Racehorse TALK

Hi Hillbilly
Am looking forward to all the winners and news, go for it son.

All set Westie. Let's begin by taking a look at the opposition to the Aussies in the King's Stand. Amadeus Wolf bypasses the race for the Golden Jubilee.



Benbaun - Takeover Target saw him off last year. They think he has improved and he did look a little stronger than ever before when first up this season.

Dandy Man - Needs it firm and loses a length or three on soft ground. A real hope with a good draw on fast ground. Should have won the race last year.

Desert Lord - Speed machine who made it to Gr1 level last year but I fancy others in a tough uphill finish.

Les Arcs - Stable is in horrible form with a virus.

Moss Vale - Always finds it tough in large fields.

Tax Free - Has had things go his way of late. Looks outclassed when the big guns are firing.

Enticing - Very speedy 3yo filly who will find things much tougher here. Trainer thought enough of her to take on the older horses at two.

Is william hill a bookie ?

Do you like the chances of the Aussies Hilly, and will you be going ?

Yes mate William Hill is one of the biggest bookie firms on the planet. http://www.willhill.com/iibs/EN/sportsbook.asp

The barrier draw will be important as will the weather. Quite heavy rain overnight but clearing again now. I think Miss Andretti has an outstanding chance in the King's Stand and the others will be very hard to beat in the Golden Jubilee.

I wont be there - too much of a social outing - I get more info and significantly better trading from my office.

Some very heavy showers here in the UK over the last 48 hrs or so. Which one of the Aussie quartet would be most favoured on a bog track folks? Who would it hurt?

Not sure hilly, but i know Takeover doesn't mid the sting out of the ground , but , not sure about heavy.

I will go do a quick check of their form at www.expertform.com.au

edit:
Bentley Biscuit 1 from 1 on a heavy
Takeover Target 1 go on slow for 3rd beaten 4.1l
miss andretti 2 wins on a slow, and 6th beaten 5.4l in the same race T.T ran 3rd on a heavy
Magnus 1 go 1 win on a slow , werribe maiden, but beat california dane

So i am still none the wiser

Not much more rain yet. May only have avoided any watering. Wait and see at this stage.

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R2 E 300.000 G2 KING'S STAND 1000m 16.05

The 1000 probably suits Miss Andretti better than most & she has to be the top pick of the Oz Quartet.
Takeover Targets been here before & that will count for a lot.Bentley Biscuit cannot be ruled out but will be even better suited by the Golden Jubilee.Magnus is the sleeper,a real up & coming sprinter in good hands wouldn`t be surprised if he upset his more fancied antipodians.


1   BENBAUN* 59 P.J.Smullen 5
2   BENTLEY BISCUIT 59 Nash Rawiller 3
3   DANDY MAN 59 P.Shanahan 1
4   DESERT LORD* 59 N.Callan 20
5   GREEN MANALISHI 59 T.E.Durcan 21
6   KING ORCHISIOS 59 D.O'donohoe 6
7   MAGNUS* 59 D.M.Oliver 17
8   MATSUNOSUKE 59 J.Murtagh 8
9   MOORHOUSE LAD 59 T.Eaves 18
10 MOSS VALE 59 L.Dettori 11
11 PIVOTAL POINT 59 S.Sanders 4
12 TAKEOVER TARGET 59 J.Ford 14
13 TAX FREE 59 A.Nicholls 7
14 THE TATLING 59 D.Holland 15
15 MANZILA 57½ O.Peslier 2
16 MISS ANDRETTI 57½ C.Newitt 19
17 CONQUEST* 56 J.H.Bowman 9
18 DAZED AND AMAZED 56 R.Hughes 16
19 HAMOODY 56 J.Fortune 13
20 BEAUTY IS TRUTH* 55 T.Thulliez 10
21 ENTICING 55 J.P.Spencer 12

Looking forward to this meeting tonight.

Can George Washington make a successful return in the Queen Anne ?

I think TT can do it again too .....

What time does the King Stand start ?

12.05am

Welcome to day one for Ascot 2007. A long week ahead and hopefully plenty of winners in store. A special mention to my old mate Acclamation who has nine entries in the 2yo races this week. Not bad for a first season sire. I see a long queue forming at the gates of Rathbary Stud.

