On the same day Punchestown rounds off a stellar jumps season, Newmarket kicks off the flat season proper with the first Classic and first Group One, the 2000 Guineas. In case you don’t know, it’s the mile version of the Derby and open only to three-year-olds, the Classic generation. Horses only…
1pt win My Tent Or Yours @2/1, 17:30 Punchestown
The highlight of Friday’s Punchestown Festival card is the Grade 1 Punchestown Champion Hurdle, where six go to post in an interesting renewal. Due to injury and fatigue, there’s no Faugheen or Annie Power, who have dominated the division the past two seasons, so Rich Ricci and Willie Mullins have rerouted…
0.75pt each-way Baden @16/1, 16:20 Punchestown, Wednesday
Zabana continued our fine recent form when scoring at 5/1 on Tuesday’s Punchestown card to go along with recent winners Ch’tibello (8/1), Wolf Of Windlesham (9/1) and Up For Review (9/2). The theme of Tuesday was short-priced Willie Mullins favourites getting turned over, with the unbeaten Yorkhill not even placing,…
Brain Power, 16:20 Punchestown, Tuesday
Day one of Punchestown Festival 2016 sees Neptune and Mersey winner Yorkhill attempt to score a rare hat-trick of spring Festival wins in this Grade 1 novices’ hurdle. He was awesome in the Tolworth at Christmas, even more so at Cheltenham when turning over a supposed dead-cert in Yanworth, and…
1pt win Zabana @5/1, 18:40 Punchestown, Tuesday
Willie Mullins’s Outlander has got to be taken on on the opening day of this year’s Punchestown Festival. He’s 11/4 for this Grade 1 staying chase after falling at the Cheltenham Festival and, ten days later, having come second in Grade 1 company to Kylemore Lough at Fairyhouse. Visually, I’ve…
0.75pt each-way Dodging Bullets @16/1, 15:35 Sandown
A fantastic season-ending card at Sandown today, with Willie Mullins and Paul Nicholls out to scoop the biggest prizes and claim the British trainers’ championship. The race of the day has to be the Grade 1 Celebration Chase won last year by Special Tiara, who has instead opted to go…
0.75pt each-way Wolf Of Windlesham @9/1, 14:20 Sandown, Saturday
Our first winner of the jumps season, WOLF OF WINDLESHAM, is hard to ignore at 9/1 in this juvenile handicap hurdle. He won that race at Cheltenham in November from the two placed horses in the Fred Winter at the Festival, Romain De Senam and Coo Star Sivola, who are now…
0.5pt win Gabrial @11/1, 14:55 Sandown
Sandown hosts a good flat card today with the Group Two Bet365 Mile the highlight. The favourite Belardo is one of two ex-champion two-year-olds in the race, and he’s the only one to have had a domestic run this season. He won that easily to confirm his return to form…
1pt win Up For Review @9/2, 15:15 Perth, Wednesday
In something of a rarity, the British trainers’ championship is turning into a thriller this year, with Ireland’s Willie Mullins, dominant at the Cheltenham and Aintree festivals, going all out to wrestle the title off Paul Nicholls, who’s won it nine of the past ten seasons. Nicholls is absent from…
Saturday Treble: Bristol De Mai, Marenko, Log Out Island
There’s flat and jumps action today, with Ayr’s Scottish National meeting and Chelmsford City stepping in to host Newbury’s abandoned Guineas Trials. Whilst there’s not a lot of obvious value about the level-weights races, I reckon we can connect a quick-fire treble between the cards. First up at Ayr, BRISTOL DE MAI,…