Monday’s best bets, by Chris Cook
It’s a great summer to be the owner of a horse like Harzand, who can plough through conditions that would be hard work for almost any other three-year-old. As I shake out my umbrella for the 14th day in a row, my main consolation is that at least the Derby winner will get his conditions at The Curragh this weekend, enabling him to line up for the Irish equivalent.
The Kildare track took a soaking yesterday, when 14.6mm fell, making the going ‘good to yielding’ on the round course. There’s bits of rain in the forecast for every day this week, so at the very least we can say that the ground is unlikely to dry up even as far as ‘good’.
Harzand is available at 11-8 to get the double up this weekend, while those who fancy US Army Ranger to turn things around can get 6-4.
Today’s card at Chepstow has been lost to waterlogging and one may be pretty sure that conditions at Windsor will be testing. That could assist Helfire (6.20), who, as a daughter of Archipenko, may well be suited by soft ground.
She has had 10 months to grow up since her debut at this track, when she bolted riderless to the start and was then so green that she was detached in last through the early stages. Remarkably, she ran on to get within six lengths of the winner, who is now rated in the 90s.
This extra two furlongs should be more like it for Helfire, who looks backable at 8-1 for what does not seem a strong maiden.
Half an hour later, you can get 6-1 about Philadelphia (6.50) in a mile handicap, returning to the kind of surface that helped him break his maiden at Doncaster in April. He flopped on good to firm at Newmarket last month but the ground had a lot to do with that, I believe. He is trained by Roger Varian, who couldn’t get on the board at Royal Ascot but continues to win elsewhere.
Tipping competition - a new week
Congratulations to our four winners of last week’s Royal Ascot competitions, waltersobchak, dean055, JahLion and thereason1986. All four of your should by now have heard from our community moderators by email. Let me know through the comments below if not.
This week’s prize is a pair of tickets to Sandown for Eclipse day on Saturday 2 July, a week on Saturday. Time Test, The Gurkha and Taqdeer currently head the betting for a race that is always a highlight of each summer’s Flat racing, plus there will be a DJ set by Nick Grimshaw after the action on the track has finished. If you don’t win, you can buy tickets here.
To kick things off, we’d like your selections, please, for these races: 6.50 Windsor, 7.20 Windsor, 9.10 Wolverhampton.
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.
