Friday’s best bets, by Greg Wood
The Eclipse meeting at Sandown Park will open on Friday with the going on parts of the round course now good after a dry night at the Esher track. That news may see Time Test’s price for tomorrow’s Group One come under further pressure - he was cut from 9-2 to 4-1 on Thursday - although there is, of course, the chance of some heavy showers between now and Saturday afternoon.
Early look @Sandownpark after dry night - Round a mix of Good to Soft and Good, Sprint Soft and Good to Soft.
— Andrew Cooper (@ACooperClerk) July 1, 2016
Ayrad (4.00) is the standout bet on Friday’s card when he lines up against GM Hopkins in the Gala Stakes. Roger Charlton’s five-year-old has a little to find with his principal rival on the bare ratings, but there are several reasons to think that he can bridge the gap.
GM Hopkins will be stepping up to 10 furlongs for the first time and seems to save his best performances for Ascot’s straight mile, while Ayrad’s stamina is proven and he will also race with cheekpieces for the first time, which could eke out a pound or two of improvement. There is no obvious pacemaker in the line-up either, and in a slowly-run race, Ayrad’s prominent running style could give him the edge over GM Hopkins, who tends to be held up.
Threat Assessed (4.30), who took a competitive race at this track three weeks ago, and The New Pharaoh (5.05), who had to make plenty of ground to win at Leicester last time, look solid in the handicaps at the end of the card, while Shafafya (3.05) has a good chance against the favourite in the fillies’ handicap at Doncaster. Zealous (8.30), who recorded a good time when he got home by a short-head last time, can underline his improvement on the card at Haydock this evening.
Tipping competition, day five
Our winners so far:
Monday
Gran Canaria Queen 8-1
Matidia 11-4
Slemy 13-2
Tuesday
Spirit Of Zeb 11-2
Roy Rocket 3-1
Duke Of North 6-1
Wednesday
Brockholes 6-1
Russian Regent 5-1
Royal Reef 8-1
Thursday
Janaab 17-2
Fingal’s Cave 6-1
Loving Your Work 9-2
And our leader is:
diegosigod +35
… who had ANOTHER two winners yesterday but also advised us that he would be at the tennis today and probably won’t post any tips. That would make his final score +32, so at least you all know what you have to aim at. Other good scores: PHILYERBOOTS +25, kmill68 +14.50, Fixxxer +12.50, chris1623 +12, dean055 +9, BearRides +8.50, Lindsey6677 +7.25.
Today, we’d like your tips, please, for these races: 4.10 Doncaster, 4.30 Sandown, 8.15 Beverley.
This week’s prize is a copy of the much-praised Mr Darley’s Arabian, by Chris McGrath, who used to turn out high-quality prose about horse racing for the Weekender, the Times and the Independent. This is a history of our sport, described in an Observer review as offering “a teeming, colourful survey” of its many stories, drawing on “a cast that takes in aristocrats and nouveaux riches, playboys and industrialists, Smithfield meat salesmen and the rulers of Dubai”, according to a press release from the publishers. If you don’t win, you can buy it here.
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 up until Friday. Non-runners count as losers. If you have not joined in so far this week, you are welcome to do so today but you will start on -12.
In the event of a tie at the end of the week, the winner will be the tipster who, from among those tied on the highest score, posted their tips earliest on the final day (TODAY).
For terms and conditions click here.
Good luck!
And post your tips or racing-related comments below.
