11.30am O’Brien talks up Derby hope Sir Isaac Newton
Tony Paley: Aidan O’Brien will aim to get his bid to win the 2015 Epsom Derby back on course at Chester on Wednesday when Sir Isaac Newton, who is as low as 10-1 for the Classic, makes his reappearance in the Homeserve Maiden Stakes.
Sir Isaac Newton faces seven rivals, including John Gosden’s Derby entry Keble, who finished second to Intilaaq at Newbury last month.
“He’s only had one run and we were taking our time with him. He’s a horse we’ve thought a lot of and he has a lot of speed,” O’Brien told At The Races.
“You wouldn’t rule out an Irish Guineas with him, but he probably has a lot to learn in a short space of time if he is going to be a Classic horse having only had one run.
“We always feel they learn a lot in Chester and come out of it very well. We’ll let that happen and deal with it after that. He’s a horse with a lot of pace, he could come back to an Irish Guineas if we needed him - Magician did that [after winning at Chester].”
Today’s best bets, by Chris Cook
What links the two horses that won the 2,000 Guineas and the Kentucky Derby on Saturday? Just take a moment to chew over the possibilities …
The answer is spelling, or rather misspelling. The winner at Churchill Downs was American Pharoah, which would have to be American Pharaoh to be strictly correct. According to this article his name was spelt wrongly at the time of his registration and the authorities didn’t bother to question it.
The winner at Newmarket was, of course, Gleneagles, whose name is spelt correctly. Alas, the same could not be said for the saddle cloth with which he was burdened by the racecourse. As you can see from the picture at the top of this piece, the saddle cloth belonged to a horse called ‘Gleaneagles’.
Thanks to falling standards in education, we can probably expect more of this sort of thing. As my old man used to say, ‘What do I pay my poll tax for?’
Producing tips for this space is a little tricky today, since the going at several tracks is on the firm side as I type but with something like 10mm of rain expected before racing begins. At Catterick, the going is already good to soft, so I think we can say with some confidence that conditions there will be testing.
That’s fine for Conry (7.30), whose six wins at this track include four on soft. He has had an unproductive winter on the all-weather, which is not very surprising for a veteran with a preference for some cut, but hinted at a return to form when beaten just a length at Chelmsford last time. He’s droopped to a very handy rating of 68 and has won seven handicaps from higher marks during his career.
In the fillies handicap at Brighton, I’ll take Tears Of The Sun (4.20), who went close at this track last time on her second start for Clive Cox. A slower surface at this trip should take the emphasis off pace, which is good news for her. She hasn’t tried soft since her maiden days but progeny of Mastercraftsman have tended to cope.
Tipping competition - a new week
Congratulations to slackdad38, who held on to win last week’s competition on a final score of +15.50 after a winnerless Friday. Fixxxer (+11.50) came closest to catching him, as one of three people to pick Blood Cotil (11-1). None of you were attracted to Lolita (16-1), the Chepstow sprint winner.
This week, we’re offering you a second chance to win a copy of The Druids Lodge Confederacy, by Paul Mathieu, which recounts the amazing century-old story of five gentlemen gamblers who tried to make the game pay through the use of a remote stable on Salisbury Plain where the staff were locked in to ensure secrecy. If you don’t win, you can buy a copy here.
To kick things off, we’d like your selections, please, for these races: 4.20 Brighton, 6.50 Exeter, 7.30 Catterick.
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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