In-running / Neil Munro / 08 July 2010 / Leave a comment Free £25 Bet

Neil Munro keeps watching and he keeps offering up his in-play nuggets. Here are four more for your notebook

"Opinion Poll keeps finding more, even when it looks like he might be beaten and because of this he has traded bigger in the run for four of his five wins. He does actually have an entry in the Irish St Leger which I don't think is aiming too high, and the one thing we do know is there is a good chance of cut in the ground for that race."

I am constantly looking for horses to add to the in-running database and this really does mean keeping an eye on every race if possible. Horses with quirky characteristics, unique running styles, hitting repeated highs and lows can come in at any level, whether it be Group company, handicaps, condition races or sellers and claimers. As with general punting you have to beware some horses running in lesser company as they are not the most consistent and thus may not travel or trade in the same way race-in, race-out. This week's eyecatchers come from different levels of the racing hierachy.

Opinion Poll - We start at the upper end with a proven Listed class performer who has the ability to cut it at the top level, provided there is a little bit of cut in the ground. His record on good to firm ground is no wins from five runs, but when the ground is good or softer his record improves to five wins from five runs. He has won from a mile to just under two miles but he is a stayer. But despite this he has put up some good efforts on firmer ground, particularly last time out in the Esher Stakes at Sandown when going down by just over a length to horses he would have beaten with a bit of cut in the ground. This just proves how game he is and this is where the play comes in from an in-running point of view. Opinion Poll keeps finding more, even when it looks like he might be beaten and because of this he has traded bigger in the run for four of his five wins. He does actually have an entry in the Irish St Leger which I don't think is aiming too high, and the one thing we do know is there is a good chance of cut in the ground for that race. For his next few runs, if the ground is good or softer, I will be backing half my stake pre-race and half at a few points bigger in the run.

Anhar - We stay near the top end with an unexposed Godolphin three-year-old colt who has just won a handicap off a mark of 96 so will be aimed at Listed races now. Anhar has been tried at this level once before, on his seasonal reappearance, but he may have needed the run that day. He likes to be held up off the pace and sometimes looks as though he isn't travelling that well. But he keeps on finding! I have been watching him closely since his debut run at Nottingham, when Frankie Dettori gave him a great ride. When delivered to the front it looked like he would be swamped by others but the colt showed great battling qualities. On that debut run he went off a BSP [6.04] and traded at [42.0] in the run. Last time out he was sent off BSP [13.7] trading at [95.0] as he looked defeated. So there is a warning to in-running layers to not take him on to quickly as he will surprise you and I will be playing him like Opinion Poll, backing half my stake pre-race and half at higher odds in the run.

Kerrys Requiem - We drop down to handicap company now for an 80s rated filly who, like both of the above horses, trades higher than her SP during winning races. Kerrys Requiem in the main trades bigger because of the way she likes to be ridden, held up out the back and the delivered with a late run. She has traded over double her starting price the two times she was won. But this also tells another story, as she has won only twice in 28 starts so she does not have a strong wins to runs ratio. Her record over six furlongs can be split into two. On good to firm ground her record is no wins and just one placed effort from seven runs whereas on good ground she has one win and six placed efforts from eight runs. So these statistics lead us to the following play. The next few times she runs on good ground back her in the win and place markets, both before the off and then during the race at slightly higher odds.

Sir George - We end on a horse that moved from David Evans to Ollie Pears and has come from winning sellers and claimers into handicap company and picking up a race off a mark of 76. Pears then gave the five-year-old a go in the Carlisle Bell off a three pound higher mark and he only went down by three lengths to Camerooney in a race that wasn't run to suit because of the lack of early pace. The run did prove that he can still win off this higher mark. He is another horse who tends to trade bigger in the run than the SP, although probably not one to be too greedy about. Next time out I will be looking to back him in the run a couple of points bigger than his starting price, as long as I have looked through the form and found a couple of horses who are likely to put pace to the race.

May your luck go with you for the next week.

Tags: Anhar, In-Running Betting, Kerrys Requiem, Opinion Poll, Sir George