Review of the day

With hindsight, it was maybe written in the stars…

I felt very pleased with myself for having the foresight to get Apples Shakira on side for the Triumph at a big price.

I expected her to win this afternoon – even though I couldn’t believe her SP !

Fortunately however, I didn’t just bask in the glory of an excellent tip (which she undoubtedly was !), I spent a little time trying to figure out how best to insure it.

And it was that insurance, which ultimately proved to be the really smart bet…

On the eve of the Dublin racing festival, I decided to tip Farclas.

He subsequently ran a good race to finish second in the Spring juvenile – and book his place in the Triumph field.

The rest is history.

Whilst Apples Shakira (and a few of her rivals) refused to settle and raced too keenly, Jack Kennedy got Farclas relaxed and took up the perfect racing position.

He attacked on the run to the last – and with most of his rivals floundering, had only Mr Adjudicator to fend off on the run in.

He had proved Farclas’s superior at Leopardstown – but the form was reversed today.

It was nice to be on the right side of a fine line, for once !

As for Apples Shakira: she ran well, considering she did too much, too soon.

Maybe Nicky Henderson is right – maybe she does want better ground.

I certainly wouldn’t write her off just yet – though I think a step up in trip would also help…

In the next race on the card, Flying Tiger was backed in to 6/1 favourite,

That struck me as odd, for horse that I didn’t think would appreciate the very soft ground.

It also struck me as odd, that Noel Fehily settled him right out the back, in what wasn’t a particularly strongly run race.

He did make up ground down the hill, but he had far too much to do.

I’m sure there will be other days for him.

In the same race, Smaoineamh Ailann never really featured – it was all probably a bit too much for her…

Dortmund Park was the next tip to run – but he never featured in what was a slightly odd race.

Davy settled him out the back, as I expected – and whilst he did make some late headway, he never really looked like getting there…

The Gold Cup was next – and it was quite a race !

In truth, ‘race’ is probably not the right description – as it ended up a duel between Native River and Might Bite.

The 2 of them were first and second for the entire race – with the other runners content to sit half a dozen lengths off them.

I can understand why the other jockeys adopted those tactics – but if you give the 2 best horses half a dozen lengths and don’t apply any pressure, then there is only likely to be one outcome…

Unsurprisingly, they finished first and second – with Native Rivers greater stamina ultimately proving decisive.

Road to Respect ran a huge race to finish fourth – whist American also ran with credit, until tiring late on…

Next it was the Foxhunters – but Virak never featured.

The race was won by last years victor, Pacha du Polder, at the remarkably generous odds of 25/1.

Sometimes it doesn’t pay to ignore the obvious !

The final 2 tips on the day, ran in the closing race – and both performed with great credit.

Unsurprisingly, the market latched on to them, with North Hill Harvey sent off 7/1 fav – and Top Gamble just a point bigger.

They were both still travelling fine, when North Hill Harvey slipped on landing after jumping the third last – and worse still, managed to interfere with Top Gamble !

The latter still stayed on to claim third place – and I don’t think the incident affected his chance of winning.

Finally, the only race I didn’t tip in, was won by another Gigginstown/Elliott horse in the shape of Blow by Blow.

And whilst I might not have picked him out, he was the picked out twice, by Chris on his ‘System bets’ thread in the forum.

I’m sure he won’t want me to draw attention to his efforts – but I’m going to do so anyway !

He’s had an amazing week, getting 2 big priced winners from just 3 selections at Cheltenham – plus a 14/1 winner at Huntington.

What’s more, this is on the back of a season record, of in excess of 100pts profit with an ROI of over 20% - at BSP !

He puts a huge amount of time into diligently researching his systems – and he uncovers some real nuggets which he then posts on the forum.

I don’t think his thread gets the attention it deserves – though after this week, I guess that might change !

Great work, Chris 

TVB