Today’s best bets, by Chris Cook
Well, that didn’t last long! Dermot Weld moved yesterday to book Frankie Dettori for Fascinating Rock in Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Today, he took the horse out of the race.
Dettori had the mount for about 19 hours, by my reckoning. He now has five times as long to find another ride in the race, which would give him a chance to set a new jockey’s record of five Arc-winning rides.
In other news, the forecast for the Chantilly area predicts just 2mm of rain by Sunday, continuing the recent dry spell there. Harzand is not going to get the soft ground that suits him best unless the clerk is doing an extraordinary amount of watering.
No watering is required at Ayr, where today’s card has been abandoned because of waterlogging. There’s another Flat fixture there next week but, with plenty of rain expected before then, I wouldn’t bet on it going ahead. On the up side, the ground will be just right for a bit of jump racing later in October. Maybe Thistlecrack can make his debut there ...
Life being what it is, the going will be good or faster for today’s two jump cards, including Sedgefield, where Oh So Gigolo (4.15) catches the eye. He showed initial promise in bumpers on a sound surface but seems not to have excited his former trainer, Nicky Henderson, who let him go for a song at auction in early August after he had been well beaten in three maiden hurdles.
Here he is now, making his handicap debut off a low mark for Kenneth Slack, whose ability for getting cast-offs to win should now be familiar. Oh So Gigolo ought to have some talent for this game, to judge by his pedigree, and I’m happy to take 13-2 that the Slack effect will show today.
At Wolverhampton, there’s a generous 9-1 about Dance Band (6.10) from the in-form Roger Varian yard that has a fine record at this track. She won her only all-weather start so far, on Kempton’s Polytrack, back in June, shortly before the stable was struck by virus.
In the circumstances, it wouldn’t take much for me to forgive her first run back, so I’m not that fussed that she was last of five at Brighton three weeks ago. That undulating track on soggy turf is not for every horse and particularly not for all-weather types.
She’s only 4lb higher than for her win and, while I accept that this is the other way round to Kempton and a significantly different all-weather surface, I expect to see a return to form of sorts from this filly, whose half-brother was rated a stone higher.
Royal Reef (7.40), by contrast, is not short of course form, having hosed up here 10 days ago. From a 6lb higher mark, I hope for a similar performance at odds of 3-1.
We are no longer able to continue with competitions every week, but they will still run in the biggest weeks (Cheltenham, Aintree, Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood and maybe one or two others, as well as the Christmas quiz).
We’ll still have a Talking Horses each day for tips, analysis and news, so we very much hope you’ll join us to chew over whatever racing happens to be going on and post your tips or racing-related comments below.
