All of Ireland will be screaming for Samcro and there’s no Cheltenham thrill like it

He’s won his last four starts, all Grade 1’s, by 12L, 22L, 12L, and 17L – and had won his previous start by 14L. His speed figures are just about off the scale and he can take a position wherever in the field meaning tactics are not a worry. Given he’s normally an excellent jumper, there are essentially no holes in Constitution Hill’s profile whatsoever and he’s a very worthy odds-on favourite. The Supreme is sometimes won by a clear cut favourite – think Appreciate It or Douvan – but, more often than not, the waters are muddier and the multiple returned for finding the winner more appealing. This year falls into the latter bracket, and surely bookies all over the country will be desperately trying to ‘get’ Facile Vega.

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Shishkin is now unbeaten in seven completed starts, having fallen on his hurdling debut. The main lesson of history is “don’t believe the hype”, a message that resonates far beyond Festival jollies but which was poignantly reprised twelve months ago when, of the six favourites sent off at 5/4 or shorter, five were beaten. It works as an index where, like IV, 1.00 is a par figure and better or worse than 1.00 is a degree of good or bad respectively. It’s calculation requires a little unpacking and, rather than do that here, you’re encouraged to look at this racing metrics article where I explain and exemplify each of IV, A/E and PRB in more detail. The key here is that north of 1.00 is good, south of 1.00 not so much. Happily, geegeez.co.uk publishes a few metrics that cut through the thorny thicket of quantifying these data, namely Impact Value, Percentage of Rivals Beaten, and Actual vs Expected.

The Secret Behind Bolts Up Daily: Changing the Horse Racing Game

The bridge jumpers knew their fate early, mind, as he overraced from the start, jumped poorly throughout and was spent by the second last, eventually beaten a whopping 24 lengths that day. Of course, that effort was all wrong as he showed when waltzing home by seven in a maiden field of 25 next time, and more materially when dotting up by nine in a Listed novice on heavy ground last time. That form is questionable in the context of a race like this, though he beat Jigoro by slightly further than did Mystical Power, and he couldn’t really have won any more easily. Here are the Ayr Gold Cup past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won along with the age & weight of the horse. Also detailed is the stall where the horse came from and the total number of runners in the race.

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Better yet, they may assist in whittling fields to more manageable numbers with a view to poring over the form on the remaining runners. Ignoring the highly unpredictable handicap chase segment, there are some consistent negative factors worth keeping in mind throughout Cheltenham Festival week. Bolts Up Daily 506 of the 964 starters in all-age Cheltenham Festival handicap hurdles since 2008 have been sent off at greater than 20/1. It may be safe to exclude fillies and mares in all age Cheltenham Festival handicap hurdles. (Incidentally, fillies have an excellent record in the Fred Winter).

WORLDWIDE STAKES

The silks are simply the colours each jockey will wear and denote who owns each horse, and then to the right we have the age of the horse and the weight they are set to carry in the race. Weights will vary if this race is a handicap – these are races in which horses are weighted according to their past performances – but in non-handicaps most horses will carry the same. Performances are influenced by factors such as a horse’s fitness, the distance of the race and whether the ground is soft and boggy or firm and fast. You can look at a horse’s past performances to work out whether the ground conditions will suit – and it’s understanding these crucial variables that can give punters the edge. VADREAM looks a spot of value to win this for a second time.

• These represent the views of Racing Post experts and, generally speaking, the higher the rating, the better the horse’s chance.
• A final word on the thrilling exhibition by Un De Sceaux yesterday which crowned an outstanding day for Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh.
• EdG is a fair price, and he might be Gentleman’s problem if he doesn’t allow that one to dominate from the front.
• If we combine the clear favourite records of Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott and Henry De Bromhead, 39.1% of them won (54 wins from 138) for a profit of £27.25 (ROI +19.7%).
• The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +52.50 is when runners had 1 place in the past 30 days.
• There is one trainer who has not had the best of times in the Futurity Trophy Weekend 6f Handicap, Richard Fahey has sent a total of 11 runners to the race without recording any wins.
• Draw and run style seem to be fairly well subsumed into market prices these days; at least into starting price market prices.

