Tag: Newmarket odds

Newmarket Friday Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

On Friday last week I picked out Lady Cecil’s Squire Osbaldeston at Nottingham but he was withdrawn when the ground became testing. His trainer obviously has a good opinion of him and decided to re-route him to Newmarket this week rather than risk him on a heavy ground and the move can pay off handsomely.

He went into my notebook when he was desperately unlucky at Goodwood in May, getting out all too late and finishing strongly in fourth behind Eshtiaal. There was clearly more to come from this good looking son of Mr Greeley but he did not reappear until September.

Under a confident ride from Tom Queally, he easily saw off Hawker by two and a half lengths at Lingfield and has the potential to be better than a handicapper. If that is the case, he should have little difficulty winning off a mark of 85 at Newmarket and rates the nap at odds of 2-1 with Paddy Power.

I have been singing the praises of young Oisin Murphy for quite a while and he struck again with a big odds treble last weekend. Not surprisingly, he is now in big demand while he has a handy 5lb claim and John Gosden is among those using his services.

I’m sure that Murphy will give Willow Beck a good ride in the 3.05 at an each-way price. The form of this filly is difficult to weigh up because she was bang there with Phaenomena and Astonishing here last month. Astonishing went on to win her next race by a country mile but Phaenomena looked as slow as a boat at Lingfield on Thursday. Even so, Willow Beck is game and consistent and the 5lbs off is a bonus.

Whatever Murphy’s fate on that one, he has sound claims on Ballinderry Boy who goes in search of a hat-trick for his retained stable of Andrew Balding at 3.40. He’s gone up 6lbs for beating Man Of Plenty at Ascot but that creature is not the most reliable and he can confirm the form.

Squire Osbaldeston 2-1 Paddy Power

Willow Beck 7-1 Bet Victor, Coral

Ballinderry 11-4 Bet Victor, William Hill

Newmarket Saturday August 17th Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Saturday’s card gets under way with a fascinating nursery where the weights are headed by Charlie Appleby’s Autumn Lily. She won well on her debut at Haydock but then ran disappointingly in the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot. She was a different proposition last time out when she absolutely bolted up at the same course over this trip.

There is no doubt that she deserves to be carrying top weight and she may prove to be a group class filly. I expect her to win but, if for any reason she doesn’t perform, I’m going to have an each-way saver on Richard Fahey’s Shot In The Sun. She was tucked in behind the leaders at Goodwood in the Nursery won by Art Official and didn’t get a clear run until the winner had gone beyond recall. She’s only small but seems to have the heart of a lion and I’d be disappointed if she’s not in the frame.

The Grey Horse Handicap may be a photographer’s dream but it isn’t usually a great race for punters. However, I was really taken with the easy victory of Majesty at Warwick last time over seven furlongs and I think he could have been let in lightly here. He’s up against a bunch of seasoned handicappers but he looks to have plenty of size and scope. The drop back to six shouldn’t be a problem as he was always to the fore at Warwick.

Hannon and Levey team up again in the third with Ninjago. I was disappointed when this one was beaten at Newbury in May but he’s being pitched in at the deep end since then. Seven furlongs proved too far for him in the Jersey Stakes and he has since run honourable races both here and in the Stewards’ Cup.

The Newmarket handicap won by Heaven’s Guest from Moviesta was one of the hottest three-year-old sprints of the season and there was no disgrace in finishing fourth there. You could have forgiven him for struggling in the Stewards’ Cup but he stuck to his guns well enough to finish fifth. This is no easy task but he could still be on a winning weight at a fair price.

Autumn Lily 7-2 Coral

Shot In The Sun 10-1 William Hill

Majesty 9-2 Coral

Ninjago 11-2 Bet Victor

Newmarket Preview 20th July

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Johnston’s duo

Supporters of Es Que Love must be tearing their hair out after the past fortnight. First of all he looked set to lift the Coral Challenge under a superb front-running ride from Olivier Peslier only to be reeled in by Prince Of Johanne. Last week, dropped back to seven furlongs for the Bunbury Cup, he looked certain to collect until Field Of Dream kicked in the turbo and collared him on the line.

