepstow card faces a 7.30am inspection to see if racing can go ahead. There are no problems at the all-weather track at Lingfield So I’ve picked out a couple of horses that could provide us with some stake money for the weekend.

My first selection is Singular Quest in the maiden race at 2.00. The colt is a son of Dalakhani out of a mare by Singspiel so is entitled to be useful. He is trained by Ralph Beckett who certainly knows the time of day at these all-weather meetings and will be ridden by Hayley Turner.

Singular Quest ran green on his debut here over a mile but was noted running on into fifth place behind Awesome Power. He was stepped up to ten furlongs last time and was tucked in on the rail for much of the race. His jockey found himself shuffled back when the leaders quickened approaching the home turn and had to switch to the outside, eventually finishing strongly to take second.

The race was won by Monein who has since gone in again in the blue of Godolphin. The biggest danger may come from Sheikh Mohammed’s outfit again here with Prussian Blue and Sparring in opposition. The latter shaped well at Wolverhampton on his debut while Mark Johnston’s Champagne Ransom could also improve for her debut at the same track.

Following handicap “good things” is often regarded as the quick way to the poor house but it is difficult to argue with the claims of Le Rouquin in the 3.45 race. The gelding was very impressive when beating Courier by six lengths at Kempton last week and turns out again quickly under a 6lbs penalty. Michael Bell will obviously be anticipating a much stiffer penalty once the horse has been reassessed. He had been tried in a visor previously but the headgear was left off last time and he could be named the winner with a quarter of a mile to race.

The big danger is course winner Vejovis, a son of Fastnet Rock trained by Sir Mark Prescott. The cigar-smoking Newmarket handler is a dab hand at running up a sequence with his handicappers and it would be no surprise to see this one improve again. He was less impressive when winning over seven furlongs by two and three-quarter lengths but you never know how much jockey Luke Morris has up his sleeve.

Singular Quest 2.00 Lingfield @6-4 Betfair

Le Rouquin 3.45 Lingfield @2-1 Bet365

Leicester Tuesday Preview

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G Force (11-1) rounded off a brilliant week for Betcirca followers, giving us a profit on five consecutive days of UK racing. All good things must come to an end but we’ll take a look at Tuesday’s Leicester card in the hope of extending the sequence.

My regular readers will know that I am a big fan of Newmarket and Newbury maiden races, especially at the smaller tracks. There are a couple of two-year-olds taking promising Newmarket efforts to the midlands course tomorrow and both look to have winning chances.

Dancetrack was slowly away on his debut and was then hampered when beginning his run. In the circumstances, fifth was about as good as he could have expected behind Tannaaf and he can open his account for Charlie Hills in the 2.50. Several of the top yards are running newcomers here but only Glorious Dubai holds ambitious entries and Dancetrack can put his experience to good use.

My reasoning is almost identical with Housemaker in the 4.50 for Karl Burke. This filly finished a fine second at Newmarket after being collared on her outside by Mehronissa. The winner has been given an entry in next year’s Irish Guineas so clearly trainer Ed Vaughan thinks a lot of her. Once again, there are runners from top stables including two from Sir Michael Stoute’s but I am prepared to take a chance on the favourite.

High Church caught the eye at Salisbury last time out when given an enormous amount of ground to make up. It may be that his rider was under instructions to make sure he got home over the mile and a half but he was never seriously in contention. I would expect James Doyle to be much closer to the pace here and I rate Mustadaam the danger.

The seven-furlong handicap at 4.20 looks wide open but my two against the field are the hat-trick seeking Take Note and the slightly frustrating Secretinthepark. The former won easily at Sandown last time and can make a bold bid from the one stall while Secretinthepark moved up looking like a winner last time out. I expect Richard Hughes to hold him up longer this time and he looks a solid each-way bet.

Finally, Green Door can win the conditions race if he can get away on terms. He was left three or four lengths at Nottingham last time before running on into second. The cheekpieces are fitted here and Jamie Spencer should be able to see off Boston Rocker who is better over further than this five furlongs.

Dancetrack 2.50

High Church 3.50 @5-2 Bet365

Secretinthepark 4.20 @7-1 Bet365 (each-way)

Take A Note 4.20 @7-1 Coral

Housemaker 4.50

Green Door 5.25 @5-2 BetVictor

Windsor Monday Preview

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We did well enough at Newbury on Saturday with Mount Athos and Cannock Chase keeping us in profit. Newmarket proved trickier to unravel and Stomp was beaten in the Coral Sprint. I felt that he did not really get the run of the race but stuck on well enough to suggest he can claim a decent prize this season.

The pick of Monday’s action is at Windsor and all signs point to Café Society in the 8.05. The David Simcock-trained four-year-old caught the eye on his seasonal debut when sixth at Newmarket behind The Mighty Yar.

Jamie Spencer rode him into a never-nearer sixth place without giving him a hard time. He was slowly away but settled not far behind the eventual winner The Mighty Yar. He also had Van Percy in close proximity for much of the race and the Balding-trained horse came out and won on Saturday. Spencer found the gaps closing when he went to make a forward move while Ryan Moore had a smooth passage on The Mighty Yar. He wouldn’t have beaten him but he could have been third or fourth with a clear run.

