12pm McManus purchase Oscar confirmed for Scottish National
Tony Paley: Ante-post favourite Gallant Oscar has been confirmed a runner among a maximum field of 30 in the Scottish Grand National at Ayr on Saturday.
News emerged on Wednesday evening that JP McManus had stepped in to buy the Tony Martin-trained nine-year-old, who was last seen finishing third in a competitive handicap chase at the Cheltenham Festival. The leading owner’s new purchase will be ridden by Paul Carberry, with McManus’ retained rider Tony McCoy unable to do the allotted weight of 10st 1lb.
Speaking to The Irish Field, Frank Berry, racing manager to McManus, said: “Paul Carberry will ride Gallant Oscar but the horse won’t run at all if the ground dries out too much. It’s fine at the moment but it is drying.”
McCoy has been booked to partner Benvolio for Paul Nicholls, while the trainer also runs top-weight Sam Winner, the mount of Sam Twiston-Davies. Other major contenders include the Jonjo O’Neill trained-Catching On, David Pipe’s Broadway Buffalo and last year’s winner Al Co, trained by Peter Bowen.
Man With Van and Drop Out Joe are the last two horses in the final field, with Vintage Star and Carrigdhoun the respective first and second reserves.
Thursday’s best bets, by Greg Wood
The first day of the Craven meeting performed its function of extinguishing some hopes and aspirations while creating others to take their place, and there is another eight-race card this afternoon which should bring more of the same.
The Group Three Craven Stakes is the key race in terms of the next meeting at Headquarters, which is Guineas weekend on 2 and 3 May. Nafaqa is the form horse here on his close second behind Elm Park, the subsequent Racing Post Trophy winner, in the Royal Lodge Stakes, but he has looked like a horse with some quirks and Moheet (4.05), the winner of his only start at two in a Salisbury maiden, is preferred. His recorded a very strong performance on the clock there, posting a timefigure that marks him out already as a very useful colt, and could yet emerge as the best of Richard Hannon’s contenders for the 2,000 Guineas.
Elsewhere on the card, Music Master (3.30) could emerge as a force in the sprinting division this season and can take the Abernant Stakes on the way up. Mondialiste (4.40), meanwhile, is an excellent bet in the Earl Of Sefton Stakes, having emerged as the best horse in the weights in an excellent renewal of the Lincoln Handicap last month. Running for the first time in a year and making his debut in Britain, Mondialiste powered into the lead there and was only worn down close home.
Tipping competition - day three
This week’s winners
Monday
Squire 5-1
Lear’s Rock 5-1
Lord Brendy 9-2
Tuesday
Courtown Oscar 14-1
Tiger O’Toole 7-2
Thomas Wild 9-2
Wednesday
Long House Hall 3-1
Anay Turge 12-1
Osaila 4-1
Here’s the new leaderboard after yesterday’s action: Blitzwing +15.5, KingKLynch +10.5, JL127 +9.5, GForce1 +9.
This week’s prize is a copy of Racing & Football Outlook’s Flat Racing Guide 2015, including tips for the season ahead, profiles of horses to follow, detailed results from last year and trainer interviews among many features. If you don’t win, you can buy it here.
To kick things off, we’d like your selections, please, for these races: 3.15 Cheltenham, 3.30 Newmarket and 4.15 Ripon.
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!
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