Horse racing tips: Cheltenham, Doncaster, Newbury – Saturday October 26

Of stable form, it can be seen from the right hand part of the chart that the Henderson hordes have not been firing at their highest rate in recent months. Nor, mind you, has the win percentage been anything other than aspirational for most other yards. The Brown Advisory would have meant a likely clash with Monkfish, the Arkle a ding dong with Shiskin, Energumene and Allmankind. The Marsh feels a bit like the coward’s route for a horse boasting his CV.

• There should be more to come once she learns to take her racing better, for all you’d struggle to say she’s been thrown in here.
• And, of course, that’s absolutely fine because – remember – the number one takeaway from these million words is, Choose Your Battles.
• Saint Sam, who had led until the second last, was a further four lengths back while the quietly fancied Haut En Couleurs was an early faller.
• His last chase sighting was when pulling up after only six fences in the Gold Cup a year ago.
• That allowance was 6lb when he won at Cheltenham two starts back and still 3lb at Leopardstown but has now been eroded entirely.

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I cannot with clean conscience propose you bet anything in this race on my say so. In 2021, Epatante could only finish third in the Champion Hurdle, behind Honeysuckle. Marie’s Rock had recently run third in a mares’ Grade 2 at Doncaster and Love Envoi was about to win a Wexford bumper on her first start. A year later, last year, and Honeysuckle again won the Champion Hurdle with Epatante her nearest pursuer on this occasion.

When is the Breeders’ Cup? Del Mar dates, races and post times for 2024

The number of runners in a race often has a bearing on the tempo at which the race is run; and that in turn has a notable influence over which horses in the field might be best suited. Again, we’re looking towards the extremes here, though, having said that, with the continued shrinkage of field sizes comes a problem for those one-paced galloping types. Good to soft has a similar, if slightly more consistent for prior winners of one to three on the same ground, profile. Good to firm shows a similar increase from going maidens to those with a single verdict on the same official turf, then a regressive profile for winners of two and three. Deviating the other way, to soft, we see a fairly consistent picture for winners of one to three previous races on soft turf.

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• They were collectively worth a profit of 7.57 points at SP, and a slightly more worthwhile 31.15 points at BSP.
• The second runner for Willie Mullins and a second for JP McManus, this lad beat Edwardstone in the Maghull Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) at Aintree two years ago and won the G1 Dublin Chase of 2023, too, so he’s got plenty of class.
• There is the occasional shock result in Cheltenham Festival novice Grade 1’s.
• Rosallion came out on top in the eagerly-anticipated clash of three 2000 Guineas winners in the St James’s Palace Stakes, as he lived up to all of Richard Hannon’s billing as the best horse he has ever trained.
• – as comfortably the best of the Irish has livened up the pre-race debate immeasurably.
• Cause of Causes, Cantlow and Josies Orders all have similar sorts of claims.
• Codd has piloted the winner in three of the last six renewals where amateur jockeys contested (professionals last year due to Covid), two of the three coming for Elliott.

Shishkin is undeniably more of a horse than Footpad, and a tear up on the front end could see him record the largest winning distance of the meeting. He was never more than two or three lengths off the lead. In 2020, Al Boum Photo raced midfield but never more than about five lengths from a lead shared without contest; and the previous year, the same horse was ridden more patiently after a number of rivals battled for early primacy.

Cheltenham Festival Novice Grade 1’s (excl. Bumper & Triumph Hurdle)

• O’Faolains Boy set a fair but not searing tempo, aided and abetted by Smad Place, in 2016, the beneficiary of which was the handily-ridden Don Cossack.
• Rather, I’ll take a small swing at Champion Green and Saint Segal, both of which ought to be suited by this setup and both of which come from yards that know how to win the Fred Boodles.
• Not to mention, spot-on predictions in the highly competitive US racing events and this has solidified our reputation as a go-to source for reliable tips.
• Betting systems are touted far and wide these days, with some actually having the stats to show that they’re effective.
• Applying those negative filters would have left 375 qualifiers.
• Ignoring the highly unpredictable handicap chase segment, there are some consistent negative factors worth keeping in mind throughout Cheltenham Festival week.