We have been caught out before by Café Society after he went into the notebook with a fast finishing second to Bold Sniper at Ascot. Things did not go his way on his next outing when heavily backed but there is little in the opposition here to cause concern.

Café Society has always promised to win a valuable prize and this could be a nice stepping-stone to one of the big handicaps at Royal Ascot next month. He looked a desperately unlucky loser at Ascot l last year behind Bold Sniper and his turn is surely not far away.

Jakey hung badly at Epsom last time out when finishing only fifth behind Beacon Lady. Modernism has been on the go all winter on the all-weather and looks to be bottoming out while Nicholascopernicus was beaten 40 lengths on his first outing. Ballinderry Boy is the most obvious threat, mainly because he is trained by Balding and ridden by Oisin Murphy. Even so, this is well short of his best trip of two miles and Café Society can finally get things right.

Café Society 8.05 Windsor at 6-4 Bet365, Paddy Power

Chester Friday Preview

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Having secured a profit on each of the first two days at Chester, the pressure is on for the final day of the meeting. Friday’s card looks the weakest of the week and there are only a couple of horses that stand out for me.

At the start of the week I was saying just how vital a low draw is at the Roodeye. Typically, the two widest drawn horses in the opening two-year-old race finished 1-2! Normal service has been resumed for the rest of the week but the opener tomorrow throws up another conundrum.

Sir Michael Stoute does not keep a lot of older horses in training, especially unraced maidens. Abseil is very much an exception to the rule and he won his maiden in fine style at Yarmouth last month. He raced quite keenly early on but settled well enough for James Doyle before stretching clear over a mile. Only one of the beaten horses has run since and finished second so it is too early to say whether it was a decent maiden.

The handicapper has taken a chance by rating him at just 91. I think he is expected to go a lot higher than that but enter the dreaded Chester draw. He has drawn 13 of 14 which virtually puts him in the River Dee. The trouble is that I cannot find what is likely to beat him, apart from the draw. Capo Rosso won well on the all-weather but is in stall 11 while Here Comes When (1) and Big Johnny D (2) are likely to blaze the trail. The softer ground may help as it will slow the leaders down a little.

My second bet is for Mount Athos in the Ormonde Stakes. He hacked up in this race last year but it was a poor field, underlined by the runner-up Mad Moose! Even so, it showed that he handles it round here and his form in Australia was top notch. Stoute is again to the fore with Hillstar but almost all of his runners need their first run.

I am not a great fan of Jamie Spencer and I was amazed by his ride on Angel Gabrial in the Chester Cup. I had ready Richard Fahey’s column explaining that they had finally found out that the key to the horse was to hold him up as late as possible. Spencer held him up in rear but then unleashed him into the lead on the home turn. He was a sitting duck from that point and it was no surprise to see Ryan Moore steal the glory. Spencer should have no such problems on Mount Athos.

Abseil at 9-2 Paddy Power

Mount Athos at 9-4 Coral

Racing Preview Wednesday 20th November

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There is a fascinating clash between two very promising novice hurdlers on an otherwise moderate card at Warwick on Wednesday. Garde La Victoire and Gone Too Far are both on a hat-trick and have been impressive in their most recent outings.

Garde La Victoire was in front from the fifth flight at Aintree and held off subsequent Plumpton scorer Regal Encore by two and a quarter lengths. The runner-up was given a lot to do that day but Garde La Victoire kept pulling out extra on the run-in and is highly regarded by the Hobbs stable. He can keep the JP McManus colours at bay again here.

The all-weather flat racing continues in the background and I’m putting up Elysian Prince as tomorrow’s nap selection. Paul Cole’s juvenile was having only his second start when bolting up over course and distance in September.

That marked a considerable improvement on his debut when only ninth of twelve at Goodwood and he looks capable of defying top weight in the six-runner nursery at 1.00. I looked at Blessington in the 2.30 but his last run has left just too many question marks for my liking. Having finished second at Ascot on his belated seasonal debut, he flopped badly in heavy ground at Newbury in October. In all likelihood it was simply a case of his not being able to handle the surface but it is difficult to support a horse beaten 78 lengths on his most recent outing!

Graphic has done us proud with two victories and a place in the Cambridgeshire and I see no reason to desert this improving sort at Kempton tomorrow. He’s a course and distance winner and looked better than ever when sluicing through the mud to beat Breton Rock at Nottingham last time out.

His last victory came off a rating of 102 but the handicapper has now raised him to 110. That just about makes him the best horse in the field for this listed race ahead of Tullius (109), Sirius Prospect (105) and Bertiewhittle (102). Jamie Spencer takes the ride on Graphic tomorrow and he can be yet another for the prolific William Haggas.

Elysian Prince 1.00 Lingfield 6-4 Bet365

Garde La Victoire 2.50 Warwick

Graphic 6.30 Kempton 5-2 Bet365