12pm Spencer keeps ride on The Grey Gatsby for Eclipse Stakes
Jamie Spencer will again partner The Grey Gatsby for his mouthwatering clash with Derby hero Golden Horn in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown on Saturday.
Ryan Moore steered Kevin Ryan’s stable star to victories in the Dante, the French Derby and the Irish Champion Stakes during a tremendous three-year-old campaign last season and was also on board for his first two starts this year.
However, Moore was unavailable for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot last month, instead riding Sir Michael Stoute’s Cannock Chase, and Spencer was back on board The Grey Gatsby as he went down by just a short head to Free Eagle.
Ryan tweeted: “The Grey Gatsby declared for the CoralEclipse Sandownpark, JPSPENCER1980 rides and should be a great race.”
The Grey Gatsby declared for the #CoralEclipse @Sandownpark, @JPSPENCER1980 rides and should be a great race
— Kevin Ryan Racing (@kevinryanracing) July 2, 2015
Moore is set to partner the Aidan O’Brien-trained Cougar Mountain, who steps up to a mile and a quarter after finishing third in the Queen Anne at the Royal meeting. Epsom hero Golden Horn is the odds-on favourite to extend his unbeaten record to five for trainer John Gosden and jockey Frankie Dettori as he meets his elders for the first time.
The Clarehaven handler also saddles Prince of Wales’s Stakes third Western Hymn, who won the Gordon Richards Stakes and the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown earlier in the year and is three from three at the track overall. A five-runner field is completed by Andrew Balding’s outsider Tullius. PA
Thursday’s best bets, by Greg Wood
Showers are forecast for Haydock Park today but the ground remains good-to-firm (watered) according to the track’s Twitter feed so it is frustrating to find five non-runners already this morning, including two in the most valuable event, a 14-furlong handicap for three-year-olds.
The original seven-runner field is now down to just five, and the two names missing from the Better With Bohle Handicap - Tommy Docc, the runner-up in the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot, and the lightly-raced Henandoshideaway - were both very plausible winners. In their absence, Sir Michael Stoute’s Dannyday (4.20) appears to have Polarisation to beat, but the form is unlikely to prove as valuable as would otherwise have been the case.
Sign Of The Kodiac (2.50) lined up for the Group Two Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot last time out and while that assignment proved beyond him, losing his maiden tag earlier on the Haydock card should be more straightforward. Bint Aldar (3.20) looks best at the weights in the nursery, and Galileo Gold (3.50) will be difficult to beat in the novice stakes, not least if he finds a little improvement for the step up to seven furlongs.
At Epsom this evening, Banditry (8.25) has solid claims on several recent pieces of form in the 10-furlong handicap, while Subsersive (8.55) has shown enough on turf this year to suggest that a first win on grass is within reach.
Tipping competition, day four
Our winners so far:
Monday
Gran Canaria Queen 7-2
Tears Of The Sun 9-2
Rasaman 15-2
Tuesday
Move In Time 4-9
Pennine Warrior 17-2
Noble Friend 11-4
Wednesday
Just Awake 9-2
Qaffaal 9-2
Purple Spectrum 11-2
And our leader is ...
BearRides +14.25
... who recovered his lead from earlier in the week, thanks to Just Awake. Ormrod76 (+10.94) and JahLion (+10.19) are closest. Titusisashambles (+6.49) was the only one to find Qaffaal.
Today, we’d like your tips, please, for these races: 3.50 Haydock, 7.25 Epsom, 7.40 Newbury.
This week’s prize is a pair of Premier enclosure tickets to July Cup day at Newmarket a week on Saturday, 11 July, day three of Newmarket’s Moet & Chandon July Festival. Apparently, there is also “ plenty of fun for all ages in the family enclosure including swingboats, inflatables, garden games and a face painter”, to say nothing of live music and dancing after the last. If you don’t win, you can buy tickets 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 -9.
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.
