Dual Oaks-winning trainer accused of slapping Australian racing in the face with a fish after incendiary blogRalph Beckett has been accused of slapping Australian racing in the face with a fish, after he posted an incendiary blog on his website suggesting that the lack of Australian entries at Royal Ascot this year is a result of tighter rules on steroid use in that country. The Hampshire-based trainer suggests that Australian participation in the Group One sprint races at the Royal meeting might now be a thing of the past and that some of their winners there may have benefited from doses of steroids during their careers, a suggestion which has previously been denied by some of the trainers involved. Related:...
Plus best bets for Musselburgh and Lingfield as punters sift through five Thursday racecardsWhen you invite a trainer to offer an excuse for a horse, they generally do so with alacrity. So it was interesting that Charlie Appleby turned down the opportunity at Ascot yesterday after Blue Point got back in the winner’s enclosure for the first time since the Gimcrack. Related: Silvestre de Sousa plays down title chances despite treble at Ascot Continue reading...
The Sagaro and Pavilion Stakes stand out at Ascot, while there’s an interesting course specialist to keep tabs on at Brighton later onThe only possible quibble about the excellent card at Ascot on Wednesday afternoon is that there are just six races, but since admission to the grandstand for the “Discover Ascot” raceday is actually free, it’s not a complaint that holds much water and there are likely to be runners in at least three of the Group 1 events at next month’s Royal meeting with form in one of the contests.The Sagaro Stakes is a traditional trial for the Ascot Gold Cup and most of today’s eight runners are also engaged in Royal Ascot’s showpiece. These include Harbour Law,...
Ballymountain Boy (4.05), fourth over course and distance in a race that has subsequently proved to be a useful form pointer, is the best bet of the day at KemptonThe bookmakers hadn’t quite the nerve to price up Utility as the overnight favourite for Kempton’s getting-out-stakes on Monday afternoon but they couldn’t help themselves making this six-year-old, a son of Yeats, the second favourite in most lists.Jonjo O’Neill’s runner is exasperating yet fascinating. WB Yeats wrote his own epitaph: “Cast a cold eye/on life, on death/Horseman, pass by”. What exactly the great man meant by that is subject to debate, but perhaps the last bit could be interpreted as advice regarding Utility. Related: Racing news and tips: Double gives Lulu...
Atty Persse (1.50) is definitely worth a bet in the opener at Sandown on Friday on the basis of his sole successful outing last seasonIt was fun when the late-April meeting at Sandown Park mixed Flat and National Hunt racing on the same afternoon, but it is difficult to argue with the move to partition the meeting into separate days for the two codes when it produces a card as deep and intriguing as the one at the Esher track today.From the Esher Cup at the top of the card, when the Derby-entry Atty Persse (1.50) makes his seasonal debut, to the handicap at the other end, which was won by the subsequent Irish Derby winner Jack Hobbs two years...