After a hugely successful Doncaster St Leger meeting (winning on all four days) and some excellent Arc Trials on Sunday, the racing is definitely of a lower key this week. Even so, there are still some nice horses in action at Yarmouth this week and it is well worth taking a look at the opening day.
The Nursery at 3.00 features three interesting contenders with the proven Dancealot meeting some promising types in Ghaawy and Solidarity. Sir Michael Stoute’s Ghaawy won his maiden without the jockey having to get too serious and is preferred to the Godolphin horse but Dancealot has done nothing wrong and could be a tough nut to crack. With the soft going throwing another unknown into the equation I shall pass this one over.
Master Of War should have the 5.00 in the bag after getting within a length and a quarter of Tropics last time. The other three runners all have plenty of ability but cannot boast a great deal in the way of recent form. I doubt that the bookies will be giving much away with the favourite so I’m investing my “hard-earned” cash on the five-runner Boodles Diamond Handicap at 4.00.
At first glance this looked as though it would be a clash between hat-trick seeking Thomas Hobson and easy last time out winner Battalion but I’m passing them both over in favour of Shrewd. The going at Yarmouth is officially soft and is unlikely to change a great deal before racing and this horse has won on soft and heavy.
It was his last run that alerted me to his chances here. Sent off at 20-1 under young Thomas Brown, he contested a valuable Heritage Handicap at Ascot. The son of Street Sense was settled in rear and that is seldom a good place to be in a large field at the Berkshire course. His rider seemed to be hoping for a parting of the waves on the inside up the home straight but it never materialised. He ended up finishing around four lengths behind Excellent Result without coming off the bridle.
Jamie Spencer takes over tomorrow and I’m hoping that he can follow up the armchair ride that he enjoyed on The Lark at Doncaster. With Thomas Hobson an obvious threat and Battalion also winning with his head in his chest last time it won’t be straight forward but I think 4-1 is great value.
Shrewd 4-1 William Hill
Betfair:
Bet on Henrik Stenson to become the BMW PGA Championship Winner.
Paddypower:
Back Australia to take the Ashes home with them.
Betway:
Back Rafael Nadal to become the Mens French Open Winner.
Coral:
Back One For Arthur to win the Grand National.
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Back Mexico to win the Confederations Cup.
