Wesley Ward’s first Royal Ascot winner is still helping the US trainer with his raids on Britain’s top Flat prizesAny punter who managed to collect at 33-1 when Strike The Tiger won at Royal Ascot eight years ago might be interested to know that the horse, now 10, is back at a British racecourse for the first time since that heady day. Now working as a ‘companion thoroughbred’, the gelding travelled over from the US to York with Lady Aurelia at the end of last week and is settled there alongside the filly who is favourite for next week’s Nunthorpe Stakes. Related: John Gosden’s plea fails to move BHA panel on Rab Havlin French drug ban Continue reading...
We’ve had mixed messages from his owner but there’s grounds for hope that Neil Mulholland’s charge may have found a winnable raceFor the first time ever, I was contacted last night by the owner of a horse that I’ve tipped. I was hoping for something along the lines of ‘You’re a shrewd one, this has been the plan since Magna Carta!’ Alas... Related: Racing news and tips: Michelle Payne too ill for Newbury comeback Continue reading...
Kevin Stott’s appearance in the saddle is a notable pointer towards our nap in the first at the Yorkshire trackA 2-1 shot for Ripon’s opener, Bungee Jump (2.00) is a far less risky proposition than her name would suggest. Apart from being well-named (her sire is Canford Cliffs), this two year-old ran well on her debut on Newcastle’s all-weather surface at the end of July. It was a well-contested novice stakes and Bungee Jump was an unfancied 25-1 shot, yet she finished fourth, a length behind the winner. Related: Racing news and tips: Sioux Nation on the rise for Aidan O’Brien at The Curragh Continue reading...
Racing’s ruling body did not take the case of the Yarmouth mix-up sufficiently seriously and questions remain unanswered.I felt that Charlie McBride let himself down very badly with his comments during and after yesterday’s disciplinary hearing but the bit that really has me wincing is the inadequate level of punishment eventually meted out by the British Horseracing Authority’s panel. A fine of £1,500 bears no relation to the degree of negligence shown by McBride in mistakenly saddling the wrong horse to run at Yarmouth a fortnight ago, or to the damage to racing’s reputation or the frustration and financial loss suffered by punters and bookmakers. Related: Charlie McBride will pay part of fine for wrong horse fiasco out of winnings...
The admirably consistent Tidal’s Baby lines up in the opener at Brighton with a chance to be runner-up for the seventh consecutive timeYou sometimes hear trainers express the hope that such-and-such a horse may be able to “run up a sequence”. Wins are what they’re hoping for but there’s no denying that the veteran Tidal’s Baby has run up quite an impressive sequence of his own this year, having finished second in each of his six races. Related: Extra scanning at British racecourses to avoid another wrong horse fiasco Continue reading...