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Johnr's 2018 racing thread

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    Southwell abandoned after 5 races (probably should have been earlier), but the flat meetings are going ahead as scheduled.

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      Two words when together that warm the heart - ''Southwell abandoned''*

      * Except for when the mighty General Tufto is racing there.

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        I'm more of a Custard the Dragon man myself.

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          The current hero of the fibresand, and well on course to take his place alongside the greats such as La Estrella and Stand Guard on retirement.

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            FFS Sea of Class in the last few days and now Roaring Lion, although his prognosis seems a little more promising than the filly's ever was. It's a menace that colic - if only horses could throw up.


            https://twitter.com/rpbloodstock/status/1155279826892263426

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              Lord knows what it is with 'Glorious' Goodwood and shit weather, but high winds and pissing it down appears to be a recurring theme for a meeting that supposedly takes place in high summer.

              https://twitter.com/itvracing/status/1156197359061217282[COLOR=black][FONT=Arial] [/FONT][/COLOR]

              The performance of the opening day was by Godolphin's Pinatubo, who followed up victories at Royal Ascot and Epsom by storming 5L clear to win The Vintage Stakes. Almost certainly the best 2yo seen so far this season (at least on this side of The Irish Sea) he's as low as 5/2 in the ante-post markets for next year's 2000 Guineas. An insulting price and further proof if needed that bookmaking has gone to shit completely. I would however be tempted to take a similar price on him picking up an injury at some point and missing that race altogether, as the trainer Charlie Appleby seems to have issues keeping top prospects sound (will we ever see Quorto again?).

              Pinatubo is another high class son of Shamardal, who alongside Sheikh Mo's beloved Dubawi is the best stallion Darley/Godolphin have. He's also a completely private one, only covering mare's belonging to the organisation and no outside one's. That's highly unusual and suggests some physical frailties (rumoured to be dodgy legs) that will limit his time as a stallion. The boys in blue understandably want to make hay while they can.

              Sticking with the bloodstock angle the Japanese superstar Deep Impact had to be PTS yesterday due to a cervical fracture at the age of 17. One of the world's top sire's he was essentially Japan's equivalent of Galileo, and Coolmore themselves had starting sending some of their highest profile mares to him in recent years in an attempt to create a viable outcross to the increasingly narrow pedigrees on offer in much of Europe. An issue ''The Lads'' are heavily to blame for, but that's another tedious discussion altogether.
              Last edited by George; 30-07-2019, 20:49.

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                Poor old Crystal Ocean, that's five times now he's been runner up in G1 races - and the last two occasions have been all out battles settled only be the judge. It's likely so much hard racing has begun to take it's toll on the admirable 5yo, although Ballydoyle's usual tactical shenanigans with pacemakers certainly didn't help. I wouldn't be upset if Stoute decides against racing him in the Arc (Breeders Cup Turf a possibility in November). Japan's victory makes this years crop of 3yo middle distance colts look slightly less rotten now as well.

                Enable will be the centre of attention tomorrow in what should ostensibly be a match race with Magical in The Yorkshire Oaks. A miserly field of four has been declared for what will be the mare's penultimate race, and her last domestically before she heads over to Paris in early October.
                Last edited by George; 21-08-2019, 20:33.

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                  <Puts Mum's Tipple in tracker>

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                    A very, very impressive 11 length victory by Mum's Tipple to win what should have been the usual 21 runner 6f sales lottery. It will be interesting what they put it in as a 3-y-o, I'll be backing it.

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                      Moore has (rightly) been given a two day ban for excessive - and has it turned out unnecessary - use of the whip on Mum's Tipple in the last furlong of that race. If the silly bastard had bothered to look around he might have noticed the rest of the field ''falling out the back of the telly''. Thought I was watching Kirby or Morris for a moment.

                      Enable was all business in The Yorkshire Oaks, and her winning margin of almost three lengths was far more comfortable than the previous two meetings with Magical. Fingers crossed it all bodes well for that third Arc.

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                        Battaash breaking Dayjur's 29-year-old track record in the Nunthorpe was over shadowed by news later in the afternoon that both Roaring Lion and this year's Champion Hurdler Espoir D'Allen have been PTS, due to Colic and a training related injury respectively. A hard game at times.
                        Last edited by George; 23-08-2019, 23:03.

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                          Shit. Only yesterday there was a Twitter update saying Roaring Lion was getting better, back on his food etc.

                          And Espoir d'Allen too... saw him (easily) win the Champion Hurdle in person back in March, only 5 years old too so would possibly have had 5, 6 more seasons at the top.

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                            And guess who had the winner of the Ebor.

                            Ker-ching.

                            I thang yew.

