Digestives

A good weekend for the Coolmore operation with Aidan O'Brien's son Jospeh claiming his first Classic winner aboard Roderic O'Connor in yesterday's Irish 2000 Guineas while earlier this afternoon Misty For Me took the Irish 1000 Guineas. This evening William Hill is best-priced about both horses for Epsom - Roderic O'Connor is quoted at 20/1 for the Derby and Misty For Me 10/1 for the Oaks.

There was plenty of media hype surrounding Hungarian sprinter Overdose, aka the Budapest Bullet, and his attempt on Haydock's Temple Stakes. In the event the Bullet proved to be a blank, trailling home a disappointing seventh. After the race pilot Andreas Suborics indicated the horse may appreciate more give underfoot following his recent training problems.

Plenty think Carlton House is something of a shoo-in for the Derby. Generally the market has proved a very good guide to the race (no winner priced bigger than 7/1 in the past decade) and the right vibes have been coming out of the stable. Nevertheless, three reasons to be wary...This year's Dante was a muddling affair with the time (2m 13.49) over three seconds slower than the Middleton Stakes (2m 10.05) run half an hour earlier; the colt isn't guaranteed to stay; the current price offers little in the way of value.

Many years ago an acquaintance of mine described our sport as 'a game of regrets', pointing out that even when you've lucky enough to have backed a winner, you're somehow troubled by the fact you hadn't increased your stake money. Last week my particular regret was not to have chanced Moorlands Jack on his first try over hurdles at Uttoxeter. In a Weekender Stable Tour article last September handler Tim Vaughan was particularly sweet on the (then) unraced  five-year-old, commenting the bay gelding would be 'speedy enough to win first time out'. Two below par efforts in bumpers didn't look encouraging going into the Uttoxeter race but the trainer's faith wasn't misplaced as 20/1 chance Moorlands Jack won despite being less than fluent at a couple of his hurdles. I'll monitor progress with interest. Others worth a second look if appearing in the foreseeable future include recent Perth winner Lewlaur Supreme, David Pipe's bumper winners Swing Bowler and Barney Cool and Paul Webber's Monkey Milan who took a Towcester bumper - jock Denis O'Regan was reported keen not to use the whip on this rather green five-year-old.

Finally, where's the value? £50 million for Chelsea footballer Fernando Torres or £53 million for Waterstone's 300 High Street bookstores?          
 

Sunday shorts

Less than two weeks to the Epsom Derby and I still don't have much of an idea what what I'm going to back. At this stage, on grounds of value alone, I have to oppose St Nicholas Abbey. Henry Cecil's Bullet Train put in a decent performance to take the Lingfield trial but immedaitely after that race connections seemed to indicate they didn't think their charge good enough for racing's Blue Riband. Since then there appears to have been a change of heart, although Bullet Train doesn't give much away on the gallops. At the moment 10/1 Bullet Train is of some interest but I'm keeping my ear to the ground.

Canford Cliffs won Saturday's Irish 2000 Guineas in some style -that's two top milers in Richard Hannon's yard - the aforementioned Canford Cliffs and, of course, Paco Boy.

These days a trip down the local bookies to place a bet can lead to something else... Not only are you likely to be relieved of all your cash, there's a chance you could end up with a serious injury. Recently there has been an armed raid on a Ladbrokes betting shop in Peterborough while on Wednesday a policeman was stabbed in a betting shop in Bracknell, Berkshire.

Being the wrong side of fifty, I take that little extra delight in seeing an old-timer do the business. This evening then congratulations go to Ollie Magern who, at the ripe old age of twelve, rolled back the years and made all to win the Perth Gold Cup with something to spare at odds of 14/1.

Finally a story in the current Private Eye caught my eye but I don't have the issue to hand. Apparently a punter placed £20 with Paddy Power on Gordon Brown being the Prime Minister after the election. With the outcome a hung parliament, the punter expected to collect but was informed initially by the company that with a hung parlaiment there was no Prime Minister in post. A further query to the firm raised even more constitutional questions - I promise I'll try and dig out the details...

