Talking Horses

Today's best bets

Sedgefield and Southwell, oh the glamour. I have no problem with a bit of low-level racing but these are two tricky tracks, where finding a winner is made even more difficult by the slightly jaded quality of some of the runners.

That shouldn't be a problem for Comedy Hall (3.00) in Southwell's six-furlong maiden, as he's only run once and showed moderate promise in what may have been a decent race at Newmarket. At any rate, the winner, Mr David, ran next in the Gimcrack and was a respectable fourth.

Comedy Hall, fifth on his debut, is trained by Mark Johnston and can be expected to improve a great deal for the experience. There are a couple of debutants in the race but Godolphin's Prince Of Vasa has an underwhelming profile and Circumvent comes from an out-of-form yard, so Comedy Hall is quite backable at 7-4.

I prefer Ingleby Spirit (2.30) at 7-2 to the odds-on Mingun Bell in the opener. Richard Fahey's runner absolutely hosed up on soft ground in a Haydock maiden and has had excuses for two defeats since. His going preference suggests Southwell's Fibresand should suit, whereas this is much less certain for Mingun Bell, whose win came on fast going.

Goldan Jess has been made favourite for the last at Sedgefield, a handicap hurdle for conditional jockeys, on the strength of running well without winning recently, on the Flat and over obstacles. But the gelding has managed one win from 35 starts and it may be worth opposing him with Longdale (4.45), who has been five times as productive from as many outings.

Twice a winner round here, this veteran scored on his last hurdles start in June and is a fair price at 11-2 in a poor race.

Tipping competition, day two

A tipping performance for the ages from fleety3001 yesterday, getting all three winners at 12-1, 9-2 and 3-1. That will guarantee a profit over the week, but it's not enough to guarantee victory with four days to go.

Today, we'd like your tips, please, for these races: 4.15 Sedgefield, 4.45 Sedgefield, 5.00 Southwell.

This week's prize is a copy of the newly republished biography of Kieren Fallon, written by Andrew Longmore. A one-man controversy magnet, Fallon will be returning to the saddle at the end of next week after almost two years on the sidelines.

As ever, our champion will be the tipster who returns the best profit to notional level stakes of £1 at starting price on our nominated races, of which there will be three each day. Non-runners count as losers. Regarding any dispute, our decision is final. New entrants are welcome today but they must start on -3.

Good luck!

Standings after day one

fleety3001 +19.50

tom1977 +6.50

15244 +6.50

progolfer +2.50

mike65ie +2.50

suckzinclee +2.50

stee33 +2.50

leviticus67 +2.50

Hotspur61 +1

xwireman +1

millreef +1

sangfroid +1

johne5knuckle +1

paulusthewoodgnome +1

JDK1 +1

Smidster -3

legend57 -3

gashead1105 -3

MrPositive -3

Mai11 -3

garynic -3

WalthamstowLad -3

MillieJ -3

sandiuk -3

slackdad38 -3

Moscow08 -3

JD72 -3

paddyconsidine -3

TheVic -3

Renzofan -3

Harrytheactor -3

LorrainePa -3

23skidoo -3

Rivercity -3

Toptrapper -3

shears39 -3

horses4courses -3

DrKelso -3

1.15pm Canford defeat - ground to blame

As confidently predicted by Talking Horses yesterday, there is nothing wrong with Canford Cliffs – the scope has come back clear after his defeat in Sunday's Prix Morny. But that's not to say there is no excuse.

"Having watched endless replays, it is noticable how he lugged to the left in the final furlong and I am convinced that he was feeling the firm ground," his trainer, Richard Hannon, has said on his website this morning.

"It was soft when he won on his debut at Newbury and Royal Ascot produced beautiful ground, but Deauville are coming to the end of a month's racing and it was very firm - and rough in parts - there on Sunday."

Ho hum, I might actually buy that as a mitigating factor, because they broke the course record in the Morny and that generally happens only if the going is lightning fast. So maybe we can let Canford off this one defeat in a hot race, but he's got plenty to prove now if he's going to be a Guineas contender.

4.45pm Will Hayler reports

Brian Hughes has become the latest name to be added to racing's casualty list when he was taken to hospital after a pile-up at Sedgefield. He was taken to North Tees Hospital for precautionary tests after the second race. Hughes was on board Itsallyours Al when his mount took a crashing fall at the third-last flight in the selling hurdle, bringing down Safin and hampering Sands of Barra, who was quickly pulled up. Subsequent races were delayed by 25 minutes due to lack of ambulance cover after Hughes was transferred to hospital.

The clerk of the course, Charlie Moore, said: "Itsallyours Al is still being treated by our veterinary team at the track. Brian Hughes has gone to hospital for some check-ups but he was talking and mobile when he left. I don't know if he had been knocked out at all in the fall."

The afternoon took another turn for the worse when odds-on favourite Come Back To Me collapsed and died on his return to the unsaddling area having finished fourth in the two-and-half-mile novice hurdle. A substantial gamble on the Irish-trained Prospectorous went narrowly astray in the novice handicap chase. Widely available at 12-1 this morning, Philip Dempsey's runner was sent off at just 9-4 but didn't look the most willing partner under pressure, made a series of sloppy jumps and was unable to reel in Sarah's Gift by a length and a half.

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