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                              Timeform have given the aforementioned Mum's Tipple a provisional rating of 124, the second highest of any 2yo so far this season. That's a pound less than the G2 winner Pinatubo and eight pounds' superior to the Irish G1 winning Siskin. A significant achievement for a horse winning a humble sales race. Connections claim seven figure offers have been made for the colt (most likely by the BlueBin) and refused. They must be fucking mad; I would have snatched their hand off.

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                                That Threat looks a bit quirky, and possibly a lazy bugger once he hits the front. I can see some ''can I be bothered to win this thing? Nah!'' shenanigans from him in top Group 1 company.

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                                  It's a sign that summer is behind us when the racing at Newmarket shifts back to the Rowley Mile from the neighbouring (and more picturesque) July Course. Thankfully it also means a raft of top juvenile group action for the 2yo's, and today's Middle Park Stakes is an excellent renewal of the race. Mums Tipple (mentioned unthread) is a marginal favourite, which considering the next two in the market are already Group 1 winners seems a little outrageous. Of those two Earthlight is trained by Andre Fabre, who rarely takes his horses outside of France just to make up the numbers. The other G1 horse Siskin, is trained by an individual in Ger Lyons who rarely finds a reason to race a horse outside of Ireland for anything. The general consensus is it's the former of the two who probably has more upside to improve on previous performances. Golden Horde looks overpriced at 25/1, and could be an attractive EW option.

                                  The fillies’ equivalent takes place before hand with the Cheveley Park Stakes. The market leader Raffle Prize is currently 10/11 and has been described as ''bomb proof'', but the words ''Mark Johnston'' and ''odds on favourite'' will set off warning sirens for quite a few punters. The Fabre horse Tropbeau is an intriguing prospect. I saw it win on its second outing in a Clairefontaine maiden and it looked a few cuts above the rest then. It's since gone on to win two group races at Deauville and could be anything.

                                  Last edited by George; 28-09-2019, 14:59.

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                                    The Cheveley is won by Millisle, trained by Jessica Harrington, who doesn't do many flat horses, and when she does they don't leave Ireland unless etc etc

                                    Very annoyed I missed that one.

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                                      She's getting some serious ammunition now with the flat horses. Last year’s success with Alpha Centauri has helped accelerate that process. She's a top trainer.

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                                        Hopefully Siskin's alright. Can get nasty in those stalls sometimes.

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                                          Pity about Enable today, I bet many of the Brits and Irish in attendance had factored in their expected Enable winnings on paying for the trip. Looked like she was going to walk it at 2f.

                                          Fortunately, I had £1ew on Waldgeist. Fantastic record at Longchamps, so I felt it had to be in the mix for the places. £21 return, nice!

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                                            Two nice juveniles in Military March and Al Sulhail pulling well clear there for Godolphin at Newmarket, in what could be a fruitful afternoon for the Blue Bin at HQ with Pinatubo racing shortly in The Dewhurst. The O'Brien/Coolmore horses are hardly setting the world alight either,

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                                              The performance was a little more laboured compared to the explosiveness of his two previous races, but that was a solid performance by Pinatubo in what is essentially the end of season championship race for the 2yo colts and on challenging ground. Infact, it would have been unfair to expect a repeat of what happened at either Goodwood or The Curragh, where the opposition fell out of the back of the TV. A wonderful little horse, but don't be surprised if a number of horses train past him when he returns next year as a three year old for the 2000 Guineas.
                                              Last edited by George; 12-10-2019, 15:00.

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                                                A four timer on the Newmarket card for Ralph Beckett and Harry Bentley, including two group wins via the trainer's ongoing experiment with offspring of Lope De Vega. They seem to hit a brick wall at three, but as 2yo's there's already been considerable success, largely with daughters of the sire. The more far-sighted punter may want to keep a eye on Beckett's LDV purchases at the sales and try to get on early for a nice priced maiden if possible.
                                                Last edited by George; 12-10-2019, 17:07.

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                                                  Edited

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                                                    I'm away to Wetherby on Wednesday for the return of the real stuff, and the greedy buggers have expanded it to 8 races, which given a forecast 90% chance of rain means it will be a long, wet and cold day, which is what the jumps are all about.

                                                    The most interesting runner is Sam Spinner, once the next big thing in stayers hurdles (sent off as favourite but flopped at Cheltenham last year, before pushing Paisley Park every inch for 2nd at long odds this year). They're sending him chasing, which is an interesting choice for a horse that often had trouble clearing its hurdles (unseated twice in a row last winter). I'll steer clear, esprcially at 10/11, likely even shorter tomorrow. I'll go with Mr Antolini, another decent hurdler turning to fences, the question mark there is that 9 is an advanced age to switch disciplines.

                                                    We'll see - it's early season, bad weather, anything can win, and will.

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