Today’s best bets, by Chris Cook
I haven’t always enjoyed the annual pre-Cheltenham schooling session at Leopardstown which took place after racing yesterday. A particular low point was the year I was actually sent to the Dublin track to report on it, when the lateness of the timing gave me an hour to gather material, hoof it back to the press room and try to bash out something meaningful.
There is no way to identify the horses unless you recognise them or the trainer is willing to tell you, with the first of those being much the more likely, even if you only heard of horse racing for the first time on the day before. I remember chasing one jockey to the car park, begging him to tell me who he’d been on. Happy days.
So God bless Willie Mullins, who talked openly about which of his horses were going to work and then went on telly afterwards to discuss how they fared. There were plenty of other horses working at Leopardstown yesterday but only a handful have been identified and I haven’t seen quotes from any other trainer.
It was especially brave of Mullins to talk because his RSA candidate, Bellshill, fell at an early fence, which is always a bit of a disaster in a schooling session. Worse, he was stiff afterwards and I’d be most surprised if he came over to Cheltenham after that.
Yorkhill’s jumping was by no means fluent or economic for the first mile of his circuit but he warmed up and was travelling powerfully by the end. It was the sort of performance that divides you against yourself. On the one hand, if he jumps that sloppily in the first half of the JLT next week, he may not actually make it to the second half of the race; there was one fence where he came up a full stride too early and he wouldn’t get away with that at racing speed. On the other, he appears to have a bit of a jet engine and you’d think that the fences are really his only danger. Ho hum.
Today’s nap is an obvious one on the all-weather, which is hardly getting into the Cheltenham spirit, but I’m surprised to be getting odds-against about Simply Me (4.10). As many fillies do, she really blossomed at the end of her three-year-old season and has won four of her five runs since October.
She was entitled to win at Lingfield on Friday but I was deeply impressed by the way she shot between rivals from an unpromising position. There’s no way that a 6lb penalty stops her. You could worry about a shorter trip on a different track but she won over this course and distance in the autumn. I can’t see which of these could beat her if she’s in the same form as three days ago. She’s 11-10.
In the opener, Moi Aussie (2.10) is worth a look at 4-1, making her debut for Mick Appleby, who bought her in January and is now in form. She won here in May before losing her form, is back to a fair mark and appeals as the sharp type who could do well on this drop back in distance. Silvestre De Sousa rides.
De Sousa is an eye-catching booking by David Evans for Powered (4.40), who has been pootling around in amateur races on his last two starts. Bought from Ireland in October, Powered has come down 20lb since his initial rating. He’s 13-2.
Are you prepared to look at a 33-1 shot? Arthington (2.20) piques my interest in Lingfield’s opener, which is a bumper run on the all-weather course. He’s a half-brother to a triple hurdles winner who needs a sound surface and is by a racier stallion, so there could easily be a bumper win in him in these circumstances.
He made an eye-catching debut at Kempton, starting at 50-1 in a big field and staying on to be eighth from a mile back, finishing in front of the Nicky Henderson-trained favourite. Seamus Mullins, who trains, has had three bumper winners at this track in recent years, averaging about 20-1.
Admittedly, he’s up against another Henderson favourite in Polly’s Pursuit, who looked useful in winning here in January. But the consequence is that she must give Arthington 8lb and that could make it interesting.
Tips for Monday’s races, by Chris Cook
Lingfield
2.20 Arthington 2.50 Flemcara 3.20 Ardmayle 3.50 Old Salt 4.20 Matrow’s Lady 4.50 Flugzeug 5.20 Sea Wall
Southwell
2.00 Stage One 2.30 Midnight Jade 3.00 Earlshill 3.30 Grace Tara 4.00 Starlight Court 4.30 Willyegolassiego
Wolverhampton
2.10 Moi Aussie 2.40 Loumarin 3.10 Trotter 3.40 Lacan 4.10 Simply Me (nap) 4.40 Powered (nb) 5.10 Fabricate 5.40 Enfolding
