My 5 best bets for the week…

Shakespearean (Jersey Stakes)

I really liked the way this one kept on running at Epsom and despite carrying a weight penalty that day he never looked like getting caught. I’m glad connections decided against running him in the St James Palace and are instead heading for the Jersey Stakes as a straight 7f down Ascot will be right up his street. If he runs in the opener on the Wednesday he will be my biggest bet of the week.

Canford Cliffs (St James Palace)

Back to the scene of his breathtaking 2yo win in the Coventry and on the back of his best performance last time out in the Irish Guineas Canford Cliffs has to be the one to beat here. Makfi will be out to show his 2000 Guineas win was no fluke but I think Canford Cliffs has improved enough to reverse Newmarket placings. Given Aiden O’Briens record in the race you have to fear Steinbeck now that he’s had a run but he does have quite a few lengths to find with Canford Cliffs and I’m happy to side with Richard Hannon’s runner.

Music Show (Coronation Stakes)

Beaten by the draw at Newmarket she ran a fine race in the Irish Guineas and with no Special Duty or Bethrah in the field this week it’s time for Music Show to gain her moment in the spotlight. The ground, the course and the distance are all perfect for this filly and there can be no excuses if she gets beat. If there are a minimum of 8 runners and I can get 5/1 or better (oh, and if I’ve got any money left by then) I’ll be having a big each way bet on her.

Manifest (Gold Cup)

With no Yeats to worry about this year the staying division will be looking for its latest star. Step forward Manifest. I’ve been following this one since before he ran as the Newmarket work watchers had been shouting his name long before he made his way onto the racecourse. It seems another year has made all the difference to him and the way he won the Yorkshire Cup last time out marked him out as a very promising Cup horse. Henry Cecil would love to win this race again and I think he has every chance with the 4yo Manifest given the manner of his latest victory.

Genki (Wokingham)

Something must have gone terribly wrong in the Wokingham last year as he trailed in last of 26 but he bounced back to win the Stewards Cup at Glorious Goodwood the following month before ending last season running 3rd in a Listed race at the Curragh. He’s had just the one run so far this season where he finished 4th of 23 on 1000 Guineas day. Drawn the ‘wrong’ side and carrying 9-09 he ran an absolute cracker and a reproduction of that run will put him in the mix for this notoriously tricky handicap. I’ll be hoping for 10’s or better to have a good each way bet on him.

and 3 outsiders….

Zacinto (Queen Anne)

Something has obviously gone wrong in his last two runs as he has failed to beat a single horse in either race but surely Sir Michael Stoute wouldn’t be running him in a Group 1 race if he hadn’t ironed out the problems, would he? Stoutey has a fine record in this race with 3 wins and 3 places from his last 10 runners and with all the attention focusing on the front three in the betting we can get an amazing 20/1 on his runner. Zacinto is the only horse outside of the top 3 that I can see having a chance of springing a surprise.

Mull of Killough (Royal Hunt Cup)

I really like this one and the 20/1 is a great price. He has form in big field handicaps and he’s running well this year so I just need a good draw (not in the middle) to have myself a big bet. There doesn’t seem to be any young horses with Group race aspirations lurking in the field this year and I think we could see the type of winner revert to being a good honest handicapper. Mull of Killough is certainly that and I’m looking forward to seeing him run on Wednesday.

Clairvoyance (Sandringham Handicap)

This one is likely to be a big price if she contests this fillies handicap on the Wednesday. There are some real top class fillies set to line-up in the race, not least of which are Oaks 3rd favourite Timepiece and Irish 1000 Guineas also ran Lolly For Dolly, but it does mean my fancy will have a lovely racing weight of around 8-02. She ran a fine race over course and distance at the beginning of May when weakening only in the last 100 yards to finish a creditable 5th to Alsace Lorraine (she’ll be contesting the Group 2 Windsor Stakes this week ). She was also entered in a Class 2 handicap at Thirsk on the Tuesday but connections have taken her out of that race to run here.

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Trends

Our guide for the first day is now available for download and on what looks a top class but very tough day’s racing I think we have some nice selections. We’ll be covering all 30 races over the 5 days of the meeting and it’s just £34.95. Or there is an option to buy each day individually for £9.95 so you can buy Tuesday’s guide and see how we get on……

http://www.festivaltrends.co.uk/amember/signup.php

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Gary’s Tips

There’s also Gary’s Guide for Royal Ascot where he’ll be casting his expert eye over the runners in all 30 races. His first day choices will be ready from lunchtime today and it’s just £19.95 for all 5 days…..

http://www.horseraceoutsiders.co.uk/

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You can read all about how I get on punting this week in my blog next Monday.

Good luck,
Gavin.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 14th, 2010 at 7:41 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.