Tuesday’s best bets, by Chris Cook
Twitter users who take an interest in racing will probably, by now, have seen a video of some bad behaviour by a particular racegoer at Doncaster on St Leger day. Apparently efforts are being made to identify her but that’s not what concerns me (which is why I’m not linking to the video). What concerns me is how she was allowed to behave in that way without being stopped by security.
The video shows a young woman climbing over the paddock rail and falling over onto the other side, where she lies seemingly helpless while her friends behind the camera laugh at her. The video then cuts to her doing the same thing again, presumably moments later. Then suddenly she’s got an outsize umbrella, like the ones used by on-course bookmakers, and is opening it up inside the grandstand and marching about with it.
Then she’s doing the same thing outside in the betting ring. Finally she’s shown using the umbrella to make a mock charge at a poor guy trying to make sandwiches in a branch of Subway, having apparently left the racecourse by this time. Bookmakers on Twitter claim the umbrella had been taken from one of their number during the afternoon and that it will cost £300 to replace.
We’ve all seen much worse behaviour at the races but it’s stunning that no security intervened at any point, given how obvious all this must have been. The umbrella is about as big as the woman wielding it and she seems to have been making plenty of noise while toting it all around the racecourse and then out onto the street. Where was the security on this important, prestigious Classic raceday?
A spokesman for Doncaster racecourse tells me: “It is disappointing to see an individual behaving this way. However, we were delighted at the positive atmosphere across the racecourse on Saturday. We are looking into this incident and will contact the bookmaker directly with regards to any loss they may have suffered.”
My concern is that racecourses generally, having been induced to ramp up security in the spring in response to fights at Goodwood and Ascot that made lots of headlines, have since cut back once more. The evidence of Saturday is that, on that day at Doncaster at least, security was inadequate and perhaps we should count ourselves lucky that the only consequence was somebody pratting about with an umbrella.
Today’s nap is Wufud (7.00), largely because I thought he’d be a bigger price than he should be, but he’s proved so unpopular in the betting that it worries me a bit. He opened at 4s last night but is now a general 10-1 shot.
Anyway, he’s bred to improve with time and distance, so I think there’s every reason to hope for another step forward on his Ffos Las win. Charlie Hills’s yard is in form, which is not true of many of the large operators at this late stage of the season, and Wufud went well around this track on his debut in April. I’ll reduce my stake in view of the drift and hope that the market’s love for the Sir Michael Stoute favourite is the only reason for it.
There is also 10-1 available, more predictably, about a Hills runner in the previous race. Delicious (6.30) showed a bit of ability through the greenness on her debut last month but two modest subsequent efforts have put her on a very interesting rating for her handicap debut today. This is a very open race but I can easily see her running above her odds.
There’s a couple of interesting shorties at Yarmouth, if you like that sort of thing. Magic J (2.20) has a big home reputation, which is clearly why his odds have dropped from 7-1 to 13-8; of course we’re all aware that those reputations don’t always translate to the track. Long Call (3.20) is a 6-4 shot running off the same mark as when he won an apprentice race last week and he has Oisin Murphy aboard this time.
Lingfield
1.30 Capla Gilda 2.00 Annecy 2.30 Asaatier 3.00 Arctic Haze 3.30 Margub 4.00 Unveiling 4.30 Groveman 5.00 Queen Adelaide
Yarmouth
1.50 Molly Mai 2.20 Magic J 2.50 Protected Guest 3.20 Long Call 3.50 Just Us Two 4.20 Heavenly Guest 4.50 Equimou
Redcar
2.10 Harperelle 2.40 Schnapps 3.10 Caridade 3.40 Mr Strutter 4.10 Knighted 4.40 Field Gun 5.10 Emperor Sakhee 5.40 Barney George
Kempton
5.30 Dream Catching 6.00 Little India (nb) 6.30 Delicious 7.00 Wufud (nap) 7.30 Petrastar 8.00 Port Of Call 8.30 Swordbill
