Palmer Hoping Iffraaj Shows Spirit At Kempton (7th October)

Quick update on what wasn’t the best few days to be honest. In my last post I mentioned two flat horses who I thought had a chance, I did an each way double and both got placed so it wasn’t too bad in the end. The Mark Johnson Frankel Colt Harlem Soul finished second which wasn't a bad debut even though he couldn't land a blow to the eventual winner Farhan. I’m pretty sure Harlem Soul will improve for that run. 

My next horse was Sky Power who definitely didn't have the power I was hoping for but plugged on for third place. I mentioned a couple of trackers on Twitter today and wished I hadn't, the first was Fleur De Guy who had a first time tongue strap but that didn't work and finished down the field and then the expensive 3-year-old Thrill Seeker who didn't improve from last year and still couldn't settle. 

A couple of days to forget but sometimes you just have to trust yourself and keep working hard to try to find the winners. 

16:20 Navan (IRE) 07 Oct 2020 

Going to venture over to Ireland tomorrow and try my luck. It looks a nice little maiden with a couple of trackers that could turn out to be nice types. EMPORIO runs for Donnacha O'Brien and made a pleasing debut at Naas a couple of weeks ago when finishing second but was staying on well. The extra furlong should suit and the Zoffany colt should run well here. I mentioned a horse on Twitter a few weeks back that I would be keeping an eye out for and tomorrow is the day he is back out. I never seem to be able to catch Aidan O’Brien horses at the right time but hopefully that all changes tomorrow. NATIONAL BALLET Made his debut at Curragh a few weeks back and took a drift in the market to 12/1. To my eyes(can’t be trusted to be fair as I definitely need glasses) National Ballet was slowly away but kept on without troubling the leaders. Hoping I can have a small each way on the Deep Impact colt. At the time of writing 11/2. 

17:30 Kempton 07 Oct 2020

A speculative each way here on the Hugo Palmer trained SPIRIT OF IFFRAAJ. Never supported on debut at Newbury back in August when going off a 40/1 shot. The Iffraaj colt ran pretty well until fading over a furlong out in what looked a half decent race. Been off the course over 50 days now and comes back wearing a tongue strap here. I do like this owner trainer combination, and they have done me a few favours in the past. The owner Dr Ali Ridha is a familiar owner with Hugo Palmer and always worth looking out for, so I will be doing a small each way bet here and hopefully Spirit Of Iffraaj can add another to the collection. At the time of writing 14/1. 

Good luck and stay safe.

Hannon To Unleash The Power (5th October)

A catch up on a few of my selections of late.

In my post last Thursday I mentioned a few horses which disappointed but yes we all have losers even me haha. I did expect better of the William Haggas Frankel colt Mohaafeth on his second outing and took 3/1 the night before. 

Mohaafeth was up with the pace and took the lead a furlong out but looked a little one paced and could only manage third, I’m not sure what to think of that run but I guess we will see next timeout if something was wrong or just average. 

The Attorney was a late decision really and probably a bad one on my part. The money was down for the Charlie Hills Kodiac colt and I managed to get swept into the gamble, I looked at his last race when slowly away before making up ground but faded to finish out the places and thought I would give it a go. The Attorney was at least in with a chance but again faded to finish fifth. 

Last chance saloon and my last selection was the John Gosden Kingman filly TAWAHUB who didn't disappoint at Chelmsford. Tawahub was smartly away and always in the right place before taking it up and staying on gamely to win by half-a-length from Jacinth. I had a few quid on Tawahub each way at 11/2 and 5/1 so turned from a bad day to a good day. 

Saturday's selections were a bit of a wash out really as the rain came and Ascot was abandoned plus a few non runners to add to my disappointment. 

The only selection that ran was EMPEROR SUPREME who managed to finish third so no damage was done. 

One winner I gave on Twitter was CARLISLE BAY who I thought would come on for the run but managed to win at 7/1 on debut, the drift put me off so no bet for me. 

All caught up and no 2-year-old racing Sunday, so I will look ahead to a few trackers running Monday. 