Ok let's get on with the show.
Coventry Stakes
A good little race and probably the one contest this week that I've spent most time on. Tracey Collins will be looking to pull off an early double with Pencil Hill and Dandy Man. She has a very good chance of achieving her aim too. Pencil Hill has been most impressive and able to overcome difficulties at his first two outings. A real little pro who should go on with the job here. Yem Kinn was bred by Frankie Dettori and looked pretty good first time out. The form around his has received a few boosts since as well. An outside chance for Aussie Hugh Bowman. Luck Money is the other local who looked very impressive on debut. The time was ok and the form is looking fair. Henrythenavigator was clearly superior to his rivals in Ireland. That form has been franked but the concern surrounds the seven furlong trip of that Maiden victory. He had everything covered a long way out that day though. Declaration Of War has the runs on the board. He remains sound enough to face the starter here and is clearly hard to beat on the formbook. Should have improved again from his latest outing ( carted wide and settled towards the rear ) and looks very hard to beat today. The quicker the pace probably the better. First starter Ernie Owl creates a little interest. Not a stable known for killing their 2yo's. One look at the owners papers probably tells the story. He likes a day out. I have a very narrow margin between the top three rated Pencil Hill, Henrythenavigator and Declaration Of War. The draw may well prove to favour the latter.
King's Stand
Rumours aboud regarding the wellbeing of Miss Andretti. Newmarket watchers have been most impressed with Bentley Biscuit. Of the locals Enticing is too short for mine and has barely proven any advantage over fellow 3yo Beauty Is Truth let alone the older horses. The younger brigade should struggle for mine and the French filly may prove best of them. The leading three year old spinter in the UK is not engaged. Dandy Man may be ok on the ground but no doubt he'd have liked it a little firmer. He had others covered at three when in receipt of the weight allowance. That advantage has not been proven so far this season now that the playing field has levelled out. I really liked the Tracey Collins trained colt last year and he was drawn the wrong side that day. Should get a clear run from gate one this afternoon. He's a much better chance than Enticing for mine. Tax Free has looked fair in lesser races but has come up short in big contests often enough to bypass here. Desert Lord is a speed machine but his high draw and the stiff Ascot finish are not in his favour. Pivotal Point raced keenly first up and may need one more to get him right. He went close last year and is far from hopeless. The local that really looks to have stepped up is Benbaun. Has improved since his narrow defeat last year and will be the hardest England based runner to beat. Of the Aussies there's no doubt that the draw will be tricky for Miss Andretti ( and Magnus ). Connections are bound to be in a few minds as to which direction they should chose. With speedster Desert Lord drawn next to them the decision is easy for mine - follow the lead horse. Over the years low draws have a significant advantage. That benefit was even greater last year. The course was new then though and has raced fairly evenly since. Bentley Biscuit and Takeover Target look best suited by the draw. A thrilling contest awaits.
St James's Palace Stakes
Cockney Rebel at a short quote here and at first glance probably deserves to go off an odds on chance. Has proven his superiority to this bunch and looks to have them covered again. The only problem today though looks to be a leader. There is no certain pacemaker and therefore no likely early speed in the contest. No surprise to see the favourite odds against under those circumstances. The pair probably most favoured under the circumstances are Creachadoir ( who may dictate ) and Excellent Art ( sprinters turn of foot ). I suspect that Dutch Art may pull hard if the pace is poor early putting paid to his chances as per the race at Newbury early in the season. If he can settle a slow pace may suit him too. Racing fiercly is more likely for mine. There's no doubt that Excellent Art should have gone very close in the French Guineas. A spastic ride by Jamie Spencer that day and he surprisingly gets a chance to redeem himself. The same connections sold both Dutch Art and Excellent Art as 2yo's. Cockney Rebel should beat the pair again though.
Queen Anne Stakes
A really good little field here with the return of George Washington the obvious highlight. The likelihood of him playing up makes George a difficult betting proposition. His case may be helped by the fact that Red Evie has just come out of season. The miler star of 2006 wouldn't want to be too far off his best this afternoon. He has to be a risky prospect. My immediate reaction is that the two French raiders are not good enough. Extensive review didn't convinvce me otherwise. Racinger will kill himself if taking Ramonti on in front. Turtle Bowl needs a strong gallop and leader suicide to figure. Cesare may be better under those circumstances ( strong gallop ). There's no doubt that Cesare fires up at Ascot and peaks at a mile there. His trainer has a remarkable record in mile races during the Royal meeting. I think the horse was flattered by a blistering leader pace last time and this is significantly more difficult. Red Evie was workmanlike rather than spectacular at Newbury. She had the run of the race compared to Ramonti that day. I expect the colt to turn the tables this afternoon. The soft ground at Newbury would have been little help to the cause of Ramonti either. I think his biggest problem that day was the negative ride from Dettori. Restrained out in the middle of the track on his own, the horse looked to resent the brakes being on. This time Dettori is flying high after a string of big race wins and Ramonti has the perfect draw. Should be able to dictate from the front with the help of his stablemate and give George Washington plenty to chase.
Ascot Stakes
High draws are usually a bonus here but the field size has been restricted by a safety limit of twenty runners. A very open race again with many jumps trainers coming to the fore. No surprise that Midlands handler Mark Johnston figures prominently among past results for races like this. I expect his pair to be safely held this afternoon though. Leg Spinner is back on the flat for the first time since winning this race two years ago at York. I liked him a lot last time but am prepared to look elsewhere today. Grafton Street is an obvious selection and was well supported for a distance handicap before a late withdrawl recently. He looks weighted up for mine though. The two that have jumped out at me are Raslan and Raucous. The latter meets Grafton Street very well at the weights considering they have a similar profile. The 7lbs gap should make all the difference. The leading jumps stable of David Pipe have saddled winners for races like this with Ryan Moore up in the past. The pair have a very real chance this afternoon and he also seems very well weighted against Grafton Street.
Windsor Castle Stakes
Usually a tough little race and this is no exception. Achilles Of Troy looks the obvious one but I think he's also the most exposed. An improver looks more likely to take the contest for mine and I'm drawn to Hatta Fort. He was obviously underdone when stepping out first time and looked a lot sharper with the experience under his belt. Drawnfromthepast is in a similar mould having been given a very easy time on debut. Really improved to belt a quality Sir Mark Prescott runner at his second appearance. Both are drawn up the middle and the earlier sprint races should provide an excellent guide.

That's all for day one folks. Best of luck to those having a nibble at Betfair or the Tote.

Great review Hilly , helps us Aussie's get a bit of an understanding of the Europeon horse's, but i am still going with Takeover , from Bently Buscuit

Our sprinters have a great record over there