Events / Geoffrey Riddle / 03 October 2009 / Leave a comment

It's Cambridgeshire day at Newmarket today, and if a 36-runner handicap down the Rowley Mile doesn't float your boat, superstar filly Ghanaati bids to avoid becoming the seventh successive favourite to sink in the Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes. 'The Riddler' is on hand at HQ to relay all the news, rumours and market moves. Email him with your questions and thoughts on: theriddleratbetfair@gmail.com .

4.50pm
1: Aldermoor
2: One Way Or Another
3; Celtic Sultan
The big prices continue to fire in as Royston Ffrench drives home 25-1 shot Aldermoor. The gamble on One Way Or Another looked like paying off in the final furlong, but Ffrench simply found too much from his mount. On Betfair the three-year-old touched [48.0] in-running.

Right team. I've got to fly if I'm going to catch this final Eurostar to Paris for tomorrow's extravaganza at Longchamp. I'm ducking the last, although George Primarolo of Totesport tells me that their racing trader fancies Camps Bay.

He also tells me that one lucky punter picked up £75,000 on the Scoop6. That doesn't sound a lot, but it was from a £2 line, and it was the place dividend. The punter didn't even have a winner.

Some people have all the luck, eh?

4.35pm
The stewards continue to deliberate over Bab At The Bowster and Cash Queen Anna.

Bab At The Bowster is [1.31] at the moment, which looks a decent price, given that there was little interference. There was a lengths stewards' inquiry that went on for over 15 minutes at Lingfield earlier in the week.. they kept the race as it was. For Cash Queen Anna backers, your horse is at [3.55]

4.15pm result:
1: Bab At The Bowster
2: Cash Queen Anna
3: Dark Eyes
The champion Ryan Moore will not be denied on Bab At the Bowster, and he holds off the persistent challenge of Cash Queen Anna.

Sahpresa, the winner of the Group 1 Sun Chariot earlier on the card, stays in training next year, so says her French trainer Rodolphe Collet. The filly, who eclipsed Ghanaati, was fourth in the Darley Stakes here last year. Was it really such a surprise that she won?

"She has only raced nine times," said a jubilant Collett, who was recording his maiden Group 1 victory. "We will keep her in training as a five-year-old and she is unlikely to run again this season."

Sahpresa was the second French winner of the meeting after Special Duty took the Cheveley Park yesterday.

After the controversial demotion of Dar Re Mi in the Vermeille at Longchamp last month, it was a shame the Stewards didn't throw Sahpresa out in retaliation at their discretion. I'm sure if Ghanaati had been promoted to first place, there wouldn't have been too many complaining...

4.05pm
Cash Queen Anna has been heavily backed on Betfair. She has been matched at [14.5] and has been steadily supported all day. She now trades at just [6.0] m the exchange.

Her form was given a minor boost as well earlier this afternoon. Godolphin's Siyaadah, who beat Cash Queen Anna by just under two lengths at Redcar, finished sixth to Lille Langtry in the first sales race of the day. Michael Hills takes the ride, and they look attractively weighted with just 8st 7lbs. Timeform have her rated second alongside Water Biscuit, and the favourite, Paleo.

Surprisingly, Timeform make Kinky Afro their top-rated horse in the race. Kinky Afro trades at [24.0].

3.40pm result - The Cambridgeshire
1: Supaseus
2: Tartan Gigha
3: Nanton
4: Applause
Supaseus shows that class is permanent with a run worthy of a Royal Ascot winner. He looked magnificent in the paddock beforehand, and trainer Hughie Morrison must have got him spot on for this after a winter in Dubai.

All the action happened on the far side again and the front two pulled away. It was a close run thing, and there was a photo finish, with Supaseus trading at [2.44] after the pair flashed by the post.

Only 19 winners of the Cambridgeshire since 1945 have carried more than 9st, which illustrates what a fine training performance this was from Morrison.

A word must be said for Nanton, too, who ran a huge race to finish third, especially as he was more to the middle of the track.

3.35pm
Wannabe King has been backed down to 8-1 joint favouritism on course with Almiqdaad. It's crazy to think that Applause beat him at Redcar and gets a 3lbs pull for it.

Ascot flop Tryst has also been well supported. Have we written off his chances prematurely?

3.30pm
There were several to admire in the paddock, particularly Supaseus, who won the Wolfreton Handicap at Royal Ascot last year. Favourite Almiqdaad looked a picture, too, and wasn't the biggest horse in the paddock. That accolade went to Moynahan in my book.

Derrick Smith, of the Coolmore gang, is still here, which is a good sign for Applause fans. He owns it. The filly has gone to the start early, so I hope it's not a matter of those who shal be first shal be last, and all that claptrap.

3pm result:
1: Sahpresa
2: Ghanaati
3: Spacious
A stunning victory for the layers. At no point throughout that race did Ghanaati trade at odds-on. Amazing. Even when she took the lead from Spacious, there were those of you who never believed. You carried on clicking the pink button on Betfair, laying the 1,000 Guineas and Coronation winner. Well done, and well done to those who laid both the big distaff hotpots this afternoon.