Noted in running

What a fine weekend's work for Johnny Murtagh! He wins the Irish 2000 Guineas aboard Mastercraftsman on Saturday and then twenty four hours later collects the Irish 1000 Guineas on the appropriately-named Again.

Last week I wrote a paragraph highlighting Rip Van Winkle's chance in the Derby, provided, of course, you took the view the horse will stay. The rumour-mill has kicked into overdrive over the past couple of days, to such an extent that Rip Van Winkle is now as low as 4/1 (previously 10/1 with several layers) for the Epsom classic. Murtagh is on record as saying he has a 'soft spot' for Rip but he won't let his heart rule his head when he has to choose. Several observers have taken this as an indication Murtagh will ride Rip Van Winkle - I'm not so sure. If you have 10/1 Rip, now may be the time to consider a hedge on Fame And Glory, priced up at 7/2 with Coral.

Amongst other things Epsom racecourse is set to host 'Breakfast With The Stars' this coming Thursday and the Clement Freud Memorial, a £50,000 handicap, on Derby Day; 'Freud On Course' is due to be published by Racing Post books on Friday 5th June.

Talking of Sir Clement Freud - if the great man were still with us, I'm sure he would have had plenty to say on this 'Duck Pond parliament' and in the process would have marked our card on the market for the new House of Commons Speaker. I can't find Robin Oakley on Twitter so instead I've asked Austin Mitchell, Labour MP for Great Grimsby, to point us in the right direction. I recognise it's something of a longshot and I'm not holding my breath; so far I haven't heard a peep from the man, but, rest assured, if he passes on anything of interest, I'll let you know...

I bought the Racing Post on Saturday primarily to read Alistair Down's interview with John Inverdale. Honest. And a jolly interesting read it is too. Mr. Inverdale isn't particularly high on my list of preferred presenters - Alistair Down's line 'I had formed the opinion down the years that Inverdale would always get a game with the "Little Bit Pleased With Himself XI"...' echoed my perception. I've often thought Inverdale more interested in playing for laughs rather than asking questions the viewer wants answered. It turns out the BBC presenter has been an avid racing fan since childhood, has owned parts of several mediocre horses and now owns a part of a rather good one in the shape of Amour Propre. Perhaps time for a re-think on my part, methinks...

This time of year I can never decide whether to concentrate solely on the jumps or focus on the Flat; the result is I end up falling between the two stools. Over the jumps it was good to see Sam Thomas ride a double at Cartmel last night (for trainer Tom George) on his comeback after a crunching fall at Plumpton a fortnight ago. On the Flat, a reminder to those who like to bet the two-year-olds, Jason Coote's H.C.E. Horse Racing Tips is well worth consulting.

Finally, on Friday sports writers had some fun when (David) Horsey set off in front in the PGA Championship at Wentworth. Since then, Horsey has failed to keep up with the pace and has been swamped by his field...

Irish 2000 Guineas and Newmarket

With the going at the Curragh likely to be heavy, it's no surprise this evening to see Mastercraftsman take over from Delegator at the head of the Irish 2000 Guineas market. Brian Meehan's charge finished second behind See The Stars in the Guineas at Newmarket three weeks ago but isn't certain to appreciate the underfoot conditions whereas Aidan O'Brien's inmate, fifth at Newmarket, won the seven furlong National Stakes here last September on heavy ground. On official ratings Mastercraftsman is the top-rated animal - he has three pounds in hand over his English rival - and so gets the vote.

Newmarket's opener has only the six runners but looks intriguing, with Big Bound likely to make the running. Your Old Pal beat Palavicini a head last time out over course and distance but the runner-up looks weighted to reverse placings here. Henry Cecil's Father Time was third behind Age Of Aquarius in the Lingfield Derby trial a fortnight ago; that day I thought Father Time's head carriage looked a little awkward in the closing stages and the form book states 'pressed leaders over 1f out, not run on'; the shorter trip here may help but I'll go with Palavicini.

