Up a bit, down a bit

Well last weeks edition highlighted two runners from the race won by Sleepy Blue Ocean and they were Bookiesindex Boy and Where's Reiley and low and behold they finished 1st and 2nd at Southwell today in another 5f handicap with the exacta paying £59.41.

This week we start at Southwell on 3rd February where the 4yo Shawkantango won the Class 6 5f Handicap by 1 3/4 lengths from Cheveyo as a result he went up 6lb to 58. He's now 2-2 at the track and only having had 10 runs to date he looks open to further improvement on this surface. He is related to Catmint who won a Class 4 off 81 over 5f in her 10 race career a few years ago. He came on for his first run back here after a break and whose to say he wont do so again and he should be followed next time.

At Wolverhampton on 4th February Brave Prospector won the Class 4 Conditions Stakes over 6f by 2 1/4 lengths from Piscean who is no slouch and although there were only 6 runners it was a taking win by him and he is well capable of following up in a similar type of event.

Well thats it for this week and I'm off to Wolverhampton tomorrow night to make sure Gracelightening doesnt disgrace herself in the 7.40 after her previous stalls problems.

Where's Reiley to shine at Southwell

The American bred Where's Reiley has 4 wins to his name at Southwell so clearly acts well on this track and he showed last time out that a win was not far away when he came with a strong run to finish a close 5th behind Sleepy Blue Ocean here and meets that rival on 5lb better terms. A couple of others who finished in front of him there also oppose but he should be able to get the better of all of them and the stable were 2 -2 here on tuesday so are continuing their good run of form.
Others that should be involved in the finish are Sloop Johnb who is in the form of his life at the moment and David Nicholls Six Wives who won in a good time here last time out when making her debut for him after a 3 month absence and she could be a real thorn in the side for the selection with her jockey claiming 7lbs if she improves for the run, although her jockey does not have many wins to her name.
Bookiesindex Boy often comes with a wet sail only to fall in a hole when put under pressure and a similar scenario looks like unfolding for him.
Overall then Where's Reiley should go very close for his in form stable and the 9/2 with William Hill represents good value.

Up a bit, down a bit

Well this week see us start with Arganil who won with a little bit in hand at Southwell in a Class 3 Handicap there over 5f. He missed the break and then struggled to go with the early pace but when they approached the 2 furlong marker he came through the small field well and won going away, albeit by 1/2 a length. He has only been raised 2lb as a result and is now on 96 which is still some way below his best and he looks capable of winning here again.

There were a couple to take out of the following Class 5 Handicap over 5f won by Sleepy Blue Ocean namely Bookiesindex Boy and Where's Reiley. The first of those travelled through the race very well and he looked as though he was coming with a well timed run to win it, but as his want as soon as he is put under pressure he stops giving and never got up. The latter Where's Reiley ran a strange race he was last of the 14 for the first 2 furlongs before making up significant ground on the far side to be the fastest finisher and he looks like his turn isnt that far away. He came into his own at this track this time last year and won off a mark as high as 74, he is currently on 68 and his trainer has a 21% strike rate here - +£85.64.

At Kempton on 27th January Clear Praise won the Class 4 Handicap over 6f by 1 1/2 lengths from Vintage in a time of 1m 11.73s which was fast by 0.13. Simon Dow's 4yo Gelding by Songandaprayer has run all of his 7 races to date on the All Weather, winning 3 and he had little difficulty taking this off 75 coming with a wet sail down the outside from last place to win with something in hand, he has been raised 6lb to 81 as a result but he looks well capable of winning again being only lightly raced.

Garstang worthy fav ?

Garstang got back on the winning trail last time out, however he may have his work cut out to win from stall 9 at Wolverhampton and he will need to break pretty smartly to be in with a chance.
On the plus side though he has only gone up 3lbs for his win and the 2nd there Picansort has won since off a 2lb higher mark and Garstang may well have improved more than the 3lb he has gone up now he has had a couple of runs.
The stable, as we know, have been in fine form and provided Garstang gets a decent start he should be difficult to beat on his favoured surface and if there's any of the forecast 4/1 about in the morning it will be worth the risk.

On the subject of the surface a lot of trainers and jockeys have been showing signs of disapproval about it recently particularly when its been freezing and the field may cut up if the temperature drops.

Patience is a virtue !

At this time of the year there's not a great deal about sprintwise unless you want to bet on low grade races that can be won by anything that shows a bit of form on the day. Its a much better idea to wait for more profitable times ahead and maybe pick up a couple of winners along the way that fit our criteria.
That said we can still keep our eyes on things and look out for improving horses and a few that have popped up in this last week or so are as follows :

Joe Le Taxi was raised a whopping 12lb after his win over 6f in a Class 6 Handicap at Wolverhampton on 17th January to a mark of 65. He had duly won by 5 lengths under Greg Fairley and he was able to come out and win again by 3 lengths this time at Southwell 10 days later carrying a 6lb penalty. On both occasions he was running on very strong at the finish and you would have to think that he is capable of winning again either over 6f or 7f.

Arctic Lynx was the worthy winner of Class 5 6f Handicap at Lingfield on 22nd January, he sat in 5th on the inside for most of the race and he was produced between horses up the straight to win by 3/4 of a length in what was a good time for the day only being just outside that recorded by Anne of Kiev in the following Class 3 Handicap. As a result he was raised 5lb to 79 and this gelded son of One Cool Cat could well be up to winning again from his new mark for his trainer John Best having only had 7 runs to date.  Afterwards his trainer John Best said "Arctic Lynx put up another great performance to win with a bit in hand. He certainly looks to be progressing well. His next target will probably be the final of the Blue Square series on the 26th of February. George thought he possibly got to the front a bit too soon but had no option but to take the gap when it appeared. He said he idled a bit when he got to the front and there's more improvement to come."

