Blizzard of winners heading team Size and Purton’s way March 12, 2024 RACING at Happy Valley in Hong Kong today hosts its regular mid-week slot with a highly competitive nine-race programme, featuring a number of high-flying speedsters who excel around the sharp-turning track. Form book students are finding it tough going at the Valley at present. Once upon a time, selecting horses drawn low, and likely to [...]
EP: 258 Cheltenham Festival – Thursday March 12, 2024 Today we get to crown the champion stayer at the festival when the Grade 1 Stayers’ Hurdle takes place at 3.30. There’s also the Grade 1 Ryanair Chase to look forward to on Day 3 of this year’s festival. Morning Wire Racing editor Bill Esdaile previews all of Thursday’s action at Cheltenham, with special guests [...]
Lord is worthy rival to Willie’s solid State Man March 11, 2024 SORRY to state the obvious, but State Man is going to take a lot of beating in today’s Champion Hurdle (3:30pm). He’s 10lb clear on ratings and is currently in a league of his own, with his main protagonist in the division, Constitution Hill, sidelined through illness. Despite living in the shadows of that rival [...]
JPR the One to down Warrior in open Arkle March 11, 2024 THERE’s definitely an open look to this year’s My Pension Expert Arkle (2.10pm), with the betting 7/2 the field and seven of the 10 runners shorter than 10/1. I put up JPR ONE as an ante-post bet for this race back in January, following his win in the Lightning Novices at Lingfield and am very [...]
Mister could be a Gift of a price for magic Mullins March 11, 2024 GIVEN he trains six of the 12 declared for today’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (1.30pm), it’s hard to not think Willie Mullins will have a serious impact on who will win the opening race of the 2024 Cheltenham Festival. He’s of course won it a record seven times and it will be heavily odds-on that he [...]
Enjoy the Ultima with a nice drop of Chianti March 11, 2024 IT HASN’T been a season to remember for Kim Bailey and David Bass. The yard has had its share of struggles with bugs and ailments, but Does He Know was a good winner of the Grimthorpe Chase earlier this month and Bailey has two big bullets to fire in the Ultima Handicap Chase (2.50pm). Novices [...]
Bradstock’s Vango a huge price in the National Hunt Chase March 11, 2024 THEY say that you should always bet with your head and not your heart. Well, I’d say there is a bit of both when it comes to my selection in the Maureen Mullins National Hunt Chase (5.30pm). Less than two weeks have passed since Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer Mark Bradstock lost his long battle with [...]
Marie could give Lossie a Rocky path in the Mares’ Hurdle March 11, 2024 WILLIE Mullins used to have quite the grip on the Mares’ Hurdle (4.10pm), having trained nine winners of the race since it was introduced 16 years ago. Of course it must be noted that Quevega was responsible for the vast majority of these – six victories in total – and, yes, the trainer has saddled [...]