Paisley Park’s owner Andrew Gemmell raises an issue which will not get solved before transparency over media rights deals In the age of big money and mega-stables in jump racing, the plucky band of smaller owners who manage to grab a slice of the cake too are arguably more important than ever for encouraging fans into the sport.Owners like Andrew Gemmell, for instance, whose run of success with Paisley Park has been one of the most popular and memorable stories of recent seasons. And so when Gemmell feels that smaller owners are being unfairly penalised in some of National Hunt’s biggest events, it might be an idea to take note of his concerns. Continue reading...
Scottish trainer Sandy Thomson’s string is in excellent form with a 23% strike rate and a big level-stakes profit this seasonThe Grade One Scilly Isles Novice Chase is the feature event at Sandown on Saturday afternoon but the richest contest on the card is the three-mile handicap hurdle at 2.55pm and it is a fascinating puzzle for punters to unravel.The versatile Remastered, who landed a valuable handicap chase at Kempton over Christmas, can race off his lower hurdles mark on Saturday and is vying for favouritism with Flight Deck, who was a cosy winner at Chepstow the same afternoon. Continue reading...
Energumene, Noble Yeats and Paisley Park can pass Festival rehearsals on a bumper card at the home of jumps racingPaul Nicholls is one of the finest trainers that National Hunt racing has seen, but even he cannot edit what is written into a horse’s genes and it is a slight surprise to see his six-year-old Il Ridoto challenging for favouritism in the valuable two-and-a-half mile handicap chase on Saturday at Cheltenham, which will need to pass an inspection at 7.30am to get the go-ahead to race.Il Ridoto has run near-identical races over track and trip on his last two starts, travelling well and making a strong move into contention before fading on the run to the line. The going is,...
The level of protection for your money – or lack of it – is often hidden in the Ts & Cs when signing up for new accountsSome punters will have been crossing off the days to this year’s Cheltenham Festival in March since the Saturday morning after the last one but, for many, Trials Day at the track this weekend will be the moment when the final countdown begins. It will not be just the backers for whom the excitement and anticipation is starting to build either. For online betting operators, Festival week is the biggest of the racing year when it comes to attracting new customers. Continue reading...
The popular grey runner comes alive at Haydock Park and ran a fine race in the Grand National Trial there last FebruaryHaydock’s valuable card on Saturday, is subject to an 8am inspection but the track was raceable on Friday after a milder night than expected with Kirkland Tellwright, the clerk of the course, reporting that the course is “forecast temperatures of between just below zero and minus 2C, which is the difference between success and failure”.Just half a dozen runners, the smallest field for 17 years, will go to post for the featured Peter Marsh Chase if the meeting gets the all-clear, including the hugely popular course specialist, Bristol De Mai (2.40). Continue reading...