Best bets for the horse racing Friday 11th August 2023

I have been very Charlie Appleby heavy this week tipping four of his charges, just one winner, and I am bang on Charlie again on Friday evening; hopefully with better results. It's the start of a weekend with plenty of international interest and as well as a couple at HQ I am on one out in the United States this evening. 

Best bets for the horse racing at Newmarket

If you are a regular visitor you will know my liking for a Moulton Paddocks two-year-old making debut at HQ; they tend to be good and to win. Well Charlie Appleby has two at HQ this evening, before McFly dust down their guitars, and both have been backed.  The fact William Buick stays here in the UK to ride both, rather than making a trip across the pond (more on that later), I see as a positive.

The first race of interest is the 6.00 7f Martime Cargo Services Road Haulage EBF "Newcomers'' Maiden Stakes. MacDuff is by Sea The Stars out of Present Tense so the family includes names such as Kingman and Oasis Dream down the generations; the Juddmonte colt has to be taken seriously. Broadway Act is the colt from Moulton Paddocks and there is plenty to like on breeding with him as well. By Too Darn Hot, unbeaten champion two-year-old and multiple G.1 winner he is out of Dazzling, a Galileo mare who won a Listed heat in her racing career. Charlie Appleby tends to introduce decent ones in this, won last year by Local Dynasty who has gone on to be rated over 100, so the Godolphin owned colt is the pick at 9-4 but a tentative one as these two should both prove above average.

At 6.35 it's the 7f trip again for the division II of the Maritime Cargo Services Road Haulage British EBF 'Newcomers' Maiden Stakes. There’s a couple in here with big price tags to live up to with Ghostwriter a 100,000 Guineas foal and Jayyash costing 420,000 Euros; much will be expected of both. Tribal Moon makes debut in this for the team from Moulton Paddocks. A son of Teofilo, another unbeaten champion two-year-old whose career was sadly cut short by injury. This one is out of Lunar Maria, a daughter of Dubawi who won to Listed class in her racing career with plenty of winners in the family, her lineage tracing back to the very good broodmare Miesque. I am on early again at 9-4.

Best bet for the horse racing at Saratoga

The team have sent Mysterious Night out to Saratoga to race this evening in the Grade Two mile National Museum Of Racing Hall Of Fame Stakes at 10.08. The three-year-old has been out of form so far this year but won the G.1 Pattison Summer Stakes at Woodbine last September to end his two-year-old campaign in style and if finding that form again wold have a great chance. Charlie Appleby knows what it takes to win big races at the New York course and said of his charge earlier this week “The team at Saratoga have been happy with Mysterious Night’s preparation. He has been disappointing so far this year, but we are applying blinkers to help him focus. He has experience of the style of racing in North America and, if he reproduces his Woodbine effort, it will make him a big player.” No one has chalked-up at the rime of writing but I will be having an investment. 

Be lucky