The Cammidge Trophy

The flat season starts tomorrow and the Cammidge Trophy is the first sprint to get our teeth into.

All the runners are coming back from a break so they are evenly matched on that score.

Last season the race was won by Henry Candy with Dinkum Diamond and his post 2014 race comments were as follows  "He ran some good races last year without winning. Sprinters are extraordinary and I´ve always been full of hope that he would come back to winning form. He´s only tiny, but he´s got a huge heart. I see no reason why he won´t stick around Group 3 races this season(2014). As he´s got older, he seems to cope with most types of ground".
He won this first time out last season on soft and the chances are he will have been prepared with this race in mind this time around so he could run above his 10/1 odds on this slightly better going and with the strong Graham Lee booked - he has a definite ew chance.

Jack Dexter won this in 2013 and was third last season. He doesn't have a 5lb penalty this year so has potential to turn the form around with Dinkum Diamond.

It remains to be seen whether Astaire will be better suited by this less competitive field or not. He was campaigned in Group 1 company last season but as we all know there isn't much between these sprinters and I would like to see him get a win on the board first.

Richard Fahey Heaven's Guest finished 6th of 9 last season and he has had this to say recently about his chances this year. "He has a pound or two to find with a couple of these but has come to hand quickly this year, albeit he’s still a little backward in his coat. He’s fit and ready to go".

Marco Botti - Naadirr - "He's in good form and he's working well, I would be a little concerned if the ground turned soft. We have to check the ground to make sure. He wouldn't want it any worse than it is at the moment. He's a fast-ground horse, but he's ready to run and six furlongs is his trip."

Mick Easterby - Aetna - "If it doesn't rain again, she won't run. We'll have a look in the morning. She's working very well and she loves heavy ground."

Jim Goldie - Jack Dexter - "I'm very pleased with him. Things have gone really well this spring. He's obviously not 100 per cent, but he'll be as well as he was when he won it two years ago, so I'm looking forward to it. It looks a very good race this year. There's the Middle Park winner (Astaire), the filly who won the Wentworth (Aetna) and last year's winner (Dinkum Diamond). He's a contender, as they say."

I would imagine Justice Day will lead the field along together with Dinkum Diamond and hopefully Graham Lee can keep him going to the end.

The last 10 years winners are below :

2014	Dinkum Diamond	6	9-5	12/1	Henry Candy	Oisin Murphy	110
2013	Jack Dexter	4	9-5	15/8F	Jim Goldie	Graham Lee	110
2012	The Cheka	6	9-2	12/1	Eve Johnson Houghton	Neil Callan	113
2011	Jimmy Styles	7	9-2	22/1	Clive Cox	Adam Kirby	111
2010	Inxile	5	9-5	17/2	David Nicholls	Paul Hanagan	111
2009	Prime Defender	5	9-2	3/1F	B W Hills	Michael Hills	112
2008	Aahayson	4	9-2	14/1	K R Burke	Fergus Sweeney	110
2007	Rising Shadow	6	9-5	13/2	David Barron	Jimmy Quinn	113
2006	Les Arcs	6	9-2	15/2	Tim Pitt	Neil Callan	116
2005	La Cucaracha	4	8-11	16/1	B W Hills	Michael Hills	103

Given the success of the Cheltenham blog posts I will also be delving into some other big races over varying distances as we progress through the flat season in order to try and build up a bank and of course there is the "Grand National" meeting coming up shortly.