The old warrior is turned out yet again tomorrow in the opener at Newmarket with Ryan Moore in the saddle. To make matters worse, the handicapper has shoved him up 5lbs and he going back up to a mile. Lurking at the foot of the handicap is his stable companion Shebebi, winner of the valuable Silver Bowl at Haydock earlier in the season.

Shebebi looked likely to win in a decent race at Haydock last time when sent on two furlongs from home but was cut down by the useful Ashaadd. He received a bump at the start and possibly did a little too much too soon that day. I think he can take advantage of the huge weight concession he is receiving from his stablemate.

Ribblesdale form

My nap on this card is Sir Michael Stoute’s Waila in the Newsells Park Stud Stakes. She beat Riposte on her second start and was then sent to Royal Ascot for the Ribblesdale Stakes. Kieren Fallon failed to settle her in the early stages and she was seen fly jumping at one point.

Her run reminded me of a similar performance by stable companion Hillstar when he made his seasonal debut at Newbury. He came out and won the King Edward VII Stakes after that so no wonder there were some long faces after he was beaten in a handicap!

The Warwick Oaks form supplies the main opposition but that looked a muddling race to me and, providing Ryan Moore can get Waila settled, the Ribblesdale form looks far superior.

Improving filly

My third selection for Newmarket is Midnight Flower in the 3.40. She is trained by David Simcock and comes here on the back of a shock 25-1 course victory. She won comfortably from Nardin who ran respectably in a competitive fillies race at the July meeting. 100-30 seems a fair price for this improving filly in a similar event tomorrow.

Shebebi 4-1 William Hill
Waila (NAP) 9-4 Coral
Midnight Flower 100-30 BetVictor

Newmarket Preview Saturday 29th June

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Having previewed the Irish Derby earlier in the week I am happy to stick with my opinion that Ruler Of The World should follow up his Epsom Derby victory. I would expect Libertarian and Galileo Rock to follow him home and we should at least have a clearer indication of the likely St Leger winner by tomorrow evening.

The Northumberland Plate has turned into the ante-post punters nightmare. Several key non-runners including Tiger Claw because of the likelihood of fast ground (now good to soft). I suppose there was an element of poetic justice in the fact that the connections “stand-in” Lieutenant Miller failed to make the cut by one. The leading fancies have been drawn in the car park so most punters have switched their allegiance to some well-drawn hurdling types instead.

Whatever the fate of my Pitmen’s Derby selections, there are plenty of other good races to look at on Saturday. My first selection is for Godolphin’s Lost In The Moment in the Fred Archer Stakes. I’ve followed this nag from his handicapping days and even put some hard earned cash on him at huge odds for the Melbourne Cup in 2011. Rather like Godolphin, I am yet to enjoy success in that particular race but he did his best in finishing sixth.

I could probably write a small book about the fun I’ve had following Lost In The Moment. I tipped him strongly for the Goodwood Cup when he flew home and just failed to catch Opinion Poll. I fancied him for the Ebor but he suffered a lousy draw and could only stay on through beaten horses. All water under the bridge! Tomorrow he’s back in a five-runner listed race over a mile and a half and if he’s fit enough he can gain his first victory since 2011.

Another old friend is my selection in the Criterion Stakes, Jim Goldie’s Hawkeyethenoo. He has done nothing wrong this season in top quality sprint races. Either Graham Lee has been giving him too much to do or (giving Lee the benefit of the doubt) he needs to step up to seven furlongs. I can’t remember the last time I backed a winner ridden by Jamie Spencer but he has a chance to make amends tomorrow.

My third tip for the meeting is Nabucco in the 4.05. I followed several of Gosden’s horses at Royal Ascot and they all ran well. This fellow came up against a good sort in Niceofyoutotellme last time and Ryan Moore has been booked tomorrow. He holds a Magnet Cup entry so JG clearly thinks he has a big handicap in him this season.

Lost In The Moment 11-2 Totesport
Hawkeyethenoo 4-1 Paddy Power
Nabucco 4-1 Paddy Power