Derby Day 2011

The jockeys have been making the news today... There were two stand-out rides at Epsom earlier, from Ryan Moore aboard Saint Nicholas Abbey in the Coronation Cup and from Johnny Murtagh who pinched the Oaks from the front on Dancing Rain. Frankie Dettori found himself in trouble with the stewards after the Oaks, having been found guilty of dropping his hands and losing third place; he has been hit with a ten day ban. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether Kieren Fallon will be able to ride in tomorrow's Derby after the owner of Native Khan took out a High Court injunction to prevent the jockey from riding Aidan O'Brien's Recital; the judge initially ruled he would not prevent Fallon from riding but the decision has been taken to appeal - the result is due at 0900 Saturday morning.

My Derby record makes grim reading with just two wins (Authorized 2007 and Workforce 2010) in forty years of trying. Generally the market has proved a good guide to the race with Sinndar (7/1) being the biggest priced winner in recent years. Using that benchmark, the victor will come from a list that comprises Carlton House, Recital, Pour Moi and Seville. I can't have the Queen's colt, Carlton House. His victory in the Dante was over three seconds slower than Midday's time in the Middleton Stakes half an hour earlier; he isn't guaranteed to stay; he doesn't represent value while his problems in the build-up have been well-documented. Fallon originally committed to ride Native Khan but has jumped ship; the jock has written a bullish piece in the Weekender about Recital's chance but at this point we don't know if he'll be on board. Seville finished second behind Carlton House in the muddling Dante and on breeding looks the more likely to stay the trip. Pour Moi has been well backed in recent weeks but French traned horses don't have a great record in the race.

Native Khan catches my eye, although obviously Fallon's view is respected. Ed Dunlop's grey isn't guaranteed to stay but he appeared to finish the 2000 Guineas strongly. Timeform rates the principals as follows: Carlton House 136p; Native Khan 134p; Seville 133p; Recital 133; Pour Moi 129p. At 12/1 with Coral I'll chance Native Khan staying the distance and have an each-way wager. For the dreamers amongst you, one that will stay and looks overpriced at 100/1 is Pisco Sour, although the luck of the draw (stall one) hasn't been kind to Hughie Morrison and his colt.

Should Carlton House win for Her Majesty, she will become the first royal to win the Derby since King Edward VII took the race with Minoru in 1909. Should Carlton House disappoint but Sohraab win the preceding Epsom Dash, I'd imagine Her Majesty would not be particularly amused; Kate Middleton's parents own a share of Sohraab...

Up at Newcastle's evening meeting, several runners in the two mile handicap (7.30) have form over the sticks. Orsippus is one that stands out, despite top weight, having finished third in the Coral Cup at Cheltenham in March. Off a mark of 137 he disappointed in the Swinton Hurdle but he starts this Grade 6 handicap off 62. He would be of interest if priced around 5/1 (as he is in tonight's tissue). In the past Westlin' Winds has tended to show better form with cut underfoot; this is his third run for Brian Ellison, having moved north from Charles Egerton's yard a couple of months back. Brian Ellison's 21% strike rate in the past fortnight means an improvement on those first two runs wouldn't be a complete surprise.  

Weekend notes

In a strongly-run Irish Derby earlier this afternoon, Fame And Glory gained some compensation for his Epsom defeat by beating stablemate Golden Sword five lengths.This was Aidan O'Brien's seventh Irish Derby and Johnny Murtagh's third. In post-race comments Murtagh identified the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown as a possible target for the winner. Riding in his first classic, the winning trainer's son, J P O'Brien, finished tenth of the eleven runners on 200/1 shot Byzantine.

Michael Owen's wife, Louise, has recently been gainfully employed promoting next Saturday's Coral Eclipse at Sandown. That race has been given an extra fillip with the news that Epsom Derby winner Sea The Stars now goes for that prize, having been withdrawn from the Irish Derby on account of the easy ground.

There were plenty of footballing links at Newcastle's meeting on Saturday, links Derek Thompson wasn't slow to point out. Before the Pitmen's Derby, former Magpies' player Peter Beardsley and Hull City manager Phil Brown tipped up Som Tala from the stable of ex-England international Mick Channon. The beast, a 16/1 shot, won with something in hand. Roker Park won the 2.35 and Horatio Carter the 3.45; both are owned by Sunderland fan Mr T Alderson. Roker Park was the ground Sunderland used to play at while Horati Stratton Carter, better known as Raich Carter, captained them to the league title and their first FA Cup final victory. By the way, just in case you missed it, Derek Thompson originates from these parts...

Following on from recent match-fixing posts, I'm grateful to the Wrexham Supporters Association Blog for bringing to my attention two links that add some detail to the circumstances surrounding the Histon v. Lewes game in September 2008. Cambridge News Online reported the Histon team were threatened by a gambling ring while in May 2009 the Daily Mail made reference to five non-league games that were under investigation. Of course, fixing is a worry in all sports - the first-round tie at this year's Wimbledon Championships between Jurgen Melzer and Wayne Odesnik has been been in the news and has been reported to the authorities. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) for its part has welcomed the recent announcement by Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe that he is to set up a Sports Betting Integrity Panel.

Mrs Tips and I were at Wimbledon on Thursday, having been allocated two Centre Court tickets through the public ballot system. The crowds were big, the weather hot - I found it all jolly tiring. I was left wondering whether the tennis product is better consumed through the medium of television. Mrs T. enjoyed it though, so I've asked her to file a report; she says she'll do that when she has fully recovered...

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...

Byte-sized bits

York's Ebor meeting starts on Tuesday, the first day's highlight being the clash between Duke Of Marmalade and New Approach in the Juddmonte International. Last night Victor Chandler went out on a limb by offering 7/2 New Approach. Twenty four hours later, New Approach is a best-priced 5/2 shot with Coral, and as low as 7/4 with Boylesports.

Paco Boy's turn of foot looked exceptional as he destroyed a decent field in yesterday's Hungerford Stakes at Newbury. It was interesting to hear Ryan Moore say afterwards that the horse's best trip is seven furlongs.

At the same meeting Johnny Murtagh managed to get Sixties Icon up in the shadow of the post to win the Geoffrey Freer, much to the relief of favourite backers. Murtagh, the Coolmore number one, is having a wonderful season, but not everyone is a fan - Mike De Kock was furious with the jockey's ride in last week's Arlington Million that effectively prevented his Archipenko from collecting the spoils.