The selection got up near the line when he won at Ascot just before Christmas in 2017 but he won with much more authority when stepped up to Saturday’s distance there in NovemberMost punters love a course specialist and the unsung Mr Medic (3.00) appears to have the happy knack of running well around Ascot. Robert Walford’s runner can get a third success at the Queen’s track in Saturday’s Bet365 Handicap Chase.Mr Medic got up near the line when he scored at Ascot just before Christmas in 2017 but he won with much more authority when stepped up to this distance there in November. He went up the weights for that but was running another big race at Cheltenham last...
The leading rider returns with two well fancied rides at the Welsh track after nearly a fortnight on the sidelinesBarry Geraghty sprinkles a bit of stardust over Friday’s Chepstow card by making his return to action there after nearly a fortnight on the sidelines. “I twisted my ankle,” he told me last night, “and then it was aggravated at Sandown.”The Esher track’s Tolworth Hurdle was the last time we saw Geraghty. He was prepared to get back in the saddle at Warwick last weekend but Birchdale became a non-runner, so he didn’t have to. It’s not a time of year when a top-class jockey feels he is missing very much if he has to take a few days off and...
An accomplished rider in the eventing field, Galpin suffered fatal injuries in a fall while riding work on TuesdayThe name of Natasha Galpin will have been in the thoughts of stable staff and racing professionals around Britain on Thursday morning, following the awful news on Wednesday that the 22-year-old had been killed by a fall on Iain Jardine’s gallops. Galpin was riding there on Tuesday morning when her mount suffered a ruptured artery and fell, causing her to sustain injuries from which she did not recover.By all accounts, Galpin was a highly accomplished rider in the eventing sphere, in which she won the Scottish and Northern Novice Championships of 2017 at Hendersyde, near Kelso. As well as working for Jardine,...
Tracks will be keen not to lose the revenue they get from renting unused hospitality suites to in-running backers A report in this morning’s Daily Mail suggests that British racecourses want to ban the use of drones around tracks while racing is taking place, not because of fears for the safety of runners and riders but rather due to concerns that punters on Betfair are using real-time pictures from the drones to get an edge when betting in-running.What the report fails to mention, however, is an obvious reason why many racecourses would want to stamp this practice out: it is competition for their in-house operations, which sell the same edge for thousands of pounds annually. Related: Talking Horses: Tom O'Brien...
Jockey’s mistake meant each-way backers of Shaw’s Cross were denied a payout on the place part of their betTom O’Brien, who took the first Grade One race of 2019 when Elixir De Nutz landed the Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown, was banned for seven days by the stewards at Lingfield on Tuesday for failing to weigh in after finishing third in a handicap hurdle on Shaw’s Cross.O’Brien’s mistake meant that each-way backers of Shaw’s Cross, who was backed to start joint-favourite at 9-4 having opened at 11-4 on course, were denied a payout on the place part of their bet. Cougar Kid, an 8-1 chance, was promoted to third. Related: Talking Horses: Jonjo O'Neill proud but not gushing over son's success...