Weekend playback 2nd/3rd November

The weekend's horseracing was very informative, as well as being entertaining. I was fortunate to get a good winner under my belt on Friday with Bless The Wings, and the fitness of Alan King's stable runners was  reinforced by good performances (and winners) throughout the weekend.

The "big boys" of the jump racing scene were all out in force with multiple winners from Paul Nicholls, Nicky Henderson and Alan King. I was particularly impressed with the performances from Nicky Henderson's horses as he sent just 4 to Ascot and 3 with2 winners ridden by Barry Geraghty, who managed a hat-trick at the meeting.

Paul Nicholls was not to be outdone, as he sent out 3 winners including a couple of progressive young chasers in Silviniaco Conti and Kauto Stone, and don't forget Cristal Bonus who also won at Down Royal. The former won the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby but I'm not sure just what he beat in doing so as they race collapsed with about 3 fences to go.  Sure, Wayward Prince went on with the eventual winner and stayed on to be 2nd, but he was well and truly put in his place on the run-in.

As for Alan King, he had an uneventful season by his standards last year but he's got his runners in fine fettle this autumn and, along with Bless The Wings on Friday, he won with Raya Star at Ascot on Saturday. Other trainers who look to have their horses going well are Lucinda Russell who sent out a hat-trick at Ayr plus Bold Sir Brian at Carlisle on Sunday; and Sue Smith and Charlie Longsdon.

Some particular performances that caught my eye over the weekend were from:-

BLESS THE WINGS (Fri 2nd Nov): Resumed his progress and is one to follow until he reaches his ceiling. This win came off OR137 and he could be a 150+ chaser by the Spring, altho' he's not shown any sort of form on soft/heavy ground. Should stay 3-mile.

ROLLING ACES (Sat 3rd Nov): Was doing all his best work late-on in this 2m3f race, his debut chase race under rules. Seeing as he won over 3-mile over hurdles we should see him improve considerably from an increase in trip to 2m6f+.

RAYA STAR (Sat 3rd Nov): This was his 2nd win at Ascot and he looked like he had plenty in-hand. Could well stay 2m4f and has won on soft ground. Didn't seem to handle Cheltenham at the Festival, but there are plenty of opportunities elsewhere.

KAUTO STONE (Sat 3rd Nov): In my opinion, the best chasing performance of the weekend. The runner-up (First Lieutenant) is no mug and this was a decent field. This was his 1st attempt at 3-mile and, given his liking for soft ground plus that he is only a 6yo, we can expect plenty more to come.

CRACK AWAY JACK (Sat 3rd Nov): Had he stayed the 3m1f trip, he'd have won this easily as he approached the final flight looking to have the race in the bag. Clearly, his OR140 chase rating looks very lenient on this show.

WAYWARD PRINCE (Sat 3rd Nov): Likely won't be raised much for this as he was beaten 11-lengths by the winner, but this was his best performance since his novice chase season. Won't want ground too soft NTO, he ran his best race in the "Rowland Meyrick" on Boxing Day last season and could return for another go in December.

My own selections let me down on Saturday. Planet Of Sound did not look the same horse he was last season and he could be heading for the veteran chases now. Aces High just did not "turn-up" and ran as tho'
he'd much rather have been somewhere else. Perhaps he suffered from a recurrence of the injury / problem that kept him off the track for most of the past year. As for Kalellshan, his jockey needed a good talking to after falling out of the plate at the 4th fence when going well. Had he stood up, I reckon he'd have won that race by a street.

The blog will be back later in the week and the format for the immediate future is to publish online on Friday & Saturday, with a review of the weekends racing on Monday

Good luck & thanks for reading this blog to all visitors, I hope that readers of the blog get enjoyment from it.

If you've had a successful wager on the back of what you've read here, then please make a contribution as an expression of thanks. Feel free to tell those who you think may find the blog of interest and value and, if
you are a regular visitor, please add the blog to your list of favourites.
Remember!  Betting on horseracing should be a pleasurable experience - never bet more than you can afford to lose.
Thanks from Wayward Lad.

Back with a bang - 13/2 winner!

Did you miss me? Back with a 13/2 winner yesterday (advised on twitter and blog posted at 10am) when BLESS THE WINGS (SP 11/4) romped home.

What a tremendous days’ racing we have in store today with great meetings at Wetherby, Ascot and Ayr plus an interesting race in Ireland at Down Royal. The feature race of the day is the Charlie Hall chase at Wetherby and it’s cut-up a bit with only 6 runners going to post. My money will be on PLANET OF SOUND at 5/1.  Since he stepped-up to 3-mile chasing, he's been a revelation. His best performances are always when "fresh" and last season his 2nd in the Hennessey carrying 11:2 off a rating of OR158 was (IMO) one of the performances of the season. He followed that up with a good 3rd at Kempton, beaten only by course specialist Nacarat and the well-handicapped and improving Helpston. He was my main wager in the Grand National and led them a merry dance in that race losing the lead only 4-out after which Richard Johnson cantered him home safely. With just 11st on Saturday, and receiving 5lb from the 6yo favourite, it will take some performance to stop him winning. He has the best speed-rating by a mile (courtesy of that Hennessey 2nd) and the others – apart from the fav – look held. If Silviniarco Conti can win today then he’s a decent horse, but the odds are no reflection of his chance, he should be 7/2 and not 13/8.

