Posts Tagged ‘Shamoline Warrior’
Derby Day no-shows open up betting
October 28th, 2009 by adminI’m dusting off my best morning suit and getting ready to wow the ladies at this weekend’s Victoria Derby at Flemington. Tradition dictates that men wear morning suits and ladies wear black and white. Apparently there’s more jostling for position amongst the spectators than horses, to see who will appear in the society gossip columns.
Personally, I’d rather be studying the form of the horses than looking at who’s wearing what, so I was interested to hear that Moonee Valley Vase winner Hanks and Western Australian Bridgestone are both out of the race. This throws open the field for a number of ‘outsiders’ to be in with a chance of the prize money, none more so than Prinsom whose trainer Michael Templeton expects to see provide a ‘competitive performance’. Templeton is confident that with an uninterrupted run, Prinsom can work his way to the front of the field.
Favourites for the $1.5m race are the Norman Robinson Stakes winner Shamoline Warrior, plus Rockferry and Monaco Consul. IASbet places them at 2.80, 5.00 and 6.00 respectively, but I’ve got my eye on the spirited Onemorenomore and Gathering who have been given odds of 13.00 and 17.00. A bit of a bold shout I know, but I can sense an upset on this one.
Trainer John Thompson is concerned whether they will settle to run out the 2500m, but I’m confident that the two quality colts will perform well on Saturday. There’s also been a fair bit of discussion around Monaco Consul’s four week race gap, but his odds appear not to reflect this and trainer Mike Moroney is confident Consul is the right horse for the race.
I’m hopeful I will be successful this year, but whatever the outcome, the Victoria Derby is a fine race, steeped in tradition, dating back to 1855. It’ll be a grand day – I just hope the morning suit does me justice and my faith in Onemorenomore and Gathering pays off.
Fear not. I’ve not forgotten the Melbourne Cup. I’ll be providing a full breakdown on Friday, with the chief concern at the moment the potential of no less than six Bart Cummings runners in the big one. Watch this space.
Read more »Looking on the bright side for the Caulfield Cup
October 17th, 2009 by adminSunshine and a few clouds are likely to greet the Caulfield Cup faithful on Saturday, according to the latest weather forecast, but the ongoing uncertainty in the markets looks likely to cause a dreary end to the day for a fair few punters.
There are some chinks of light through what is the most clouded market of the spring so far. Both Cima De Trimphe and Kirklees have continued to emerge and the latter is the 9.00 joint favourite with Betfair. Cima De Triomphe is at 9.20 and Predatory Pricer is on 9.00. These three, followed closely by Daffodil at 9.60, have emerged from the fog over the last 48 hours.
I’m still sticking with Kirklees purely because of his recent form over this distance, but it doesn’t take a genius to know an awful lot can happen tomorrow.
Where there is an open field, there is also value mixed in with the uncertainty, if history has taught us anything. A look at the placings odds shows up some tempting morsels which might be worth a look. Roman Emperor, ridden by Hugh Bowman, is around 6.00 for this and Red Ruler is on 7.00 and both could be worth a small investment. If you can find reasonable value for Kirklees each way, which admittedly is unlikely, try that too.
You’d be mad not to have a little browse elsewhere as well. There are plenty of sub-plots which could potentially save your bacon and your blushes if you play your cards right. Earlier on the card before the main event is the group 3 2000m Norman Robinson Stakes where a number of horses need a result in order to kick on for the season. Shamoline Warrior, a serious contender for the Victoria Derby, is a reasonably-priced favourite with IASbet at 3.80, while Tribunal may also be worth a small look at 4.60.
It’s been a weird week, what with the Caulfield Cup barrier draw and earlier pull-outs. But there’s nothing left to do other than sit back and enjoy the ride, turf lovers.
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