Young rider says ‘racing is withering away’ after earning more for one US winner than in any month the previous year hereRacing’s new governance structure, which was unveiled in November, may or may not address the sport’s issues over prize money, field sizes and more. The government’s White Paper on gambling reform, if it ever sees the light of day, may or may not be as much of a potential disaster for racing’s revenue from betting as some predict. Tyler Heard, though, was not minded to hang around to find out.Heard rode 56 winners from around 800 rides as an apprentice in Britain between 2020 and 2022, but his win total dropped from 27 in 2021 to just a dozen...
The selection showed up well at Cheltenham in March and his opening handicap mark could well prove generousThe betting on the Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle at Kempton Park on Saturday is dominated by Charles Byrnes’s Green Glory, who won with something to spare on his handicap debut at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting, and the first question for most punters will be whether they are with or against the 4-1 favourite when there are 19 alternatives in opposition.Many will look no further. Byrnes is a famously canny operator whose runners often find plenty of improvement when handicapping, and his son Philip, who was also in the saddle for Green Glory’s cosy win last month, is well worth his 5lb claim. Continue reading...
Derby-winning owner is yet to pay up after autumn spending spree at the four major prestigious horse racing auctionsWe are scarcely a week into 2023 but Tattersalls, the venerable Newmarket bloodstock sales company, has already supplied a strong contender for the racing world’s Understatement of the Year, after it emerged over the weekend that 17 yearlings which were knocked down for an average of 650,000gns (£68.3k) at Tatts’ showpiece October sale last year have not – as yet – been paid for, and may need to be resold. “Obviously,” a spokesperson for the firm commented in a brief statement, “this is a regrettable situation”.It is, in all, just under £11m-worth of “regrettable” at Tattersalls alone, after an individual who was...
Half the field lining up for the Grade One at Sandown on Saturday are defending unbeaten records over timberIt would be greedy to hope for a winner to match the exceptional Constitution Hill, who was successful 12 months ago, when eight runners line up for the Grade One Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown on Saturday, but this year’s renewal makes much more appeal from the punters’ point of view, with half the field defending unbeaten records over timber.Henry de Bromhead’s Arctic Bresil – like Constitution Hill, a son of the stallion Blue Bresil – is a rare and intriguing runner from Ireland in this contest, having beaten 21 opponents with ease on his Rules debut at Cork last month, while Tahmuras,...
After a poor Betfair Chase, the eight-year-old is one of four former winners in the Grade One feature at LeopardstownThree of the last four winners of the Savills Chase are back for another crack at the Grade One feature of Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting on Wednesday, including A Plus Tard, last season’s hugely impressive Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, and Galvin, who touched him off by a short head in last year’s race.Neither horse arrives on the back of a win, and A Plus Tard’s supporters in particular will hope to see him bounce back from a desperately poor run behind Protektorat in November’s Betfair Chase. Continue reading...