KARMOLOGY looks the solid option in this competitive fillies’ handicap. She’s usually very consistent but never showed up at Yarmouth last time. Her earlier form is very useful and she can give weight and a beating to her rivals. The selection has no room for error off top-weight, but no one rides the straight course at Ascot better than Spencer. The micro-systems above will provide plenty of action for those who like a mechanical approach.

Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Ayr racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Ayr Gold Cup. If you are looking to place a bet on this race well in advance of the actual running, then there may be an ante-post market available for you to place your bet. If you are unfamiliar with this type of betting then head over to the OLBG Betting School and read our Ante-Post Horse Racing article which explains how ante-post betting works. Created in 2007, this class two handicap is run over a trip of six furlongs at Doncaster Racecourse and is open to runners who are aged three or older.

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A race that will probably play out in line with the market expectation of a duel between Jonbon and El Fabiolo. If El Fab’s jumping holds up, I think he’ll win, and if it doesn’t I think Jonbon will win. I don’t really see Dysart Dynamo sustaining his front-footed charge and prefer Saint Roi to travel round in his own time and pick up the each way pieces. Not especially a betting race if you haven’t already played, I don’t think. Olly Murphy runs two in the race, Chasing Fire and Strong Leader, and my preference of the pair is for the former. He’s unbeaten in a point, a bumper, and three hurdle races and, though untested in Graded company, he’s kicked to the kerb everything he’s faced hitherto.

Last year, five of the six horses sent off at 5/4 or shorter were beaten. This year, we look set to have at least five runners priced in that same bracket. Mishaps aside, it is hard (for me, at least) to make credible cases to oppose any of the quintet.

And then, when it was all going so well, along came that King George; never going the pace there and succumbing to a couple of – these days – uncharacteristic blunders and pulling up. The favourite, at around 7/2, is A Plus Tard, whose Betfair Chase demolition job at Haydock propelled him to the top of the lists. A model of consistency, APT has yet to finish outside of the first three in 13 Rules starts. Three of those races have been at the Festival where he has the full set of medals; his only gold, mind, came in a handicap, and he’s since finished third in the 2020 Ryanair and runner up in last season’s Gold Cup. That maiden score, like his flat maiden win, was on good ground and, with the drying forecast, conditions look to be in his corner.

Cheltenham Showcase Meeting Handicap Chase Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Showcase Meeting)

In other words, this is a completely different race from the one which carried the same name 15 years ago. Back then, journeyman Corinthians on massive-priced pigs in a poke in huge fields played a version of ‘last man or woman standing’. Now, field sizes are smaller, the quality of bipeds and quadrupeds alike is higher, and it is consequently a far more predictable affair.

Trainer Charlie Longsdon is bullish about his chance and, on the evidence of the book, he’s a place possible at least… Last year’s Triumph Hurdle winner, Lossiemouth, made a highly impressive return to action here on Trials Day. While she’s the clear favourite and the most likely winner, stepping up to 2m 4f poses a question mark on her stamina. It’s possible that Luccia could be sent on in a bid to force a stronger pace, she herself having made all in the race when her barn mate Iberico flopped; but that’s not her normal run style. And nor should a 140-rated mare be in the same conversation as a 165+ gelding. I retain the faith in him and think he has an excellent chance at a decent price.

Horse Racing Tips: A 7/1 NAP tops our best Kempton bets tonight

It has been the obvious race for him since last year and we’ve just had to creep there. The owners have been very good and said if that is what you want to do then go for it. “Luke got it right and there was enough room for him to keep pushing and get where we wanted. It was one of those races where I can’t remember one going so well since Alborada got the pacemaker and High-Rise didn’t (in the 1999 Champion Stakes). “I was very concerned about the draw, I had a thoroughly bad day when I found out his position.