14:05 Killarney (IRE) 05 Oct 2020

One tracker that came through was the John Gosden trained 3-year-old gelding ON GUARD, well I say John Gosden but actually with Gordon Elliott now and tries his hands at the jumping game. Even though I won’t be having a bet it will be interesting to see how the Invincible Spirit gelding takes to hurdles. 

14:30 Pontefract 05 Oct 2020 

Yes, I know a hurdler and a 3-year-old what’s going on. SKY POWER is a tracker from last season and could still be worth keeping an eye on even at this late stage of the season. Sky Power cost 450,000 gns at the 2018 October Yearling Sales and is owned of course by the King Power Racing Team and trained by Richard Hannon. The Fastnet Rock colt is a full brother to Fastnet Tempest who was trained by William Haggas till 2018 and ran at a pretty decent level. Sky Powers debut was last November when staying on well to finish third, he was pretty keen at the start but warmed up to the task late on. I do worry why he hasn't been out since but I’m sure if still retaining his ability he will put up a good show against another nice looking colt in the name of Hydros who runs for Michael Stoute. 

12:00 Pontefract 05 Oct 2020 

A 2-year-old race at last but my tracker is a newcomer which as you know i'm always a bit wary of. Mark Johnston has had a couple of 2yo debut winners of late so that gives me a bit more confidence here. The Frankel colt HARLEM SOUL cost 130,000 gns and is a half-brother to the Charlie Appleby gelding Ispolini who has ran to a decent level throughout his career. This looks a nice race to start and not even sure about the betting as I have written this early but I will have a small each way bet if prices allow. Good luck and stay safe.

Saturday's 2-Year-Old Previews Plus Reviews

Reviews

The highs and lows of horse racing was summed up in one day yesterday. I had two each way speculative bets, the first was Wadi Al Sail who to be honest was never really involved but as Jason commented on my post Wadi Al Sail could be worth looking out for in nursery class. After that disaster things go through my mind like why do I even bother writing posts when they finish second to last. Next up was Kumasi who I took an early price of 14/1. I watched this one in work and I felt a bit more confident when I saw some support. Even though Kumasi finished second I was pleased I got a run for my money anyway. Sky Power ran a promising debut and is one who will be winning soon enough. 

Previews: 

14:05 Newmarket 02 Nov 2019: 

What a race to look forward to here. Plenty of the top yard brings some really nice 2-year-olds hoping to take home the £22,684 prize money plus adding black-type to their name. The early betting indicates it will be a wide open race with the Irish trained San Pedro heading the market at this early stage. One thing is for sure is San Pedro will enjoy this ease in the ground after winning his Maiden on heavy going. The one who I will be hoping can sneak a place is the Charlie Appleby trained *Broccaccio who hasn't been seen since winning a Novice Stakes race at the end of May. That was a smart performance first time up and showed he was up for a battle when the challenges came. The lay off plus the ground is a worry against some smart performers today but hopefully the 850,000 gns yearling can run a nice race and confirm why Charlie Appleby gave him significant entries this season. 

* NR 

11:45 Newmarket 02 Nov 2019: 

Trying to solve this puzzle of a race tomorrow is a bloody nightmare with nearly all the field unraced. Dusty Dream is an exception to that as the Dubawi filly has already had a taste of the hustle and bustle of a race day. The William Haggas filly is owned by the Queen and ridden by Tom Marquand. I liked the fact that Dusty Dream was well-supported on debut and although she was too keen to do herself justice Dusty Dream was up with the pace until tiring in the last furlong. Dusty Dream had an early entry for the Group 1 Fillies Mile but never ran, maybe that was a bit optimistic but hopefully she can improve to grab a place at least here. At the time of writing, she is 14/1.

17:00 Chelmsford City 02 Nov 2019

Cruyff is another tracker of mine and to be honest am not holding out much hope for this Richard Spencer Dutch Art colt. The only reason I will have a small each way bet is that he was given a few significant entries. His debut race at York didn’t fill me with confidence but you never know. 

