Events / Geoffrey Riddle / 16 October 2009 / Leave a comment

On what should be a fascinating Friday afternoon's racing, 'The Riddler' is in the hotseat to bring you all the big race build-up, as well as the up-to-date market movers. Get in touch by e-mailing theriddleratbetfair@gmail.com

Lucky Last:
1: Becausewecan
2: Hevelius
3: Final Victory
Backers have the last laugh as the short-prices dominate. Becausewecan looked like he was going to get reeled in by Adam Kirby aboard Hevelius, who was backed down to [2.1] in-running. Joe Fanning kept finding more on Becausewecan and there were a fair few of you who used the front-runner as a back-to-lay proposition. Well done.

It seems like everyone else has been winning today, except me. It's been tough, but I'll try to zero in on some big prices tomorrow.

Come back here at 11.30am for Newmarket's cracking Champions' Day card, featuring the Cesarewitch, the Dewhurst and the Champions' Stakes itself.

4.55pm result:
1: Esoterica
2: Bonnie Charlie
3: Frognal
4: Mister Hardy
Jim Goldie strikes with Esoterica, a horse who has raced 59 times. How on earth did that have anything in hand from the handicapper? It was the horses's highest winning mark. It is not as if the six-year-old encountered much resistance from the field either. It couldn't have been easier. Is that a sign for good old Nanton in tomorrow's Cesarewitch? There are some big prices going in today. It is something you'd better look out for here tomorrow. Mister Hardy ran a good race to finish fourth.

Rainbow View, the brilliant filly in training with John Gosden, has had a troubled journey over to Canada ahead of her assignment in the EP Taylor Stakes at Woodbine tomorrow.

Rainbow View's season got back on track last time out when she won for the first time since her juvenile days with a fluid success in the Matron Stakes at Leopardstown. In doing so, she reminded everyone that she had a live chance at the Breeders' Cup next month.

That was until she was entered in the EP Taylor Stakes, but Gosden still hasn't ruled out a tilt at Santa Anita in November, so hold on to those betting chits. Or keep the faith with your internet account...

"Both Rainbow View and Look Here had a tough journey over," revealed Gosden. "The trip took them 21 hours. Luton to Amsterdam, then a wait, and then over to Canada."

Rainbow View has been on the go since running fifth to Ghanaati in the 1,000 Guineas in May, and like her conqueror, she's a had a long, hard season. Gosden said as much as he described her physical condition in Canada. "I'm happy with her at the moment, but her coat is starting to go that darker colour, which happens to most fillies at this time of the season."

That hasn't stopped Gosden formulating a plan to go to America should Rainbow View put in a decent performance tomorrow. "We'll see how things go. I'm a great believer in taking one race at a time. You tend to fall down if you take your eye off the next race. If she does run a nice race, she could easily slip on down to California for the Breeders' Cup. She could do with the sunshine."

4.45pm
Where's Clive when you need him? I can't work out this next race at all. I can't even get an angle.

Sticking with the classical themeThebes was absolutely smashed into when he ran here last time at the Cambridgeshire meeting. The Mark Johnston runner was backed from 16-1 into 17-2, but came unstuck when he was hampered inside the final furlong. He was put up 4lbs for finishing fourth and you'd imagine his chance has gone.

Mister Hardy has been drawn on all the wrong sides this season, and looks attractively weighted, especially with his jockey claiming 5lbs. Big Noise was also drawn on the wrong side last time at Ascot. Argente Parmigiano showed useful form last time out behind Akhenaten and Vitoria, who went so close earlier and Felday's credentials are obvious, which is why he is favourite.

I haven't won a bean today. The only thing I can see clearly is that I'm not in a good mood. In fact, I'm in a Thunderous Mood. So Paul Cole's horse for me then. Yep, it's that bad.

4.35pm
Marcus writes in: "Have you seen at Cheltenham? Phidippides is a non-runner. He's named after the guy that was the reason the marathon was named. He ran to alert...." I've cut him off there. Here's the link if you're interested. It's far too esoteric for us here Marcus. I'm glad of your classical upringing, so you'll know the Greek stem of esoteric then...

