Today’s best bets, by Chris Cook
The vibe around the sales ring in Newmarket yesterday was that British horses are going to have a tough time winning the major British prizes on offer at the end of this Flat season. The Dewhurst, this Saturday, is bound for export to Ireland, I was told, while the Champion Stakes the following weekend will go to France.
William Haggas was quite positive about his Rivet, the Champagne Stakes winner bound for the Dewhurst. But he added: “I think Churchill will be very hard to beat. I hope we’ll catch him on the wrong day.” Churchill comes from that Aidan O’Brien stable you might have heard of and won a Group One by four lengths when last seen.
Meanwhile, John Gosden reported Jack Hobbs worked well ahead of his tilt at Ascot’s Champion Stakes. The trainer then said: “We’re under absolutely no illusions about the quality of the race. I think the best three-year-old in Europe’s running.”
By that, he (uncontroversially) meant Almanzor, who beat Found in the Irish Champion last month. Almanzor looks a serious talent. Describing him as the best three-year-old might be faint praise, considering the rest of the crop don’t seem up to very much; none of them made the first seven places in Sunday’s Arc, the worst result achieved by the Classic generation in that race for at least half a century.
Anyway, British trainers can still win handicaps at Nottingham and I’m hoping that Alan King might have a particularly good day there. His Inn The Bull (4.00) might be overpriced at 12-1 for the mile contest, in which a return to softish ground could make all the difference for this chestnut.
The standout performance on his record, a maiden win at Goodwood last September, came on his only try on soft. I’m inclined to forgive his handicap flop just a fortnight later. He’s only met with good to firm this year, showing just enough promise for me to keep faith with him.
King’s Flat string is doing rather better now than when Inn The Bull was running through midsummer and a short break may have helped him. But it’s the cut underfoot that I’m pinning my hopes on. Perhaps last year’s win was a one-off but his pedigree suggests he might well be ground-dependent.
King fields another three-year-old son of Lope De Vega in the following race, Burguillos (4.30). Having let down his backers a couple of times, he came good after a short break last month and looks handily treated for his handicap debut. He appears popular at 11-2.
Over at Ludlow, I shall stick with a couple of jumpers in form. Kilbree Kid (3.10) has been at his best since blinkers were fitted, scoring twice at Perth in the last two months, and looks weighted to win again if the headgear continues to help. He’s 9-2 while Master Dee (4.10) is a 5-2 shot for a weaker contest. Something like his game effort in defeat at Warwick a fortnight ago should be enough to produce a better result here.
We are no longer able to continue with competitions every week, but they will still run in the biggest weeks (Cheltenham, Aintree, Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood and maybe one or two others, as well as the Christmas quiz).
We’ll still have a Talking Horses each day for tips, analysis and news, so we very much hope you’ll join us to chew over whatever racing happens to be going on and post your tips or racing-related comments below.
