O'Brien Hoping To Be King Of The Castle (13:00 Naas)

The nights are closing in, the flat coming to an end and Christmas is cancelled but one positive thing is it gives me time to recharge the batteries and update all the stats for another crack at them bookmakers next year. It’s a strange one as I really should be keeping my winnings from the season safely tucked away for the next campaign but as we know it's easier said than done and a few bets this week have gone astray along with a small portion of my profits. 

A little update from my last few posts, I had a small each way on Poet’s King last Saturday at Chelmsford at 18/1 and as the way my luck is at the minute the Kevin Ryan colt ran a promising debut but could only finish fourth. Horoscope I thought was a short priced banker and was again slowly away and ridden throughout the race and could only manage second. My headline horse was the Richard Hannon 3-year-old Lost Eden at Chelmsford, even though The Sea The Stars colt could only manage second I thought it was a perfectly nice debut behind the nice looking winner Real World for the boys in blue. 

I was a bit annoyed with myself after not backing the Roger Varian trained MOVIN TIME at Newcastle on Monday. As I pointed out in my last post it was a hard race to solve but Movin Time had a couple of early nice entries which most of the time is an indicator that they are well-thought of by the trainer, one thing that put me off was Atzeni on board the expensive Kevin Ryan colt Manassas who drifted like a leg fell off and finished stone last while Movin Time ran a pleasing debut to finish second. Another expensive horse was the Aidan O’Brien Kingman colt Blue Planet who ran a promising debut to finish third at Dundalk on Wednesday. I mentioned Dubai Tigress on Twitter and the less said the better. 

Saturday looks a tough one and with the heavy going I will be giving it a miss although I will be looking forward to seeing what the John Gosden Frankel filly HOPEFULLY DARLING does in the opening race at Newmarket. Hopefully Darling is a full-sister to Cracksman who of course was a top-class performer for Gosden and owner Mr A. E. Oppenheimer with a Timeform rating of 136. Cracksman also won on debut in October at Newmarket and handled the soft ground very well. 

12:30 Naas (IRE) 01 Nov 2020 

Here we are again back in Ireland and to be fair for a change I have won a few quid on a few O’Brien horses this year. Aidan has three shots at the board here but I will be sticking with the No Nay Never colt METAPHORICAL who drops down in trip after staying on last time out at Gowran Park, Personally I would have liked to see him at seven furlongs but what do I Know. The second that day Flying Visit won a Group 3 the other day and the winner Sandhurst looks another decent one for the O’Brien team. 

13:00 Naas (IRE) 01 Nov 2020 

I have two trackers in this but will be going for the once raced KING OF THE CASTLE who could be another Aidan O’Brien improver. King Of The Castle comes from a lovely family being related to the likes of Wedding Vow, Beacon Rock, Bye Bye Baby all group winners and of course who can forget the Derby winner Serpentine. I am pretty sure King Of The Castle will be another group winner in the future and will only get better with age and when given a trip to test his stamina but hopefully today is the day he can finish in the first three at least. My next tracker is the O’Brien newcomer KEY TO THE KINGDOM another well-thought of colt who is a full-brother to Exemplar and whatever he does today should come on plenty for the run. 

16:05 Kempton 02 Nov 2020 

Early tracker this one for Simon and Ed Crisford. ILZA'EEM who cost £21.000 at the Orby Sales. Pretty sure this well-thought Olympic Glory colt will win in the near future but as always its best to be careful betting first timeout. INIGO JONES another to note. Thanks for reading and stay safe.

O'Brien Hoping For A Double At Leopardstown (October 16th)

The drift told the story with newcomer WALTZING at Leicester on Tuesday as the Martyn Meade runner, who was up with the pace, faded badly the final two furlongs. 

My other fancy STONEGARTH, who I had a small each way bet, ran a promising race at Newcastle. The Karl Burke trained Gutaifan gelding was a big price the night before but was heavily backed into 17/2 at race time. The one thing you don’t want to see at the start of a race is your horse slowly away but yes, of course, Stonegarth missed the break but soon caught up and stayed on without threatening the leaders. I will be keeping an eye out for him next timeout so one for the trackers I think. 

In my last post I wrote about the one million gns horse MAHOMES who was another who took a drift and went from 5/2 to 9/2 in around an hour. As I mentioned in my post, I did like the winner ANNANDALE but couldn't bet at the price. Not sure what to make of Mahomes' performance as the Dubawi colt, trained by John Gosden, kept on without looking like landing a blow. Maybe with the winter behind him he could improve and make a nice 3-year-old. 

50 juvenile winners this season for @Johnston_Racing! Annandale improves from defeat on debut to win nicely at @BathRacecourse under @RKingscote… pic.twitter.com/oHRWIdUSMs

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) October 14, 2020

I also mentioned SIR LUCAN on Twitter who is very well-thought of by O’Brien. 

I’m not one for short odds but the 5/4 was a great price in the end. 

It was nice to see one of Ed Dunlop 2-year-olds to follow come in. This is what Ed said about the Sixties Icon colt: 'Tara ITI is the son of St Leger winner Sixties Icon. He is a powerful looking colt with a good shoulder and hind end. He has taken to work well and should be ready fairly early.' 

13:25 Leopardstown (IRE) 16 Oct 2020 

Plenty of meetings in England tomorrow but all look potential tough races and nothing stands out, so I will venture back over to Ireland with two potentially nice horses plus a potentially nice newcomer for the future. 

BOLSHOI BALLET will no doubt be running in class races in the future. Well, there's no guarantee, of course, but the Galileo colt was born into a nice family and looks a nice type himself after a promising debut at Newmarket at the start of the month. A full-brother to Southern France who improved with age and won the Group 3 St Leger trial Stakes at Curragh at four. Bolshoi Ballet looked in need of the experience at Newmarket and stayed on well when the penny dropped. 

There are plenty of dangers in what looks a nice race. Aidan O'Brien also has SIR LAMORAK, who is a half-brother to A New Dawn. I’m pretty sure we will be hearing more about this Camelot colt in the future so just keep an eye out how he runs tomorrow. 

12:55 Leopardstown (IRE) 16 Oct 2020 

WILLOW has an excellent pedigree but as we know it doesn't guarantee success. The American Pharoah filly has run twice already this season. She ran a decent race last timeout when being snatched up and holding on for third here 85 days ago. Her dam, Peeping Fawn, made her racecourse debut at three and never looked back, winning the Oaks and the Irish Oaks in a memorable year. 

I’m pretty sure we haven't seen the best of the Aidan O’Brien filly and another one from Ballydoyle I am looking forward to watching tomorrow. 

Thanks for reading and stay safe.