Events / Graham Cunningham / 17 July 2009 / Leave a Comment

Graham Cunningham has swapped his press badge for a two-day ticket to the Open this week. But never fear. It would take more than a passing glimpse of Tiger Woods and Johns Daly's girlfriend to deflect the Racing UK analyst from his weekly pursuit of winners. It's Super Sprint day at Newbury this Saturday and a speed merchant and a freewheeling front runner have caught GC's roving eye...

A few reflections after two days tramping the dunes of Turnberry.

First, the course is spectacular and all the better for being a little less fearsome than most Open venues; second, the weather so far has been kinder than it can be at the Open; third, finding a good viewing spot is much easier than Birkdale last year; and fourth, sneaking a handset past the cellphone police remains as tricky as ever.

For what it's worth, I started the week with a hunch that Hunter Mahan - who looks uncannily like Shaggy from Scooby Doo - might be worth a few quid each way at [35.0] on Betfair.

The American is currently trading at [270.0] so seemingly out of contention, but the main function of this piece is to try and find a winner on four legs rather than two.
And with that in mind it's worth keeping an eye on Tranquil Tiger and Palace Moon on a difficult-looking Saturday card at Newbury.

Progressive Moon can eclipse better fancied rivals after a break

First up is Palace Moon, who bids to re-establish himself as one of the most progressive sprinters around when he lines up for the Shadwell Stakes at 2.20.
The first point to make is that Hughie Morrison's gelding doesn't have the best overall form in the race.

That honour falls to last year's July Cup third War Artist, who makes a belated reappearance after suffering some training problems, while those looking for the horse with the best recent form will almost certainly side with the highly progressive Wokingham winner High Standing.

However, Palace Moon has the potential to improve on what he has shown thus far and this could be the ideal stage for him to show he still has the makings of a very smart sprinter.

Morrison is always patient with his better prospects and Palace Moon has run just twice this season. The first yielded a commanding handicap success off a mark of 88 at Doncaster, while the second yielded defeat at odds on in a conditions race at Salisbury.

It would be wrong to suggest that Salisbury defeat behind Judd Street wasn't a setback, but once again Palace Moon travelled very impressively for a long way.

I suspect the bigger field and stronger gallop here will suit him extremely well. And I also suspect that Palace Moon might represent solid win and place value if the majority of punters assume his progress has come to an end.

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Tiger to burn brighter at Newbury than Turnberry

How does Tiger Woods manage to keep his focus when every single shot he takes prompts a colossal rugby scrum of fans and a hundred whirring cameras the moment he hits the ball?

The great man looked distinctly mortal when I followed him over a few holes of the back nine on Thursday, but his namesake Tranquil Tiger could find the going less demanding in the Shadwell beech House Stakes at [3.55].

Granted, Henry Cecil's chestnut has a little to find with Godolphin's Covert Ambition, who finished three quarters of a length ahead of him at Sandown recently and reopposes on the same terms here.

However, Tranquil Tiger travelled much better than Covert Ambition for much of the way at Sandown. He's highly likely to catch the eye from the front again here and, with that in mind, he looks to hold clear potential for those who like to sniff out the best pre-race price with a view to trading out at much shorter odds in running.

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Draw the one nagging worry as Monsieur bids to atone for his Ascot reverse

If you are looking to find the winner of the Weatherbys Super Sprint at 3.25 then the two most obvious starting points are Richard Hannon and William Haggas.

The H team have landed this hugely valuable juvenile prize seven times between them in the last decade and I suspect they hold the key again with Monsieur Chevalier and Shamandar.

Haggas did this column a good turn last week when Aqlaam landed the Summer Mile at Ascot and, given that he has won the Super Sprint with Jargelle and Superstar Leo in recent years, the unexposed Shamandar will attract a deal of interest.

This Shamardal colt showed bags of speed to make a winning debut at Ripon and is plainly open to plenty improvement, but he will need to progress considerably if Monsieur Chevalier brings his A game to Newbury.

Richard Hannon's colt was knocked sideways when just about to launch a serious challenge in the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot, but his earlier winning spree and his National Stakes romp in particular give him a great chance.

There is one potential blot on the horizon, though, and it relates to the draw.
Cast your mind back to this race twelve months and you will probably remember that the bulk of the field seemed very keen to race as close as possible to the stand rail.

A repeat would spell problems given that Monsieur Chevalier is drawn 2 and anyone planning to dive in would be well advised to keep an eye on the earlier Newbury races to assess whether a similar scenario is on the cards.

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Doom mongers do racing no favours

Recent embarrassments make it unsurprising that some mouthpieces within the sport are feeling even more insecure in their own skins than normal and some of the usual suspects were wheeled out on Tuesday night for an hour of collective hand wringing in a Radio 5 Live hour-long special called "The State of Racing."

John McCririck, Mick Fitzgerald and Alan Lee of The Times chipped in with familiar suggestions as to how racing might garner a higher profile, but it was hard to come away from the programme without thinking that some significant sections of the racing media are locked into a defensive and potentially destructive mindset.

However, just as it's possible for economies to talk their way into a recession, it's also possible for individual sports to struggle if people are told often enough that the future is bleak.

For what it's worth, I have never bought into the doom and gloom prophecies in the way that some of my colleagues have.

Granted, money is tight - and racing's punting population is an ageing one - but if racing really has the will to shed its Victorian image in return for a style that resonates with the modern sporting public then there is still hope.

Or is there? Times columnist Matthew Syed ended the 5 Live show by predicting "irretrievable decline" for racing. I think he's wrong. What do you think?

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Big John not the only one dressed to kill at Turnberry

I had the pleasure of walking the first nine holes of Turnberry alongside John Daly's girlfriend as the Wild Thing made a promising and highly entertaining start to his latest Open challenge on Thursday.

A striking brunette who looks no stranger to the joys of silicon enhancement, the latest prospective Mrs D was kitted out in a striking green, yellow and white Harlequin patterned mini skirt and let out a howl that could be heard on the Isle of Arran when her blonde beau holed out for a spectacular eagle on the par 5 seventh.

But Turnberry locals are a tough audience, as evidenced by the exchange between an elderly couple who looked on as Big John's number one fan skipped to the next tee.
"Seems a nice lass," said the ageing husband. "Right enough," said his stern looking wife. "And she'd be even nicer with a skirt that covers her backside properly."

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