12.15pm McCoy return ride at Doncaster revealed
Tony Paley: The multiple champion jockey Tony McCoy, who returns for a one-off race this week, will partner Gannicus in Wednesday’s Clipper Logistics Leger Legends Classified Stakes at Doncaster.
The one-mile event features 16 former jockeys returning to the saddle in aid of the Northern Racing College and the Injured Jockeys Fund’s Jack Berry House and the recently retired 20-times champion jockey has drawn the Brendan Powell-trained four-year-old who won at Brighton last month.
Johnny Murtagh, a five-time champion jockey on the Flat in Ireland, will ride Commissar for trainer Ian Williams, while another former champion, Kevin Darley, rides Karl Burke’s Fidelma Moon.
Other notable participants include At The Races presenter Luke Harvey [Big Storm Coming], Gay Kelleway [Swordbearer] and Jim Culloty, rider of triple Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate [Wordismybond].
Today’s best bets, by Chris Cook
How embarrassing, I seem to have napped an odds-on shot. Let’s draw a veil over that one, shall we, and move sharply on to the NB, Secret Bird (5.20) in the sprint handicap that closes Windsor’s card.
Trained by Dean Ivory and making his handicap debut, Secret Bird was 13-2 when betting opened but is now 4s and even that is only available with a single firm. He has five winning siblings and oodles of scope to do better than he has so far shown in three maidens.
His most recent effort would be the pick of them, racing prominently before tiring into second on heavy ground at Chepstow. He meets the winner, Reflation, on slightly better terms but with all the potential on his side, as Reflation is pretty exposed after 13 runs.
Numbers can only be a rough guide but it is at least interesting that Ivory’s runners are 0/53 in three-year-old maidens over recent years, while he has a 17% strike-rate (31/186) in three-year-old handicaps, wherein you could have made a good profit just backing him blind.
Earlier, 14-1 might be a bit big about Indie Music (3.20), from the in-form yard of Sylvester Kirk. A half-sister to the useful handicapper Norse Blues, she has shown steady progress in maidens and gets her first chance at a mile on a decent surface in quite an open nursery.
Tipping competition - a new week
Congratulations to kmill68, who had winners at 4-1 and 3-1 on Friday for a final score of +20.50 and a clear victory. Harrytheactor finished strongly into second on +13.75. Kmill68, we’ll be in touch via email.
This week, we’re offering you a second chance to win a copy of Value Seeker by Anthony Gibson, in which the author offers his system for identifying value bets from “statistics allied with form”, leading to picks that are “overlooked by the general betting population”. It’s the sort of book which may have insights to offer that could help your own strategy, although we certainly don’t recommend adopting anyone else’s system blindly. If you don’t win this competition, you can read more about the book and order it here.
To kick things off, we’d like your selections, please, for these races: 3.30 Brighton, 3.50 Windsor, 4.50 Windsor.
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.