4.20pm result:
1: Damaniyat Girl
2: Vitoria
3: Enact
Well done Clive! Full credit to you for telling everyone about the winner, but it was a late one. Vitoria was the only front-runner in the field and she went clear in the final furlong. There was furious trade on Betfair, where over £5k was matched on her at the legendary [1.01]. But Frankie Dettori timed his run exquisitely, and Damaniyat girl, who stays further than this, was galvanised late on to poach it on the line. There was £18 matched at [42.0] in-running. Was that you Clive?

4.05pm
George writes: "Sea Of Leaves beat Bounty Box last time, and yet is quite a bit longer in the betting. What gives?"

From a value point of view George, you might have a point. Sea Of Leaves did it well last time when beating Bounty Box by a neck. But Bounty Box beat Sea Of Leaves before that, when Sea Of Leaves was effectively getting 5lbs, when you take jockey concessions into account. they are racing off levels today.

Aside from the maths, Bounty Box has raced just seven times to Sea Of Leaves' ten, so is open better to improvement.

An interesting one has been sent in by Clive. He says: "William Haggas has won this race for the last two years. In the Racing Post, their RPRs reckon Damaniyat Girl is just as good as Bounty Box. I've gone Haggas at [9.0]. Don't forget that L Dettori is on board as well!"

3.45pm result:
1: Enticement
2: Pachattack
3: Splashdown
Her Majesty gets a winner as Sir Michael Stoute gets the 'wrong' one into the winners' enclosure.

I'm sure Sir Michael knew which side his bread was buttered on though, when he was saddling up. 'Her Majesty might cut my head off if this doesn't win,' the knight of the realm might have thought. What's Ballymacoll Stud, owners of the favourite Leocorno, going to do to him?

Those who backed Gripsholm Castle were very unlucky. Tom Queally's mount was putting in her challenge a furlong and a half out when both Pachattack and Splashdown pincered her when making their moves. She was completely obstructed, and although I am talking out of my pocket, it's still true.

I'm pretty strong on Bounty Box here. Trainer Chris Wall has had this as the filly's target for a long time. She found the going a bit quick for her here last time when getting edged out by Sea Of Leaves. The ground is softer, and she is slightly better off at the weights than Sea Of Leaves. It's a small margin to be given, but the price is fair.

3.35pm
There are more winter coats on humans here than there are on horses. Brian Meehan, Michael Bell, and Hughie Morrison all have gone for the long trenchcoat look. It's really not that cold. Winter game aficionados will have seen that Snap Tie edged home earlier at Cheltenham in the 2.55pm. The representatives of the high street layers here haven't changed their ante-post prices about Phillip Hobbs's charge as a result of that steady debut.

Back here, this fillies and mares race looks fascinating. Leocorno leads the market at [3.9], but a line through Flame Of Gibraltar suggests that Henry Cecil's Gripsholm Castle should be shorter.

Gripsholm Castle thrashed Flame of Gibraltar by four and a half lengths here back in May. Leocorno has finished both ahead and behind that filly, and our friends at Timeform see very little between the two. Gripsholm Castle has had just three starts to Leocorno's four, so more improvement is likely.

With a line-up of 13 horses, punters interested in just those two should consider the matchbet. Leocorno is [1.74] in the A v B market, with Gripsholm Castle at [2.12].

Pachattack went down early.

3.10pm result:
1: Steele Tango
2: Glass Harmonium
3: Palavacini
In-running carnage. The shout went up as Ryan Moore pushed Glass Harmonium to the front about a furlong out. All the world and his dog thought that Glass Harmonium's injection of pace had put the race to bed. But jockey Liam Keniry had other ideas, and he had willing partner in Steele Tango, who plugged on gamely and eventually nosed ahead.

Steele Tango was matched at a high of [63.0], but it was another victory for the in-running layers. The runner-up was matched at [1.02].