The Grade 2 hurdle over 3m1f at 2:50 looks a cracker, and I couldn’t find the winner of this if I tried. That said, I do think CRACK AWAY JACK could be the surprise package in this race, he has untold potential.

At Ascot, Nicky Henderson has introduced some decent horses to chasing in the 1:25 so I’m expecting Hadrian’s Approach to run well. However, chasing is what ROLLING ACES is bred to do and he may be a different horse in this, his chase debut.   As a member of the White Diamond Racing syndicate, I’ll be watching Ted Spread with interest in the 2:35 as we’ve just bought his half-brother Phantom Ranch. If you are interested in shares contact Tom Castle at White Diamond Racing.

I'm expecting a big run from ACE HIGH in the 3:10. He should have come on a bundle for his recent run (the first in a year) and carries just 10st 2lb. 
Another that I'm looking forward to seeing is KALELLSHAN in the 3:45.  I first came across this horse when having a successful wager on him when he won at Sedgefield back in Sept 2009 beating a useful field. He should have followed-up a few weeks later when trouncing an even better field, but his jockey brought-about a calamitous mistake at the final fence. He was injured in that race and not seen again till the following July - had he not been injured I reckon he'd have been one of the better novice chasers of that season, certainly up to contesting the Arkle. On his return, he needed his first run to blow the cobwebs away and then won 2 hurdles in 4 days at the Galway Festival (that takes some doing), before again succumbing to injury. He was off the course nearly 2-years, returning in June 2012. With a new trainer in charge, he was coaxed back to fitness in 3 flat races during the summer before going on to win another hurdle at the Galway Festival this summer. He then won again on his next outing in a chase at Killarney. I thought he was OR150+ back in 2009 and, having won his last 4 races over the jumps (hurdles and chases), I'd say he's lost none of his ability. He looks to be 10lb well-in running off OR142.

So that’s it for today:-

Wetherby 3:25 PLANET OF SOUND @ 5/1

Ascot 3:10 ACE HIGH @ 5/1

Ascot 3:45 KALELLSHAN @ 6/1

Thanks for reading this blog to all visitors, and I hope that readers of the blog get enjoyment from it. If you have had a successful wager on the back of what you’ve read here, then please make a contribution as an expression of thanks. Feel free to tell those who you think may find the blog of interest and value and, if you are a regular visitor, please add the blog to your list of favourites.

Remember!
Betting on horseracing should be a pleasurable experience - never bet more than you can afford to lose.

Thanks from Wayward Lad.

Return of Wayward Lad

Welcome back readers, I've been away too long – even if I say so myself!

I did say that I'd be back in the autumn, and I've started and not finished a couple of posts over the past few weeks to the blog, but today I'm feeling more positive. Due to work commitments this won't be a daily blog as it has been over the past 3 years or so, but will be more of a weekend blog. Hopefully, that will suit me and those who read it as I tended to get most hits on a Saturday anyway.

As always, you can find me commenting on horseracing on Twitter, where you can find me tweeting as @wayward_lad

Onto the horseracing…

We have a cracking meeting at Wetherby today, ably supported by Uttoxeter. The opening juvenile hurdle at Wetherby at 1:00 has Jonjo O'Neill's only runner at the meeting MR WATSON. This horse was purchased for £215,000 after winning his "bumper" in Ireland and, if you combine that fact with his prolific strike rate at Wetherby with hurdlers (7 wins from 17 runners, or 41%) then you may well be led to thinking that the current odds of 9/4 look generous.

I'm a great follower of trainer trends and stats, and the next race at Wetherby may test those. Both Brian Ellison and Steve Gollings have solitary runners at Wetherby, and they both run in the 2:00 there, Royal Opera and Laterly respectively. Ellison is 5 wins from 31 runners over hurdles (16%), but Gollings is 3 wins from 9 (33%). I couldn't (hand-on-heart) recommend a wager on either, but I reckon they will both run a lot better than their current odds suggest.

One horse I've been looking forward to reappearing this season, is BLESS THE WINGS and he looks to have a winning chance in the 2:00 at Wetherby. He won me a packet when romping home at Cheltenham in January and I'll be having a wager on him at 13/2 as I can see him starting a lot shorter, possibly under 5/1. He won his seasonal debut last season, so we know he goes fresh, and he does travel well in his races which is something I really like. I don't think the going will be quick enough for the fav, Tiger O'Toole, and there are (in my opinion) question-marks over the other fancied runners. One I am keeping an eye on for any market moves is Sue Smith's Gansey as he's clearly the stable "fancy" and Smith has a great record in this race – 4 wins from 8 runners in the last 10 years.
The Class 1 juvenile hurdle at 2:35 is always a good pointer to what's the best around and I'm surprised Alan King hasn't an entry - he usually sends one of his best for this race. Whatever wins will be worth following.

Good luck & thanks for reading this blog to all visitors, I hope that readers of the blog get enjoyment from it.

If you have a successful wager on the back of what you've read here, then please make a contribution as an expression of thanks. Feel free to tell those who you think may find the blog of interest and value and, if you are a regular visitor, please add the blog to your list of favourites.
Remember!  Betting on horseracing should be a pleasurable experience - never bet more than you can afford to lose.
Thanks from Wayward Lad

Taking a break

I'm taking a break from blogging for a few months.

The Flat racing scene is not my best, and I much prefer the Jumps.

I'll be back in the Autumn.

All the best,
Wayward Lad