All of the last 16 winners had raced at least once since the start of Newbury’s Coral Cup Handicap Chase meeting the previous November. Among the British challengers, Teeshan from Paul Nicholls’ yard showed promise with a victory at Exeter last month, while Ben Pauling’s Sixmilebridge impressed on his stable debut at Sandown. Though primarily seen as a hurdling prospect for the future, Sixmilebridge shouldn’t be overlooked in this race. Willie Mullins fields the favourite, Jasmin De Vaux, who showcased promise with a victory at Naas on his stable debut in January.

So far he’s been beaten in two maidens before getting off the mark in a third such race, and that doesn’t fit with this race. To help you make your selection, you can access more information by clicking on the horse’s name on both today’s and tomorrow’s racecards. This will cause the horse’s information to slide out with all the key details. Jockey and trainer are obviously crucial, along with age and weight.

Can win a well-deserved Group 1 in the Sun Chariot Stakes. Back a horse by clicking their odds – and check out our man’s Arc de Triomphe ante-post tips with Member’s Enclosure. Fourthly, beware Paul Nicholls outside of handicap hurdles, and Charlie Longsdon and Noel Meade universally. Thirdly, cheekpieces have been more about futility than utility outside of handicap chases. But we all know that there’s nothing really of use in this section. The handicap chases are a crap shoot and, in negative elimination factor terms, should be avoided at all costs.

He will have to be at his very best because he takes on two previous winners of this race. Of the rest, Rumstar has run some big races in top handicaps and has every chance of outrunning his insulting odds. The selection’s stablemate Hamish won this in 2022 and is in his element when the mud is flying. The main concern with him is that he has run poorly on his last two starts.

It was a fourth Champion Chase for Henderson since Finian’s Rainbow broke his duck in the race in 2012 and his 60th winner in all at the meeting. Horses of a lifetime, it seems, are like London buses for the trainer these days and if he becomes the first trainer to win Cheltenham’s big three races in the Gold Cup on Friday, Might Bite might be considered another. A lot more returns and respective debuts throughout the week before we got to the season openers at Cheltenham and Aintree. After all the hard work there was just the one bet for us which was successful. It can be seen as frustrating to have put in all that work but also rewarding in the long term to have amassed a great deal of valuable future information.

The first chase of the week is the Arkle Challenge Trophy, a two mile event for novices. If it perhaps lacks a little star quality this year – there can’t be a Shishkin/Altior/Douvan every time – it remains competitive from a betting perspective. The last ten years (from 2013 onwards) have seen Irish runners dominate these events more and more. To spell it out, in the most recent two Cheltenham Festivals, Irish runners have secured 22 wins compared with just six for the UK.

“It was great that they thought of me and to win for them was really great. When I sat on her, they publicised the times and we didn’t go very fast at all, so it was very hard for me to say I would win the King Charles III Stakes beforehand off the back of that. “It’s special to be a part of and it’s a very difficult feat to bring her over here at this time of year when it is approaching the Australian winter and prepare her – Henry has done a top job. “It is sublime and some great names from Australia who have won here have trained over 150 Group One winners and that’s only my third. “It’s a good start to the week and he deserved that, he’s been great all year. He’s a fine horse, very consistent and seems to be thriving.

Naturally, betting shops – and bookmaker websites and apps – also show all the action. It is also possible to watch races on your phone, tablet or computer screen by logging on to a bookmaker account and streaming via the Racing Post website or mobile app. Every single race every day can be seen live on Sky Sports Racing (free on Sky channel 415) and Racing TV (a subscription channel on Sky 424). Yes, it has its own language, and some find that intimidating, but please do not worry.

Whilst there are no genuine shortcuts outside of getting someone else’s opinion (for better or worse), there are facilitators and differentiators. Boasting the unusual accolade of being the only UK racecourse not to have a grandstand, Bangor-On-Dee stands alone amongst the wider racecourse population. North Wales’ solitary racecourse, racing has taken place on the banks of the Dee for 160 years. Nube Negra was possibly the unlucky loser story of the race, meeting traffic whilst gaining lengths over the final half a furlong.