Tag: Leicester

Premiership Preview 10th-11th January

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Premiership returns after last weekend’s FA Cup third round and battle is resumed between Chelsea and Man City.

The two teams are now locked together with the Blues ahead in alphabetical order only. The jury is still out as to whether Chelsea’s awful defensive performance at Tottenham was just a blip or exposed deep-rooted weaknesses in the side. They are certainly no longer regarded as “invincible” having already lost at Newcastle.

They now welcome the Magpies to Stamford Bridge and will be expected to resume normal service. The visitors are yet to find a replacement coach for Alan Pardew and will be without talisman Papiss Cisse, the player almost solely responsible for his side’s last two victories over the Blues. Despite finishing on the losing side at White Hart Lane, Eden Hazard was quite superb and he will relish this game after being rested for the FA Cup win over Watford.

One of the most astonishing statistics is that Cesc Fabregas has created more goals already (14) than any player managed in the entire 2013-14 season. Assuming he remains free from serious injury, he could easily double that tally by the end of the season. Tim Krul is back in goal for Newcastle but I’m expecting him to have a very busy afternoon and am taking Chelsea to win comfortably.

City have coughed and spluttered their way through several games without a recognised striker and now have the luxury of both Aguero and Dzeko for the trip to Goodison Park. Everton are in something of a slump and it is hard to see them turning things around on Saturday. Romelu Lukaku may have bought some valuable time for Roberto Martinez with his last-gasp equaliser against West Ham in the FA Cup last week but this is a much tougher test.

If Chelsea and City record comfortable victories, the match of the day may be the relegation clash between Burnley and QPR. Harry Redknapp’s side have lost their first nine away games, just one short of the all-time record for the Premier League. I have been very impressed with Burnley’s fighting spirit in recent matches, particularly when rescuing points at Man City and Newcastle. I’m going to go out on a limb here and forecast a 3-2 result, although I am not sure which way it will go.

Leicester have also found some battling qualities in recent weeks and can beat Aston Villa at home. Arsenal should be too strong for Stoke on Sunday but the game of the day is the clash between Man United and Southampton at Old Trafford. The Saints have bounced back from a run of five defeats to keep their lofty position in the table. They were deserving winners over Arsenal recently and can hold United to a draw.

Chelsea (-2.0 handicap) to beat Newcastle @6-4 Skybet

Eden Hazard to score and Chelsea win @6-5 Ladbrokes

Burnley 3 QPR 2 @33-1 Bet365

Burnley 2 QPR 3 @56-1 Betfair

Man City (-1.0 handicap) to beat Everton @2-1 Ladbrokes

Leicester to beat Aston Villa @6-5 Bet365

Arsenal (-1.0) to beat Stoke @11-8 Skybet

Man United v Southampton DRAW @14-5 Paddy Power

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

Leicester Thursday Preview

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Two out of three at Lingfield on Wednesday kept us ticking over nicely. Sometimes it is nice to thumb through the form book at these smaller midweek meetings and back something at short odds. I am not a great fan of odds-on betting but there are a couple of favourites at Leicester on Thursday that are crying out for a win double.

Last year, Sir Michael Stoute used the conditions race on this card to re-launch the career of Telescope. It was only an egg and spoon race but Ryan Moore rode him out to a 24-length victory. It was quite refreshing to see a horse unleashed like that rather than being tip-toed over the line with the jockey risking a neck injury in search of non-existent dangers.

Tomorrow it is the turn of Arod to see if he is in that sort of class following his fine fourth place in the Epsom Derby. He won a Windsor maiden by five lengths before finishing second in the Dante at York. That race was won by subsequent French Derby winner The Grey Gatsby, although I stand by my claim that it is no longer a “Derby” as it is run over a mile and a quarter.

Arod ran well at Epsom without ever threatening to win and now reverts to a mile and a quarter. Trainer Peter Chapple-Hyam insists that the colt really wants fast ground and he should get that on Thursday. With only two rivals, the danger has to be some kind of silly crawl but Spencer should be able to steer him home in front.

The double can be rounded off nicely by Perfect Persuasion in the fillies’ handicap half an hour later. As my regular followers will know, William Haggas is in terrific form and this filly ought to have added another victory last time out. Ryan Moore was guilty of giving her too much to do at Kempton and she ran on bravely from an impossible position to finish third. I don’t like to criticise Moore too often because he is about the best around at the moment and he can make amends tomorrow.

