The Yorkshire trainer has been a man for all seasons in the past fortnight and his only runner today is of obvious interestMick Easterby has certainly proved his versatility over the last fortnight, the Sheriff Hutton trainer having saddled winners of a handicap chase, a maiden hurdle, a bumper and an all-weather handicap at Newcastle, from a total of 13 runners. Continue reading...
Where is our usual caution about a banged-up steeplechaser making his return to action? For all his talent, he’s vulnerable todayWhen a fine steeplechaser makes his comeback from injury, there’s generally an element of caution among punters and other onlookers. We can hope that he’ll be as good as he was but the odds are generally against it. Victory is a lot to ask in such circumstances. We’ll settle for a clear round and an encouraging effort. Related: BHA panels may have erred in punishing trainers over dope tests Continue reading...
A word-by-word transcript of the cheery, nudge-nudge conversation between David Evans and a Ladbrokes trader has brought racing into the spotlightSo, how are you feeling as you size up the markets this morning? Confident that the prices on offer are, on the whole, a reasonably assessment of every runner’s chance? Or just a little concerned, in the light of the transcript released yesterday of David Evans’s discussions with Ladbrokes about his runners in a race at Wolverhampton in 2015, that there are day-to-day relationships between trainers and bookies that are a little too chummy for comfort? It was plain in the immediate aftermath of the hearing into the Black Dave case, when Evans himself conceded that a £3,140 fine was...
Saturday’s odds about Double Ross suggest Nigel Twiston-Davies has a point about his horses being underestimatedI had an enjoyable morning at Nigel Twiston-Davies’s yard yesterday, watching the horses getting ever fitter as they climbed his hillside gallop with grappling hooks and crampons. The vistas around there are unsurpassably beautiful, if you like your countryside in essentially four colours: green grass, blue sky, gleaming Cotswold stone and mud over the bottom two feet of everything. Related: Bristol De Mai on a high but punters and bookmakers remain cool Continue reading...
Ben Pauling has the best recent strike-rate among major jumps trainers. Plus some tips for a quiet Monday’s actionI often yack about trainer form on here and I do believe it makes a difference to some outcomes but it’s rather a wispy, wobbly concept. It struck me that there’s no handy ‘table’ that might be any sort of guide as to whether a stable’s in form or not, so I made one (below). Related: Cue Card may miss King George after Betfair Chase defeat to Bristol De Mai Continue reading...