Today’s best bets, by Chris Cook
Tonight brings Carlisle’s annual card confined to female jockeys. I remember going to the first one, five years ago, which was prefaced by some doubt as to whether it would be a one-off or might be done again.
It has proved a roaring success and the only surprise is that no other track has tried something similar, perhaps in the spring. Is there no room for a second such fixture in the whole of our racing year?
As the local trainer Dianne Sayer told me in 2011, this one card provides opportunities for which some of the jockeys involved would otherwise be waiting months. Sayer, who is supported by her daughters, has said more than once that she runs “an all-girl yard” and can be relied upon to take a keen interest in this raceday.
My eye is taken to her Baileys Concerto (8.15), a 10-year-old better known as a jumper, who had a few low-key races when introduced to Flat racing last summer. He runs here on a mark of 60, which makes him seem absolutely thrown in on the pick of his jumps form, like when he was second in the Great Yorkshire last year.
He hasn’t won a thing for a couple of years but a tongue tie seems to have helped in his two jumps races this year and he was only beaten by a neck when last seen, at Perth in June. On Monday night, he’ll also wear cheekpieces for the first time. At 8-1, there’s a lot to like about his chances, though he’ll probably go bigger in running because I expect him to be played late, at least partly because it would be quite hard work for him to keep up in the early stages.
At Windsor, I’ll stick with John Joiner (6.30) as he tries to get the hat-trick. He’s with Peter Hedger now, showing improved form than when with the winding-down Peter Makin last year. His mark of 58 is only 6lb up on the one he had at Windsor in June for the first of his two wins and I think there’s a fair bit of juice left in it. He’s 7-2.
Escalating (7.30) didn’t get much of a run at Epsom last time. He’s still handicapped to win when things fall right, as they did on his previous start at Nottingham. He showed a fair bit of class in his early days with Pat Eddery. There’s 11-2 just now.
Tipping competition - a new week
Congratulations to watermelon12, who won last week’s Glorious Goodwood tipping competition and also to millreef, who won our other competition that required nothing but losers all week.
This week’s prize is a pair of County Enclosure tickets to York for the last day of their Ebor festival, Saturday 20 August, when the Ebor itself is the feature race. As well as the famous old handicap, you’ll also see the Gimcrack Stakes for flying two-year-olds. It’s a great day out at one of our most popular tracks. If you don’t win, you can buy tickets here.
To kick things off, we’d like your selections, please, for these races: 3.45 Ripon, 7.30 Windsor, 7.45 Carlisle.
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.