Sahpresa was beaten by Racinger to the tune of ¾ of a length in the Group 3 Quincey Lucien at Deauville. Her victor will be lining up in just over half an hour in the Prix Daniel Wildenstein at Longchamp.

2.55pm
There are 14 tickets left in the Scoop6 right now. Only one ticket has decided to plump for Ghanaati. There is another on the favourite, but they've hardly thought about it though, have they?

The favourite continues to plummet in price. I've paid up to be a member of the "I think Ghanaati hasn't gone off the boil" fan club. Have you?

2.40pm result from Longchamp:
1: Varenar
2: Sweet Hearth
3: Goldikova
Goldikova bombs out at Longchamp. Jocky Olivier Peslier used up all of the filly's undoubted talent trying to track over to the rail from her disadvantageous stall 14. Peslier secured a good position, but the effort expended was paid back at the finish.

Ghanaati's price has slowly but surely got shorter and shorter. She's in to [2.34] now. Richard Hills told us yesterday that we should be mindful that Ghanaati has been on the go since the Guineas. It is a sentiment that was echoed by Angus Gold, the filly's racing manager.

It doesn't bode well, because from every other angle, she's leagues ahead of this lot. If you look at her most realistic challengers though, they have also been on the go for a long time as well.

There have been some very good fillies beaten here in the past, with six of the last favourites being turned over, but I think it's fair to pay to find out if Ghanaati is over the top.

2.25pm result:1: Oasis Dancer
2: Kona Coast
3: Take Ten
4: Lowdown
A complete skinner with a solitary pound matched at the highest price in-running of [300.0]. The field split into two with the likes of Alfred Nobel and Atlantis Star coming down the stand's side rail. But it was those drawn low, or on the far side, who had a decisive advantage.

Johnny Murtagh pulled well clear of the field aboard Alfred Noble on his side, so you would imagine that had he been on the right side of Newmarket Heath he might have won, particularly with a 66-1 shot winning and a 50-1 shot finishing as the runner up.

Heads up team. It's Goldikova time over in France.

2.10pm
Aidan O'Brien was non-plussed about Lillie Langtry's run in the Moyglare last time. He put her performance down to the heavy going, both running on it and training on it, and she's a 'Definitely Maybe' for next year's 1,000 Guineas.

The high street layers are around 7-1 for next year's fillies' Classic, but you might as well ask for any price you like because the liquidity is minimal. The O'Brien runner is anything from [12.0] to back or [15.0] to lay.

O'Brien was wearing a Ballydoyle Mac, a nice dark blue one. You can imagine him, can't you. "Listen," he might say. "This is a lovely Mac. It's got such a high weather resistant covering. Do you understand?. Ever since it was given to me, I've thought very highly of it."

Anyway, joking aside, O'Brien was very cagey about both Alfred Nobel in the next race, and the chances of Fame And Glory in the Arc tomorrow.

He was pretty positive about Alfred Noble's chances of acting on this going though, insisting that the ground was better than the official going suggested when he won his maiden at Leopardstown. Today's Good To Firm should not be an excuse for defeat today.

1.50pm result:
1: Lillie Langtry
2: Dubawi Heights
3: Waveband
Lillie Langtry kicks off the first leg of the red-hot favourite distaff treble in tremendous style. Jockey Johnny Murtagh hasn't been riding the best of late, and he had to change tack coming into The Dip. It looked like Dubawi Heights was coming to take it up at that point, and as predicted she couldn't last home. She traded at as low as [1.4], and, most likely at the same time, Lillie Langtry went out to a massive [5.0] in-running.

1.45pm
Not much point in going to the pre-parade ring, nor the paddock. Virtually all the horses had blankets on, due to the string wind. I'm surprised some of the jockeys weren't blown over. Such delicate wallflowers that they are.

Honestly, I can't stress how strong the wind is. Anything that tries to make the running is going to be buffeted the whole way. Drawn in stall 7, Lillie Langtry will get the cover she needs, but if Martin Dwyer goes off as the hare on Pink Symphony, they might be an in-running lay as they tire.

1.25pm
Will Alfred Nobel go on the ground? Betfair punters don't seem to think so. Markazzi, the mount of in-form jockey Richard Hills, has been smashed into. Tipped up by the Newmarket correspondent of the Racing Post, Tony Elves, Markazzi trades at [3.9] favourite, having been matched for pittance at around [7.0]. The Sheikh Hamdan-owned colt has been steadily backed all day.

Conversely, Alfred Nobel has drifted for proper money from [4.0] to [5.0], although seems now to have found his trading level. The Aidan O'Brien hotpot has never raced on Good To Firm in six public starts.

According to Timeform ratings, both Society Rock and Atlantis Star are rated at the same level as Markazzi.

Atlantis Star looked very green at York last time when finishing third behind Vale of York and Mata Keranjang. If Godolphin have taught him to settle better, and not hang left when coming under pressure, Atlantis Star looks a big price. It may pay to wait to bet in-running though, just to see if jockey Ted Durcan can settle his mount.

