11am McCain makes tentative return to track
Chris Cook: Donald McCain has his first runner for 11 days on Wednesday when Dunowen Point goes to Wetherby for the 1.50pm race. That sort of hiatus is a most unusual event in the career of one of jump racing’s most prolific trainers, a man who dominates the winter game at Haydock yet somehow didn’t have a runner at the Merseyside track’s biggest jumps meeting of the year.
“I just wasn’t particularly happy with them,” McCain told me yesterday. “We were cracking away and still having the odd winner but we wanted to clear it up properly, so I felt I just shouldn’t have any runners for a few days. It was disappointing not to have any runners at Haydock but it fitted in with what was not the busiest of weeks otherwise.
“It wasn’t one specific thing, it was little bits and bobs of things. It might not be relevant but for a period of two weeks plus we had a very unseasonable climate here [in Cheshire, between Wrexham and Crewe]. It was warmer than normal to the extent of being 20 degrees after 10pm.
“We had horses sweating in their boxes at night, we were taking their rugs off. It was just not very healthy, really.
“The word ‘virus’ is too strong. There were a few little sore throats and that sort of stuff.”
“I hope we’re getting through it. Dunowen Point is really just a toe in the water. I haven’t done huge amounts with him in the last 10 days or so but there are not many opportunities for him in the next three weeks. If there was a race for him next week, I probably would have waited.
“I hope to have a couple of runners at Musselburgh on Friday, Bangor on Saturday and Carlisle on Sunday. And there’s Newcastle on Saturday, I’d hope to send a few up for that. We’re just stepping their work back up and we’ll have to see how we stand.”
I asked specifically about Our Mick, who is entered for Newcastle’s Rehearsal Chase. McCain feels it is the right race for the horse, but he has yet to persuade the owners to run and they may prefer to race somewhere that is a bit easier for them to reach.
Wednesday’s best bets, by Tony Paley
There was an interesting article on the blight of jump racing’s small fields in Tuesday’s Times by Alan Lee which you can find (behind the paywall) here. Fontwell’s fixture on Wednesday is a case in point but the first race, in which Tony McCoy makes his comeback from injury, will be of particular interest and there will be a healthy media presence.
Coologue is fancied to deny McCoy on Southfield Royale but that’s likely to be at prohibitive odds and a favourite who makes much more appeal as a wager on Wednesday is Maverick Wave (2.35) at Lingfield. The selection, who won well at the track in the summer, has plenty in his favour as an unexposed runner whose speed should come in handy if this six-runner contest turns out to be slowly run.
Tipping competition, day three
Our winners so far:
Monday
Tenor Nivernais 5-1
Gand Gigolo 12-1
Theinval 4-1
Tuesday
Orchard Road 5-1
Sportsreport 3-1
Lucky Mark 8-1
And our leaders are:
GForce1 +13
goofs +13
... despite a winnerless Tuesday for both. Kingklynch has closed up onto +11, thanks to Sportsreport. Grazioloi09 (+4) had Orchard Road and Sportsreport. No one found Lucky Mark.
Today, we’d like your tips, please, for these races: 1.50 Wetherby, 2.10 Fontwell, 6.45 Kempton.
This week’s prize is a copy of the Racing Post Annual 2015, now in its fourth year and running to 208 colour pages packed with stories from this racing year and some of terrific photos of the greatest moments. Interviewees include Willie Mullins and Tony McCoy. If you don’t win, you can buy it 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 -6.
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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