Anne of Kiev continued her improvement in the Class 3 Handicap at Lingfield over 6f when she got the better of Five Star Junior and Sioux Rising when she came with a strong run to win and only two short heads seperated all three of them at the line and afterwards her trainer Jeremy Gask said "I would say she will now wait to tackle a Listed race at Lingfield towards the end of February".

There are now 3 parts of the Sprinterstogo 2011 Master List covering horses A to R accessible (See "Pages" right).

John Balding strikes again !

John Balding continued his excellent win strike rate today when Sleepy Blue Ocean won at the rewarding odds of 8/1 at Southwell.

Part 2 of the Sprinterstogo 2011 Master List covering horses F to M is now accessible (See "Pages" right).

Up a bit, down a bit

Thought I'd get back to having a look at some of the highlights of the week and the handicappers ups and downs !

First up is Stratton Banker who won a Class 4 Handicap at Kempton over 5f on 12th January 2011 by 2 lengths from Feelin Foxy(won his previous 2 races) and as a result was put up 7lb to 81. It was an impressive win and he looked to have plenty in hand over the rest of the field in what was a decent time and he looks sure to be of interest wherever he runs next. He is rated 75 on turf and having only had 13 runs to date he is one to keep on side.

Garstang won the Class 5 Handicap at Lingfield over 5f on the same day by 1/2 length from Picansort(won next time out off a 2lb higher mark) and as a result he has been raised 3lb's by the handicapper to 73. Having had two wind operations last year he looks to be back on track having previously had a progressive profile. John Balding is in the form of his life and no doubt he will be found another winning opportunity in the coming weeks. Rated just 60 on turf he can also be of interest when he returns to that sphere. He has an excellent record at Lingfield and this was his first win over 5f at the track.

On Thursday 13th January Under Review won the Class 6 Handicap at Kempton over 6f by a length from Divinsky and as a result was raised 5lb to 63, the second was raised 3lb to 66 and the 3rd Super Frank 1lb to 66. The winner was only 0.52 outside standard for the track and he was able to win his race from the front and he should have no trouble following up in a similar event. He was heavily backed on his last visist to these shore at Wolverhampton but on that day he was never in it.

Sioux Rising to continue Fahey's good run ?

I have often sided with Anne of Kiev during her improvement and although I'm not discounting her today I think Sioux Rising, if the first time blinkers take effect, will be bang there given her stables good form and 5/1 is a good price for her. She has worn cheekpieces in her last 3 races so you may think there must be a reason for all this but often first time headgear is the time to catch it. She obviously didnt like the slow surface at Southwell so we can easily discount that run and she is 8lb better off with Perfect Art for a nose beating here previously when she had an interupted run and she has had a break to freshen her up since. Also she has only had 14 starts to date so she could be open to some improvement today.
Anne of Kiev has a very good AW record 22129153425112 and she probably is going to be bang there again and it wouldnt be a total suprise if she won and Five Star Junior could make up the first 3.

All Weather Stats

I had a look at the All Weather Trainers and Jockeys tables over the weekend and there are some interesting figures.

The trainers percentages for wins to runs is as follows with the highest at the top :
Michael Jarvis 44% 7-16 - Profit to £1 stake -£1.94
John Balding 35% 9-26 - +£32.71
John Ryan 35% 6-17 - +£8.46
Tom Dascombe 33% 11-33 - +£10.29
Gerard Butler 29% 5-17, plus four 2nd's and two 3rd's. - +£26.50
Marcus Tregoning 28% 5-18 - -£6.61
Jeremy Noseda 26% 5-19 - +£1.74
Willam Jarvis 25% 5-20 - +£0.44
Bryan Smart 24% 12-49, plus five 2nd's and nine 3rd's - +£20.16

Looking at the Jockeys we have the following wins to rides :
Neil Callan 34% 10-29
Adam Carter 29% 8-28 - Apprentice
George Challoner 28% 5-18 - Apprentice
Kieren Fallon 25% 7-28
George Baker 22% 33-152
Jack Mitchell 21% 13-62
Richard Kingscote 20% 13-65
Nathan Alison 25% 5-20 - Apprentice

The All Weather season runs from 9th November to 26th March.

Part 1 of the Sprinterstogo 2011 Master List covering horses A to E is now accessible (Top right).

You can lead a horse to water ?

Well you can't say I didnt tell you that John Balding was going to hit a purple patch when he had that first winner last year, and boy hasnt he done it in "Style" with 9 wins from 25 runners on the AW since the start of the AW season plus a number of placed efforts too. The latest of those wins came courtesy of 8yo Garstang who I mentioned was a horse to follow after his promising run last time out. He has now won 5 times at Lingfield although this was his first over the minimum trip and whose to say after his wind operations that he can't win again especially when he gets back onto turf. Not to be outdone the stables only runner today Errigal Lad was 3rd at odds of 20/1, long may it continue !

I have not posted much of late simply because Ive had the blasted flu and Ive been trying to shake it off, I'm happy to say its now nearly all clear.

I will be shortly compiling a list of several sprinters to follow over the coming flat season, this will be on a stand alone page so do keep a lookout.