Belated greetings to all. Christmas Day is great but it’s only a precursor to excellent racing on Boxing/St Stephens Day. I was on Cue Card for the King George and I’m not put off by him in that unusual ground. All credit to Long Run for a gritty win based on his staying which is all that he’s about (but maybe bottomed out). Darlan was great but he won’t be my selection for the Champion Hurdle and I suspect that he won’t be Nicky Henderson’s either.
Dynaste won his race in a faster time than Long Run and don’t believe those who say that it rained in between: that made the ground easier!
It was difficult to keep up with all the races but all credit to Carruthers for a dominant win at Ffos Las.
Irish Saint did what he should have in the first at Kempton today but there are too many others in the mix to do anything with that. Obviously no bet option there but the 2.38/1 I posted on Twitter for a double on Simonsig and Sprinter Sacre does look like a serious option. My only bet today was on Jezki and, based on that performance, it was a gift. Can’t oppose that one in March and the stand out 8/1 from Ladbrokes must be taken. At half the odds I’d think him a good price.
I’m annoyed that I didn’t notice the 3/1 about Prince de Beauchene at Limerick (hurdle), particularly when the stewards rejected the jockey change to allow Patrick Mullins to ride him. 16/1 across the board is a good price for a few quid ante-post on the National (20/1 with Ladbrokes).
It was interesting to see Guillaume Macaire taking a couple of runners to Wetherby but the win for United Park (wouldn’t have won) was marred by the horrible fall of Little Hercules and the inability of RUK (probably not their fault) to let us know the outcome. I suspect the worst.
So, at last, we move on to what is undoubtedly now the most exciting day of the Christmas jumps. Unlike the last couple of days, all the focus is on Leopardstown and the card is, well, pretty moderate other than the big races. Let’s get the support events out of the way. Zaidpour will win the 1.25 and 5/4 is a big bet. The 1.55 is one to avoid but get all over Back In Focus at 6/4 in the 2.25 – I expected him to be serious odds on.
The Lexus Chase is a take your pick between Sir des Champs and Flemenstar. Putting aside all the media hype about Peter Casey I think that he has a Lexus winner and quite possibly a Gold Cup winner. I have no doubt about him staying and he’s my choice at what could turn out to be a very easy 6/4.
So I finally got round to my selections. Good luck!