Trained in Epsom, Steele Tango ran fifth in the Coral Eclipse behind Sea The Stars, Rip Van Winkle and Conduit. He prepped for this assignment in none other than the Arc, in which he finished last. That outing must have got him spot on for this, eh?

3.05pm:
Supaeus looked like a hippo in the paddock. In a good way. He was absolutely enormous. Strong and powerful. The type that could lead a cavalry charge. The type that did lead a cavalry charge when winning the Cambridgeshire here a fortnight ago.

I was hoping we might see a move in the betting for Russian Sage. This 1m 1f contest is a fiercely competitive Group 3. Hughie Morrison, trainer of Supaseus, likened it to a Group 2. But the only horses capable of winning at that level are Rio De La Plata and Russian Sage.

Rio didn't last home over a furlong shorter last time, and has only won over seven furlongs, while the confidence in Russian Sage is about the same as the public's perception of Gordon Brown.

Glass Harmonium anyone?

2.35pm result:
1: Champagne Style
2: Kalypso King
Ouch. I managed to back Emirates Dream at [2.08] and had put in my money at [1.6] in-running, but Frankie Dettori never quite got into a good enough position and the layers scooped at the lowest of [1.78].

Champagne Style won well there, and came with a surging run along the far side rail under champion jockey Ryan Moore. Kalypso King looked like he travelled at the same pace throughout the whole race, but it was good enough to finish second.

Glass Harmonium has been out in the pre-parade ring since the 2.35pm field were being warmed up there. He was getting remarkably warm, but looked a grand stamp of an individual. Non-runner news: Misdaqeya is now a non-runner in the 3.45pm

2.25pm
That's $850,000 well spent in most paddock watchers' books. Emirates Dream was enormous and looked far superior an animal when compared to his rivals.

Crucially, he has maintained his summer coat, so there should be no excuses there. Godolphin have put a lip chain on their charge, and it looked like he needed it because at one point he reared up in the pre-parade ring. He was also whinnying as he walked around, which suggested that his mind may well be in other things.

Still, you pays you money and you takes your chance, and Emirates Dream's form and looks are better than anything else in the 2.35pm. He's out to [1.9] now, which looks a fair trading level to me, especially as he led last time, and could do so again, which could mean I can get involved with a bit of back-to-laying.

2pm result:
1: Invincible Soul
2: Fair Trade
3: Munsarim
Trainer Richard Hannon takes the spoils with Invincible Soul, which could be a tip of the hat in the next as he saddles Kalypso King. In-running layers had a field day because the favourite was up with the pace and therefore traded at [1.7] during the race and there was decent volume at prices below evens.

If ever money talks, then the next race will prove it. Emirates Dream cost more at the sales than the rest of the field put together. The Godolphin hope cost a staggering $850,000. Not the best return from a horse with just one victory to his name.

But the Kingmambo colt has been heavily backed this morning. At Midday I clocked that he was trading at [1.88]. He's now just [1.82], and it has taken a fair bit of trade to force his price down that far, too.

On form, he looks head and shoulders above the other five in the race. Time to check out the paddock to see if he towers above them all in the flesh as well.

1.55pm
John Gosden has won this five times in the last decade with just ten runners. It's a phenomenal record, and it is chiefly the reason why his William Van Gogh is favourite at [3.7].

Munsarim looked highly tried on his latest two starts, and had excuses in both. It's another Sheikh Hamdan colt on the drift, but on the various ratings services, there is not much between Munsarim and the favourite.

1.30pm result
1: Inler
2: Chaussini
3: Maashooq
A certain Mrs M Findlay owned the winner, which is probably why Inler was so well backed. Maashooq place backers copped there too, and congratulations to the punter who got the £10 on at [10.0].

David Simcock, who I mentioned earlier, is the trainer for Cesarewitch favourite Darley Sun. The three-year-old bids to become the third horse of the Classic generation to win this marathon contest in almost 20 years. For those of you with a decent memory, it was Spirit Of Love (1998) who was the last three-year-old to win, and the great Willie Carson was victorious on Trianglot in 1991.

