DOUBLE HANDFUL
AFTER failing to predict the winners of the English 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas I feel I have the law on my side in tonight’s Irish 1,000 Guineas. The law of averages. There’s a slight feeling of deja-vu having backed hot favourite Pinatubo at a short price against 14 runners in last week’s English 2,000 Guineas only to see him come home third.
The favourite in the Irish 1,000 Guineas is Jessica Harrington’s highlyrated filly Albigna and the talk I’m hearing is that she ain’t getting beat.
Word from the stable tells me she has talent to burn and the perseverance of a pizza leafleter, while the bookies report a one-horse market.
But the biggest endorsement of all has come from jockey Shane Foley who has gone on record as saying, “she’s the best horse I’ve sat on”.
That’s some seal of approval given he’s already won both the Irish 1,000 and
2,000 Guineas on Jet Setting and
EACH-WAY FIVE facts you never knew about racing and probably never wanted to know.
Romanised. I have been debating all week on whether to take the plunge on Albigna with whatever I can unearth from the back of the sofa.
After much hand wringing, and other phone calls, I’ve decided NOT to back Albigna, which is probably the best reason why you should.
My father always told me value is the single most important factor in racing and he was right even if he was so poor he would open multiple email accounts just for the spam.
The horse that screams value in this race is Aidan O’brien’s
The master of Ballydoyle added yet another accolade in the shape of the English 1,000 Guineas with Love at Newmarket last week.
So Wonderful is still a maiden but finishing third to Love at the end of last year reads as very good form now.
She made the frame in both the Debutante and Moyglare, has a trainer with the golden touch, and, best of all, can be backed at an each-way price.
WHO isn’t excited about the return of Royal Ascot next week?
The Royal meeting will take place behind closed regal doors from Tuesday but the prize money has suffered the same fate as most of my betting slips by being ripped in half.
Last year, organisers wanted to offer more than £8million in prize money, however a mere £3.7million will be up for grabs this year.
With gate receipts going missing, prize money has understandably been reduced accordingly.
At present, nobody has any idea when large crowds will be able to assemble again.
The only certainty is that we’re going to witness a recession the like of which we’ve never seen before.
Fortunately for me, I never had any money during the boom, which makes me perfectly placed to weather the bad times ahead.