Best bets for the horse racing Friday 12th November

Having had a quiet start to the week, in fact just one bet so far, there are a number of horses engaged on Friday that I have been waiting to run. Annoyingly they aren’t all backable but sometimes that’s just the way it is. They all go at Kempton Park so it’s a lazy start to the day before things warm-up later.  

Best bet for the horse racing at Kempton Park

I put up Al Nafir on his debut when second at Newmarket over a mile last month. He goes on Friday in the Unibet/ British Stallion Studs EBF Novice Stakes at 5.30 again over a mile at Kempton under the lights on the Polytrack. As I said last month, he is by Dubawi out of Nightime making him a full-brother to none other than Ghaiyyath and half-brother to four other winners including the G.1 Man O’ War Stakes winner Zhukova. He cost a cool €1,200,000 as a foal and has clearly been brought along slowly having been foaled in March. You would expect him to improve with age and for going middle-distances in time (he is in the notebook in case my old memory lets me down) but the chestnut colt showed enough at HQ to suggest he can win a race such as this as a two-year-old. The bookies clearly agree as they opened last night odds-on and none of them have grown any balls overnight, sadly he is unbackable. Unbelievably there is another runner, this one making its debut, that I have been waiting for going in this race. Juddmonte homebred colt Chimed had a plethora of entries earlier in the season and finally makes debut in the for the yard of Sir Michael Stoute. By Frankel out of G.1 winner Timepiece you’d expect this chestnut to have a little something about him. That said, Timepiece hasn’t as yet proved as good a broodmare as she was a racer with four foals having raced to date with just two victories between them - Thaler being the best with an OR of 91 after a win here recently. The yard is hardly known for first time winners so I am hoping this one doesn’t buck the trend. Make a note of the name though as the chestnut colt might be one to keep an eye on in the future.  

At 6.00 its Div II of the mile Unibet/ British Stallion Studs EBF Novice Stakes and Appleby has a very interesting one making debut. Imperial Crown is by Frankel out of Attraction; to suggest a mile should be his game is an understatement. Parents were of course both Guineas winners and Attraction has foaled eight winners to date including full-brother to this one Elarqam. Several of her offspring have been two-year-old winners, including Elarqam, so it would be no surprise if the colt got off to a winning start and the 1,100,000 Guineas yearling will no doubt be popular on debut. Stall 12 isn’t as much of a disadvantage over the outer course here as it would be on the inner. I am on at 7-2 in the hope he is ready to go. Interestingly William Buick will ride stable mate Last Ammo, also making debut for the yard, in the colours of Mr Sultan Ali. A watching brief is advised on this one with the Roger Varian trained Asaassi another making debut that could be anything.  

Six line-up to face two-miles at 7.00 for the Unibet 3 Uniboosts A Day Handicap. One I have talked of several times this year already Bandineli goes here and the three-year-old gelding has a great chance to notch his fourth in of the year. He won over 1m6f at Haydock back in September looking to love every yard of the trip before dropping back to 1m4f here and despite trying to make it a testing 1m4f he just didn’t have the pace to hold off the winner in the final furlong. Step back-up in trip looks likely to help and even though the Bookies aren’t exactly being generous here either I am on at 15-8.  

Be lucky