1.10pm
I've steamed in on Applause in the Cambridgeshire. I've backed the Jeremey Noseda filly on Betfair, I've backed it on the Tote, spreads and even had a little bit at 16-1 earlier in the week.

I'm strangely confident, too. I'm never so bullish in big-field handicaps, but I really think that she'll put in a massive run.

For a start, the chaps at Timeform rate her the highest in the race, and the little tell-tale 'p' beside her name indicates that her mark is likely to be improved upon this afternoon.

She absolutely thrashed Wannabe King when the pair met at Redcar earlier this season, a horse who subsequently went on a three-race winning spree. Such is the skill of her trainer that the pair re-oppose with Applause 3lbs better off.

Although she was beaten last week at Ascot, she basically fell out of the stalls, and was still last with two furlongs to go. It was an incredibly slow pace, and of the four races over Ascot's round mile that day, it was the slowest of the lot. It explains why she was able to pick up so quickly at the finish, and she'll be spot on for this after that race.

1pm
Ian from Nottingham writes in: "I can't work out why Smokey Oakey is such a big price for the Cambridgeshire. Only last year he beat Maraahel and Pipedreamer off levels, and he won the Lincoln, too. Surely he's no [160.0] shot?"

I'm not in the habit of crabbing 159-1 shots Ian, but the ground is not to Smokey Oakey's liking. He's almost exclusively been campaigned on softer, but you make a good point. He's not atrociously weighted on 9st 3lbs and that strand of form does look very strong. I'm certainly not going to put you off.

12.50pm
Sorry guys, I've been having lunch. Got to fuel up you see, becuase it's going to be manic today.

Lillie Langtry looks bomb-proof in the first. Her main challenger, according to the prices, is Dubawi Heights. In the Lowther, Dubawi Heights had the benefit of the stands' side rail, and last week at Ascot, she had a far easier passage than the winner Shamandar. The filly was entered in Friday's Cheveley Park, but with the money on offer here, as well as having to tackle Special Duty and Lady Of The Desert again, it looks a wise choice to come here.

That Ascot performance last time out over six and a half furlongs also looked to be the limit of Dubawi Heights's stamina, and with the extra half a furlong here, The Dip, and a more fearsome rival in Lillie Langtry, I'll be looking to oppose the mount of Ryan Moore. Both at Ascot and at York, Dubawi Heights was up with the pace, and if she is ridden the same today, she looks a great in-running lay.

11.50am
The high street layers are not generally places to bet if you've got access to the world wide web. That said, Skybet's offer of six places on the Cambridgeshire flags up a very real opportunity for those with a big bank and some time on their hands.

Back each-way any of the front, say, 10 in the betting with Skybet, and then lay it on Betfair for four places in the place market. You then get your win bet and two places free, or, if you're feeling really negative, lay off the win bet, too. You'll lose a bit on each of the win bets though, because there are few horses in Skybet's list that are of a comparable price on Betfair, even with tax taken into consideration.

There is precious little money going on the Cambridgeshire with the high street layers at the moment. All the money has been for the Pricewise horse, Almiqdaad, who was flagged up here exclusively by none other than jockey Richard Hills himself.

For those of you who weren't here yesterday, Hills revealed that Almiqdaad is a huge, heavy colt, who took an age to get properly fit. His run at Newbury, when drawn wide in stall 17, showed that the Jarvis stable had not only got their three-year-old race fit, but also got him mentally right.

The problem is that Newmarket might not suit such a heavy-topped colt. that Newbury win, impressive though it was, also means that Almiqdaad carries a penalty, which only She's Our Mare has defied in the last ten years. We shall see.

11.25am
Take a deep, deep breath people, because the next 30 hours sees the most condensed, intense and high-quality racing action that Flat racing fans could ever wish for.

Punters have got the 36-runner Cambridgeshire to get stuck into, and if that is not enough, the purists can look on this afternoon as superstar fillies Ghanaati and Goldikova aim for a Group 1 cross-Channel double for the distaffs in the Sun Chariot and the Prix de la Foret.

And then it is over to Longchamp proper for a mammoth and mouth-watering six Group 1s tomorrow, featuring Sea the Stars bid to become the greatest racehorse that has ever scorched the turf.

It's that good. Sod Royal Ascot.

It's extremely blustery here today. There is a very strong wind blowing right across the course towards the stands. So strong is the gust that a wooden bench just blew over. I'm serious.

That might make a marked difference on some of the races this afternoon, as the clerk of the course, Michael Prosser, reckons it will blow all day. Horses drawn low, or on the stands side, will get protection from the field from the fierce wind. It could mean a turn up for the books, because horses drawn in single figures have had a shocking record down the years. Only Risen Moon (Drawn 2 in 1990), Rambo's Hall (Drawn 7 in 1992) and the 100-1 Spanish Don (Drawn 3 in 2004) have won from a single-figure berth in the last 19 years.

Tags: Cambridgeshire Handicap, Cesarewitch, Geoffrey Riddle, Newmarket