Events / Graham Cunningham / 29 May 2009 / Leave a Comment

It's 90 per cent racing with a touch of Britain's Got Talent from betting.betfair's premier blogger.

Siren song worth heeding as she bids to avenge her aged relative

It may have taken 15 years, but Siren's Gift can finally settle an old score when she bids to land the sportingbet.com Sprint (3.45) at York this Saturday.

The breeding buffs among you will be aware that this mare is a daughter of a very good sprinter in Blue Siren.

And the anoraks among you will recall that Blue Siren had the biggest prize of her career snatched away by the York stewards after passing the post first in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes back in 1994.

But the case for backing Siren's Gift rests on much more than just a notion of a family revenge mission on the Knavesmire.

Cast your mind back to Doncaster last September, where she travelled like a dream and quickened clear of Cheveton and Hamish McGonagall before finishing a fine third in the Portland Handicap.

And, more recently, take a look at the video of Blue Siren's fine third in a Listed race at Bath, where she showed eyecatching speed to offset a wide draw before going down in a three-way photo behind last week's Temple stakes heroine Look Busy.

In short, Siren's Gift is from a stable enjoying a fine spring and shapes as if she is handicapped to go very close off a mark of 93.

Ishetoo is much better than she showed in soft ground here last time - and she's well worth a saver at long odds - but Siren's Gift has a lot in her favour here and has to rate the main bet.

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Aim likely to get the verdict once the Jury have deliberated

Members of the jury, have you reached a verdict on which you are all agreed?

I don't know whether that phrase is uttered when Timeform's elite tipping team meet in the bowels of their fabled Halifax nerve centre each morning - but it certainly should be.

And if the question is asked on Saturday morning ahead of Haydock's Timeform Jury Stakes (3.05) I suspect that the most of the good men and true (I don't think any females are involved) will opt for Main Aim.

Sir Michael Stoute's colt let his followers down when fancied several times last season but put up a mighty impressive performance on his return to action at Newbury when making some useful handicappers look like selling platers off a mark of 99.

So what can beat him as he bids to earn a ticket to Royal Ascot?

Asset is too kinky for my liking, while Arabian Gleam will do well to defy a 5lb penalty first time out and the turn of foot which made Tariq such a potent force at this trip in 2007 hasn't revealed itself for a while now.

Beacon Lodge looks the interesting one at a price, as he looked better than ever over this course and distance three weeks ago, but he will probably need to record another career high if Main Aim is as good as he looked at Newbury.

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Time Will(iam) Tell whether Kempton's musical plan pays dividends

I hear it, but I'm not sure I believe it.

We all know racing needs bright ideas to promote itself to a wider audience - and knocking innovation is a miserly trait - but just what is to be gained from Kempton's plan to have the Royal Philarmonic Orchestra playing the William Tell Overture during the running of a handicap at their July 8th fixture?

Is it likely to appeal much to Kempton's hard band of regulars? Probably not.

And is it likely to bring in a rash of new racegoers from the classical music community? Almost certainly not.

So why do it? Jamie Spencer describes the idea as madness. Others might suspect it is simply a vanity project.

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BGT could be a Boyle over if Susan throws a strop

Sorry to stray from the traditional punting path, but I can't help thinking that anyone who has a successful afternoon this Saturday might find it worthwhile to play up a small portion of their winnings by laying the dreadful Susan Boyle for the final of Britain's Got Talent.

Yes, I know that the eccentric Scottish warbler has been regarded as a shoo-in by many since taking Simon Cowell and company by storm in her audition, but were she a racehorse you would be justified in suggesting that she succumbed to the bounce factor with her mediocre rendition of Memories in her semi-final.

And there could be a temperament issue to factor in, too. The tabloids have been rife with tales of tears and tantrums as Boyle's big night approaches and I suspect that any hint of negativity from the judges might result in the sort of sulking session that would play very badly with the voting millions.

Yes, I know it's trivial and purists will dismiss it as populist nonsense. But I keep looking at Betfair's market and seeing this nutty Boyle character trading at under [2.5].

And at that price she looks one to be wary of.

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