In the 2.50 Alyarf should offer some value against likely hotpot Donativum while a quick look at the 2-y-o maiden would seem to point to Mark Johnston's Step In Time. These days however, before I get involved in any two year old race, I check out the details on Jason Coote's excellent H.C.E. Horse Racing Tips blog and I recommend you do the same. The notes for this race conclude 'This may not be a straightforward race.' With that in mind, I'll watch from the sidelines.

Notes in running

Two performances stood out over the weekend - Henrythenavigator's victory in the Irish 2000 Guineas and Fleeting Spirit's run in Haydock's Temple Stakes. Henrythenavigator looks as though he'll be making his way to Epsom for the Derby, while the filly Fleeting Spirit shaved over a second off the five furlong course record at Haydock and now heads for the King Stand's Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Henrythenavigator may know which way he's going but both Sam Thomas and Ruby Walsh have had trouble in that department over the past week. Sam Thomas took the wrong course at Fakenham last Monday while Ruby Walsh mistakenly sent his mount over the water jump at Stratford on Friday evening when riding a finish. Paul Nicholls now finds himself in the position of having his two top riders serving a ban for taking the wrong course. At Stratford's Saturday evening meeting adjustments were made to the manner in which the water jump was dolled off in order to avoid an embarrassing repetition of Ruby's mistake.

High Street bookmaking is a competitive business; differentiators such as customer service are all important. Recently, in a Coventry branch of Ladbrokes, I picked up two leaflets entitled 'Did we get it right today?' and 'Are we meeting our promises?' The latter publication tells me Labrokes are committed to providing 'the best possible service'. Ladbrokes' boss Chris Bell appears to have been singularly unimpressed with British Airways' approach to customer service during a recent flight and, according to this Times report, hasn't been slow in letting the airline know about it...

Irish 2000 Guineas

Eight runners are set to go to post for tomorrow's Boylesports Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh. The first three in the English Guineas meet once again, with many commentators convinced the race is between Newmarket victor Henrythenavigator and New Approach. At the time of writing New Approach is generally 11/8 while Henrythenavigator is 7/4. Stubbs Art, a 100/1 shot at Newmarket, finished four lengths behind the principals and makes some appeal as an each-way wager in this, provided the eight take their chance. He's currently priced at 16/1; trainer David Elsworth seems quite upbeat about the horse's chance and has persuaded the owner to shell out the sizeable supplementary fee. Aidan O'Brien's Jupiter Pluvius looks a dark horse. Casting my mind back to discussion before the season's first classic, I'm sure a couple of commentators rated this horse the best of the Ballydoyle entries before his unfortunate withdrawal; he looks bred for speed, but, if he stays the trip, I think he will go close. I'm going out on a bit of a limb and will back Jupiter Pluvius to win at around 8/1 and Stubbs Art each way at 16/1 or bigger.

There's a decent jumps card at Stratford tomorrow evening, the highlight being the Champion Hunters' Chase over three and a half miles, due off at 7.20. Peter Bowen's Take The Stand will be popular but I'll look closely at Natiain; on official handicap ratings he's the one they all have to beat. Regular pilot Harry Haynes has recently turned professional, so top amateur Ollie Greenhall gets the leg-up. There's a fair chance Natiain will try to make all; in the Weekender Carl Evans reports that trainer Alistair Brown is 'quietly confident'. Natiain rates a bet at around the 4/1 mark.

Finally Coral go 6/1 Queen of the South to lift the Scottish Cup and 10/1 the Dumfries side will get the job done in ninety minutes; given Rangers' recent schedule, those prices look tempting...

Irish Guineas meeting

The Irish Guineas meeting takes place at the Curragh this weekend. Cockney Rebel is likely to start a short priced favourite in the 2,000 Guineas after his popular victory in the English version at Newmarket three weeks ago.

On Sunday Finsceal Beo will start favourite but looks somewhat vulnerable in the 1,000 Guineas; this will be the filly's third Group 1 race in as many weeks. Provided the rain doesn't arrive, the favourite could be worth opposing with Arch Swing trained by John Oxx. Mark 'The Couch' Winstanley has made a convincing case for this horse in The Weekender; I'll be hoping she does the business.