By Ian Carnaby I am rarely pleasantly surprised by the SP of favourites in big races on Saturdays. The events have been well covered in the racing press for several days beforehand, the Morning Line plays its part and, of … Read More »

By  Chris Clarke The US Open is traditionally the hardest golfing test of the year. Par is often considered to be a viable winning score and the courses chosen tend to be long and have firm testing greens. With a … Read More »

By Marten Julian Frankie Dettori’s resurgence back into centre stage continued this afternoon when Star Of Seville atoned for a troubled run in the Oaks by winning the Prix de Diane at Chantilly. I had not expected the daughter of … Read More »

By Marten Julian I have never looked forward to a Royal Ascot meeting as much as next week, but I have to advise you that my final selections will be very dependent on the state of the ground. The going … Read More »

I claim no plaudits for the fact that Golden Horn and Jack Hobbs – first and second in the Derby – made it to the Premier List section of my Dark Horses Annual. The former had impressed me with his … Read More »

Well it wasn’t a bad day for clients with my only two star bets winning – Code Red at 14/1 and Al Bandar at 3/1 – but I would never have found the 50/1 Oaks winner Qualify in a month … Read More »

Things went more according to plan in this afternoon’s Prix du Jockey Club, when French 2,000 Guineas runner-up New Bay came with a strong late run to beat Highland Reel, who improved from his debut run behind the winner three … Read More »

Epsom’s ‘Breakfast with the Stars’ proved informative this morning. I am not a great judge of work, but to my eyes Elm Park looked the least well-suited to Epsom’s gradients, which is a surprise given his relatively compact physique. The … Read More »

Sometimes you see a maiden race that leaves you thinking it may be rather better than the norm, and for me this applied to the 1m 2f maiden run at Sandown on Thursday evening. The race was won by the … Read More »

The Derby picture didn’t really get any clearer today when Golden Horn, who does not currently hold an entry for Epsom, beat stable-companion Jack Hobbs and Elm Park emphatically in the Dante Stakes. The winner’s owner Anthony Oppenheimer has always … Read More »

The topsy-turvy Derby market took another hit this afternoon when Highland Reel ran a fairly lifeless race in the Poule d’Essai des Poulains at Longchamp. Aidan O’Brien’s colt was a leading fancy of mine for both the English Guineas and … Read More »

I have just returned from an informative but frustrating weekend at Newmarket. The feature of the meeting was the ground, which was as quick as I have known it. Starting with the 2,000 Guineas, Gleneagles was becoming increasingly restless in … Read More »