Good luck and thanks for reading.

Friday's 2-year-old Previews Plus Reviews (1st November)

A quick update on my last post and the few horses I have mentioned on my Facebook page. First up Emaraty Hero was never involved in what looked like a pretty nice race to be fair. I mentioned that former jockey Alan Rutter who actually rides out for John Gosden had nominated the newcomer King Leonidas as his horse to follow, he was spot on with that as the impressive King Leonidas won like a good thing. I had an each-way on Emaraty Hero as King Leonidas was too short at 13/8 but even though I lost it was nice to see King Leonidas win. 

I didn’t bet on the 4/5 shot Sorrel who finished second at Kempton but I did have a small bet on Grain Of Sense who could only manage fourth at Newmarket. This soft going is a nightmare for punters and it would be nice if I could be more disciplined but that doesn’t seem to be happening at the minute. 

The last one in my post was the one Jason and I had been waiting for. Farnham is a really well-thought-of filly for Roger Varian who had a number of significant entries as a 2-year-old but didn’t run. Farnham made her debut in April but wasn’t seen again until last Thursday at Chelmsford. Yes, I know she was the odds on favourite but for me, it was more about seeing if she still had some ability after such a long lay off. Farnham won well and looked to have a bit in hand. The early price of 5/4 looked nice of course after she had won but as I said it was just nice to see her win. 

A few more on my Facebook page I mentioned was Station To Station who on firsthand looked disappointing but I have a feeling we may see a better run next timeout if running in a nursery. I also bet on Tulip Fields and Nicks No Wonder who both got placed. Another one I mentioned on Facebook was the Simon Crisford colt Finely Tuned who was running Wednesday this week. I took an early price of 13/2 and by race time Finely Tuned was 3/1. I almost gave up on my bet until Finely Tuned sprouted wings inside the last furlong and a bit further would have won. I finally got a winner though when Bye Bye Lady won for my eye-catchers priced 3/1. 

Speculative Friday 

12:00 Newmarket 01 Nov 2019: 

Wadi Al Sail is trained by Miss Gay Kelleway who has a few nice 2-year-olds including Global Esteem who ran a great race to finish third at 25/1 on his debut at Leicester last month. Wadi Al Sail might not be up to that standard but I'm willing to take a chance with a small each-way bet if the price is right. The Holy Roman Emperor colt was a cheap 17,000 euro yearling but unsold for 24,000 gns as a 2-year-old. His debut race was in a Class 2 race at Goodwood back in July, a complete outsider at 66/1. Wadi Al Sail was up with the pace for most of the way until meeting difficulty in running and losing all chance and eased down towards the finish. I am not saying he would have won or might not have been even placed but would have been a lot closer to the smart Cobra Eye. Interesting that owner H.E Sherida Al-Kaabi also had Fuwayrit in that race who looks a nice colt himself. Wadi Al Sail was given a significant entry after his debut which is interesting but this would be more of a speculative bet with some potentially nice newcomers from top yards plus a dangerous Aidan O’ Brien colt called Keats. 

12:35 Newmarket 03 Nov 2017: 

Interested to see how the Richard Hannon trained Sky Power runs here. The 450,000 gns yearling had an early entry for the Group 2 Champagne Stakes but didn’t run. The betting will be the clue to the Fastnet Rock colts chances. Richard Hannon won this race in 2017 with Maghaweer. No bet for me on debut but hopefully he runs a nice race. 

16:50 Newcastle 01 Nov 2019: 

It looks like a day of speculative bets for me as Kumasi looks to be another who will start off at a big price. The David O’Meara New Approach colt was purchased by Cheverley Park owners for 130,000 gns as a foal and made his debut in the Class 2 Convivial Stakes at York back in August. Not fancied that day at 33/1 Kumasi looked out of his depth but did show up well until the last furlong when weakening. This looks a lot easier and if he has any ability hopefully the market will support him. A small hopeful each-way bet for me as O’meara doesn’t have too many 2-year-old winners at Newcastle. 

Good luck and thanks for reading.