2pts win

I had a look at the Eclipse market last night and concluded the bookies had it about right with Enable around evens, Ghaiyyath 5/2 and JAPAN around 4/1. I’d be hypocritical, then, if I didn’t now say that the 6/1 available about Japan isn’t a good bet. Enable is vulnerable…

A nice-looking Group 3 sandwiched in between the Oaks and the Derby. Cloak Of Spirits sets the form standard with her second place in the 1,000 Guineas having led for a long way. She was then well beaten in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot when racing on softer going.…

I suspect English King might drift as favourite for the Derby because of his bad draw and money for other horses. At 7/2 I’m happy to leave him alone. Guineas winner Kameko is up against it and it feels hard to believe a horse could break the 2,000 Guineas track…

Fifteen runners for the Irish Derby and a favourite that only ran eight days ago suggests this is a ripe for a bet. Clearly Santiago is very good and we like him – he was a winning tip at Royal Ascot last Friday – but this is a deeper race…

The Wokingham Handicap remains one of the best punting races of the entire meet and with 24 handicappers it’s not hard to see why. Last year had a rare winning favourite, and the improving Bielsa currently sits at the top of the market at 5/1. He does look talented, but…

With the Coolmore horse propping the market up at 6/4, you’re getting some massive prices on the rest of the Queen Mary field so it’s ripe for a bet. The favourite is by War Front and that’s always a red flag to me on softer ground, for all there are…

I think the American raider SHARING probably has the best form in the Coronation Stakes, but she’s 13/2. She won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf last autumn and beat all the European raiders who boasted some of the best of their domestic form, so her form looks strong. She’s…

The time is right for SANDS OF MALI to bounce back to his Group One-winning best over the same course and distance of his finest hour in the Champions Sprint. He’s been labeled a mudlark but has plenty of form on faster ground, including when 2nd in the Commonwealth Cup…

A really exciting-looking renewal of the Commonwealth Cup and I’ve come down on two that look like they are real Group 1 types. Lope Y Fernandes ran a blinder in the Irish 2000 Guineas to finish third, shaping like the drop back to 6f would suit. He was very well-punted…

The Queen’s Vase has produced some fantastic winners over the years including the likes of yesterday’s runaway Ascot Stakes winner, Stradivarious. The race doesn’t seem to possess a horse anywhere near that calibre on current evidence but they are all lightly-raced with Born With Pride a warm order for William…