Monday’s best bets, by Chris Cook
So are you a Don Cossack fan or a devout follower of Cue Card? You don’t have to be either, of course, but I bet that, deep down, you actually have a view about what would have happened if Cue Card had just been popped over the third-last in Friday’s Gold Cup, rather than meeting it on the wrong stride while making a bid for glory.
I’m a Cue Card man, myself, but it’s frustrating that his stamina for the Gold Cup trip remains untested at the age of 10. Perhaps we’ll get another chance to find out next year. Yes, he’ll be 11 but this remarkable beast has been better than ever this winter, six years after his first Grade One success.
Spring always seems to be the time to catch runners from the Selkirk yard of Stuart Coltherd, who bagged the Aintree Fox Hunters with a 100-1 shot three years ago. Having had a slow winter, he’s now 3/11 this month, making Aye Well (3.30) of some interest at Kelso.
This 11-year-old won three times from February to April last year and is now only 4lb higher than for the latest of those, having dropped 6lb since autumn. He was beaten just half a length at Musselburgh in early January, the only time he’s had halfway decent ground all winter. It’s good to soft today and there’s 12-1 on offer for a race with just seven runners.
Drying ground should also be a feature of the day’s action at Taunton, which would suit Honey Pound (4.10) in his handicap chase. He’s been a bit unlucky in his two runs over fences so far but has had a break since December and should find the jumping easier off this surface. Tim Vaughan’s horses are generally in better nick than for most of the winter, though it would be going a bit too far to say he was actually in form at present.
Tipping competition - a new week
Congratulations to the four winners of our Cheltenham Festival tipping competitions last week: intelligentlaying, Bigboozer, keepitdusty and glosrfc. It was glosrfc who won Friday’s competition, having found Solar Impulse (28-1) and Don Cossack (9-4) for a final score of +25.25. Kingklynch (+22) was the only other to find Solar Impulse. Winners, you should have heard from us by email, so please respond as specified therein.
This week’s prize is a copy of Racing & Football Outlook’s Flat Guide 2016, the handy annual which as ever is packed with facts, analysis, tips and insights into the new season to help lift your spirits from the post-Cheltenham slump. If you don’t win, you can buy a copy here.
To kick things off, we’d like your selections, please, for these races: 4.00 Kelso, 4.30 Kelso, 4.50 Southwell.
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.
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.
For terms and conditions click here.
Good luck!
And post your tips or racing-related comments below.
