Bets bets for the horse racing this weekend around the globe
Best bets for the horse racing at Newbury
The going is good to soft-soft in places on round course at Newbury for their seven-race card including the two Classic trials. The meeting gets underway at 1.30 with the Group Three 1m4f Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Stakes. This looks a fairly strong Group Three but one stands out for me especially considering the recent weather. I have tipped Arrest before and I am doing so again this afternoon for this at 2-1 this morning BPG. Last seen finishing second in the St Leger the mile-and-a-half here is a fair test, especially on softer ground, and he should be able to return to winning ways, the fact he has gone well fresh in the past seen as another positive. Kieran Shoemark takes over in the saddle. Hamish, another I have tipped before, has plenty of good form at this level, mainly on softer going, so looks the one likely to give the favourite a run for his money giving away 3lb under race conditions.
At 2.05 7f the three-year-old fillies are on show for the 7f Group Three Dubai Duty Free Stakes (Registered As The Fred Darling Stakes). Just six go to post and it doesn’t look a great renewal to my eyes. William Haggas mentioned in a recent update I received from the yard concerning Treasure Time, a gelding in training with him, that he's string are perhaps a bit behind where they would usually be at this time of year due to the cold wet spring we are having; that said they have been amongst the winner. I think the yard can take this with their Relief Rally, who sets the standard on what these achieved as two-year-olds. Only defeated once in the, 5f G.2 Queen Mary Stakes where she was beaten a nose, she signed-off her juvenile campaign winning the 6f G.2 Lowther Stakes here in August. Four of her siblings have been winners and on breeding you would think the seven-furlong trip would be fine and that there should be more to come as a three-year-old. I am on at 5-2. Regal Jubilee won in Listed company at Newmarket in November and looks the danger.
The main race on the card is the 7f Group Three Watership Down Stud Too Darn Hot Greenham Stakes at 2.40. Having been won by the likes of Frankel, Kingman and Barney Roy in the recent past, the Greenham Stakes this year is a slightly strange affair. We have seven-runners rated over 100 suggesting it’s a fair renewal but Red-hot favourite for the race Zoum Zoum is actually a gelding so won’t be appearing in any Classics whether he wins or not. The son of Australian stallion Zoustar won all three of his starts at two including a Listed heat at Salisbury on heavy but it is his victory at Newmarket in a Novice Stakes on heavy on his second start that is the best bit of form; second that day Kikkuli winning the Alex Scott Maiden Stakes at HQ this week to frank the form and that looked a decent race. Ballymount Boy danced every dance last year placing in the G.2 Richmond Stakes and G.3 Acomb Stakes before a run in the 7f G.1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. He signed off his two-year-old campaign with a win in the Listed 6f William Hill Prospect Stakes (Registered as The Doncaster Stakes) on heavy ground. Army Ethos is actually top-rated on 110 and will have the fitness edge in theory having finished second in a 6f Novice Stakes at Newcastle last month. Second in the G.2 Coventry Stakes at the Royal meeting having won over six at Ayr on debut the extra furlong here may find him out and he could set this up for one of the others with his prominent style of running. Son is available at around 7's with form figures that on paper that don’t look anything special but when you take in to account he was being beaten by the likes of 2,000 Guineas favourite City Of Troy, winner of the Craven Stakes in the week stablemate Haatem, winner of the Zetland Stakes in the week Arabian Crown and Ghostwriter those runs suddenly don’t look that bad. A drop back to seven-furlongs may help, perhaps didn’t quite see out the mile on his last two starts, and he may put in a big run here at a nice price with the ground quickening.
I was going to tip Hidden Law for the 1m3f Darley 'Confined' Maiden Stakes but the colt is odds-on. The fact William Buick is here in the UK to ride looks significant.Best bets for the horse racing at Keeneland
Charlie Appleby has two running a Keeneland this evening in the Grade Two VisitLEX Elkhorn Stakes due off at 9.44 our time in the shape of Bold Act and Silver Knott. A Listed winner in France last year, Bold Act made an impressive return to action at the Dubai Racing Carnival when readily taking the G.2 Dubai City Of Gold on Super Saturday. Silver Knott was beaten a nose in the G.1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Keeneland in 2022 and spent the second half of his three-year-old campaign back in the United States, including appearances at Belmont Park and Colonial Downs. He headed out to California for the end of the season, finishing a half-length second in the G.2 Twilight Derby at Santa Anita prior to coming home third in Del Mar’s G.1 Hollywood Derby. Charlie Appleby said “Bold Act is a course and distance winner, which obviously ticks a few boxes. He has travelled and trained well going into this, and has a nice draw in stall four. Silver Knott has a wide draw in 11 but we feel that this step up in trip could suit, judged on his pedigree and running style. If he gets the trip, it will open up a few doors, and we have been pleased with his preparation. Bold Act probably looks the stronger of the pair on the back of his Sycamore Stakes win, but I’m hoping that we have two competitive runners.” Silver Knott is one of my Dirty Dozen for the season and as I said at the start of the year I expect to see this one campaigned internationally again in 2024 and he is certainly due a win or two after several good runs in defeat. There is every reason to think this trip will suit out in the States, all five runs out there last year over 1m1f and 1m2f, and I am backing the outsider of the Moulton Paddocks pair as he is available at around 6-1. Flavien Prat rides with Dettori on Bold Act.Be lucky