The main threat may come from Roger Varian’s Laftah who won well enough last time. She races in a hood but seems genuine enough but Perfect Persuasion should have her measure.

Arod 3.25 Leicester @4-11 Paddy Power

Perfect Persuasion 3.55 Leicester @8-11 Paddy Power

Leicester Tuesday Preview

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The main flat racing action on Tuesday comes from Leicester and the bet of the day could be Sir Michael Stoute’s Gothic in the maiden race at 5.10.

The son of Danehill Dancer is out of Riberac who was a typically tough Mark Johnston filly and I’m hopeful that he may have inherited some of her traits. He was clearly unfancied on his debut at Newmarket when sent off at 33-1 under Pat Dobbs.

After settling towards the rear, he made some progress at half-way before staying on at the one pace to finish sixth behind Mitraad. The form is hard to assess at this stage but he steps up to a mile for the first time on Tuesday and Ryan Moore is aboard. Most of Stoute’s youngsters have needed a run to put them straight this season so there could be significant improvement in him.

The dangers come from the unraced horses. Roger Charlton runs Hooded, an Empire Maker colt out of the smart Yashmak whilst Andrew Balding’s Opera Duke is also bred to be useful. Luca Cumani runs Seek A Star but the booking of Kirsty Milczarek suggests that the filly may need this first outing to sharpen her up.

Palace Dragon has had two runs but looks distinctly moderate but Mark Johnston’s Alex My Boy could certainly be a threat. He is by Dalakhani out of Oaks winner Alexandrova. Kieren Fallon is an eye-catching booking and this colt is the one that I am most wary of.

The Conditions race at 4.10 should go to Princess Loulou who won by nine lengths at Pontefract on her third start. The going was soft that day and the leaders went off at a suicidal pace, leaving Princess Loulou to come through and win at her leisure. Her three opponents look completely out of sorts but there is unlikely to be much value in the market.

Ryan Moore also has a sound chance in the opener on Balding’s Trading Profit who has been flying high in recent starts. He was unable to land a blow in the Mill Reef Stakes or the Redcar Two-year-old Trophy but should be more suited to this grade.

Gothic (5.10 Leicester)

Horse Racing Preview Monday 27th May

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Bank Holiday cards offer more in the way of quantity rather than quality but I’ve picked out a couple of bets worth considering. The opening race on Leicester’s card is a competitive little handicap for three-year-olds over five furlongs.

The one that interests me is the top weight Secondo, trained by Roger Charlton. He is a colt by July Cup winner Sakhee’s Secret and runs in the colours of Al Kazeem who gave the stable a big win at the Curragh on Sunday. Secondo showed some promise as a two-year-old but really caught the eye on his first run this season when he made up late ground to win at Salisbury. He was taken steadily to post and restrained at the rear of the field and showed a touch of class to pick them off in the closing stages. I think he is up to defying top weight here and 7-2 looks worth a bet with Paddy Power.

My second selection runs over at Carlisle and is another promising sort called Danat Al Atheer. He is trained by Willie Haggas who is always prepared to take his time with his three-year-olds and this lightly raced filly is taken to beat Lilac Lace and Tussie Mussie who fought out a thrilling duel at Thirsk. Danat Al Atheer was given plenty of ground to make up last time but did it nicely. You won’t get very rich at 13-8 but she should win this on the way to better things.

We had mixed fortunes over the weekend but were rescued by Just The Judge, advised here at 100-30. She made up for the disappointing run of Sole Power and the withdrawal of Here Comes When due to the firm ground. The most striking performance at the Curragh was that of Magician in the Irish 2000 Guineas, landing some bets at 14-1 for those “in the know”. Trying to guess what is going to run where out of Ballydoyle often requires psychic powers but credit to the stable for dropping him back in distance.

His win also cast a shadow over the already suspect Newmarket 2000 Guineas form with Van Der Neer nowhere to be sighted. It is worth remembering that Camelot’s Guineas form was hardly sensational but that didn’t stop him winning easily at Epsom. It would certainly be interesting if Magician lined up next Saturday but the last Irish Guineas winner to attempt it was Saffron Walden in 1999 (well beaten behind Oath). For the moment I’m happy to stick with my ante-post bet on Ocovango at 9-1 but there could be some interesting developments in the market as the week goes on.

Secondo 7-2 Paddy Power
Danat Al Atheer 13-8 Paddy Power