Doncaster Cup hero Askar Thau couldn't do better than fourth last year off 8st 12lbs, so Darley Sun is indeed going to have to be something pretty special to win tomorrow's feature handicap. Simcock seemed unconcerned about the stats, but was most worried about the 34-runner field.

"It's a massive concern that he lacks big field experience," revealed Simcock. "The biggest field he has raced in had 12 runners, and that was his debut when he finished behind Kite Wood."

"I'm under no illusions that he will have to hold his position from his draw in stall 25 so he could end up as the meat in the sandwich there because he is drawn beside two big horses [Enjoythemoment and Wells Lyrical].

That said, he's a pretty big horse himself and I think it is fair to say that he is the classiest horse in the race. I would say he has a good chance, but I'm not sure he has a favourite's chance."

1.20pm
It's not often you see a Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum colt trading at [44.0], but that is the situation with Maashooq. Richard Hills is not riding, so Tadgh O'Shea takes the mount.

Marcus Tregoning's colt was matched at as short as [12.0] for the opener, but has drifted like an unmanned houseboat on a very fast stretch of river. Yep, it's silly metaphor time everyone.

Kieren Fallon's mount Progress has been nibbled at on-course, and on Betfair it was allowed to drift out to almost [30.0] before it was gambled upon. It might be significant.

1.15pm
Trainer David Simcock was pretty disparaging about this year's Cambridgeshire. "I didn't think it was the best Cambridgeshire. I didn't think there were any Group horses lurking in there, which is why it was a shame Bushman didn't take his chance."

Simcock took Bushman out of the Cambridsgeshire just before the race due to the going being too fast, which he doesn't anticipate being a problem this afternoon for his charge, who runs in the 3.10pm.

Simcock seems to have gone into his winter coat. He was wearing a nice pale blue jumper, cords, and some sort of brogue action. Not something you'd wear i high summer, surely. Anyway, he continued: "The going was too firm that day. Nothing to do with Michael Prosser you understand, but we just hadn't had any rain. Bushman is in good form, but to beat this lot he'll need everything to fall in his favour here."

Simcock might be chocking on his words later though, because Supaseus, the Cambridgeshire winner, takes his chance in the same race. For those who like a matchbet, Betfair can't split them and they both trade at around [14.0]. Godolphin's Rio De La Plata is favourite at [3.55], with the well-tippedGlass Harmonium second fav at [5.1].

12.40pm
Clerk of the course Michael Prosser has still got his wellies on, having just come back in from walking the course. He reckons it is proper good ground, but punters waiting to get stuck in to tomorrow's markets should take into account that there is a fresh strip of ground to come. Today's racing will take place on the Cambridgeshire course, but tomorrow Prosser will unveil a 20-meter wide strip that has been unraced upon since May. It is reportedly a 'fresh' piece of turf on the far side.

12.30pm
Sorry everyone for the tardiness of this blog. There was a fire drill going on at Betfair's nerve-centre and all communications were cut. We are back on track now though and I believe no-one was hurt.

So welcome team to the curtain-dropper of racing's flat season - Newmarket's Champions' Meeting. I know the November handicap and the Racing Post Trophy are to come, but does anyone really care?

The leaves are turning russet and heads are turning towards the jumps season. Sizing Europe has already leapt to prominence in the Arkle market for next year's Cheltenham Festival with a taking performance at Punchestown yesterday. Snap Tie also bids to impress ante-post punters down in Gloucestershire today on what looks a cracking card. The jumps are here everybody, and only a stellar line-up at HQ has prevented the winter game from taking over completely.

There's a marathon eight-race card at Newmarket today, the first three for juveniles, so the punting life is not going to be easy going this afternoon. There's just been a press conference with John Gosden, David Simcock, John Ryan and champion jockey Ryan Moore so I'll let you know the goings on there in a moment.

Tags: Geoffrey Riddle, Horseracing betting odds, horseracing betting tips, Live Racing Blog, Newmarket races