2.50pm Guineas hope Emotionless works at Newmarket
Emotionless showed he is on course for the 2,000 Guineas when pleasing connections in a racecourse gallop on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket before racing on Wednesday.
The Godolphin-owned colt was partnered by William Buick in the workout over seven furlongs with Bow And Arrow, partnered by James Doyle, and the Martin Lane-ridden Golden Heritage.
Emotionless was last of the three before squeezing through the pair just inside the final furlong and getting up by a length from Bow And Arrow after being pressed quite sternly by Buick. You can read the full report here.
Today’s best bets, by Chris Cook
I’d just like to start the day by paying tribute to all those of you who regularly post on Talking Horses. Thanks to you, we now have official confirmation that this is among the most civilised places on the Guardian site to have a discussion, as you can read here.
If you scroll down to the analysis of all comments made on the site, point “6 of 6” says: “Conversations about crosswords, cricket, horse racing and jazz were respectful”. Who’d have thought we’d be keeping that kind of company?
Let’s face it, we face serious provocation on here at times, notably when a tip runs on the all-weather at Lingfield. It says quite a bit for our collective restraint that things rarely deteriorate to the point where people are thrown out of windows and pint glasses are hurled at the mirror behind the bar. Thanks again.
I’ll be at Cheltenham today, hoping for a big run from the 14-1 shot Vosne Romanee (5.20) in the closing handicap hurdle for conditional and amateur jockeys. A runner from Dr Newland’s yard shouldn’t be 14-1 when his stablemates are firing as they are just now (five from seven in the past fortnight, the only losers were in valuable races at Aintree).
Newland got this one in the summer of 2014 and kept him on the go with only a short break until last June. He produced a couple of fair efforts in handicap hurdles but couldn’t quite win one and made it clear that he needs a drying surface.
This is his first outing for 10 months and it can be a good idea to side with Newland runners on their first run back from a break, particularly when, as with this one, there is good reason to hope for improvement. Vosne Romanee is only five, after all, and wearing a combination of tongue tie and cheekpieces for only the second time. Charlie Hammond, who claims 10, is two from 10 when riding for this trainer.
I have the impression that someone at Beverley has put a favourable gloss on their going description for the first meeting of the year. It’s ‘good to soft’ but the GoingStick reading published this morning is 6.3, which suggests it may be much more like soft.
Rural Celebration (3.10) goes best with some cut and is a fair 4-1 shot for the sprint handicap, while the ground seems to me to favour Motdaw (3.45) at a drifting 11-4 rather than the favourite, Al Hamd, in the following race.
There is plenty of quality at Newmarket but not many real temptations. The 3-1 is OK about Raucous (3.55) in the Free Handicap, since he will relish the ground while Kachy is probably not a seven-furlong horse.
Tipping competition, day three
Our winners so far:
Monday
Imshivalla 4-1
Nakadam 9-4
Bazooka 16-1
Tuesday
Barton Gift 8-1
Teruntum Star 16-1
Nathra 5-4
And our leader is:
wemeanyounoharm +20
… who had Barton Gift AND Teruntum Star. TheVic is next on +16.50 with Geoff Staddon on +14.25. We had a variety of spellings of Teruntum Star, all of which were accepted as winning tips, since the intention was clear in every case.
Today, we’d like your tips, please, for these races: 3.35 Cheltenham, 3.55 Newmarket, 5.40 Newmarket.
This week, we’re offering a second copy of Racing & Football Outlook’s Flat Guide 2016, the handy annual which as ever is packed with facts, analysis, tips and insights into the new season to help lift your spirits from the post-Aintree slump. If you don’t win, you can buy a copy here [ http://shop1.racingpost.com/RFO-Flat-Racing-Guide-2016-p/lkf16.htm ]
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!
And post your tips or racing-related comments below.
