General / Graham Cunningham / 16 October 2009 / Leave a comment

It's Champions Day at Newmarket this Saturday and Fame And Glory is out to make the most of the fact that Sea The Stars no longer bars his path to glory in the feature event. Racing UK analyst Graham Cunningham casts his eye over three of the main contests at HQ.

"A couple of pals of mine spoke to Jim Bolger at Longchamp on Arc weekend and he told them that Chabal represents his best chance of winning the Dewhurst for four years."

Special racing days don't always equate to red letter days from a punting viewpoint and it would be wrong to suggest I have dug out anything that is bet compelling for Champions Day at Newmarket this Saturday.

Still, seek and ye shall find can be a worthwhile motto when scouring the Betfair markets and, rightly or wrongly, the following three points occur.

1: Fame And Glory looks tight enough at anything under 2.7 for the Champion Stakes (15:00).

Granted, the Irish Derby hero is one of few proven Group 1 performers in the line-up, but he will need to be tough to shrug off a below-par effort in the Arc. Laying him is one option, as Sariska, Never On Sunday, Twice Over, Mawatheeq, Alpine Rose and Dr Fremantle can all be given a chance if the Coolmore colt isn't at concert pitch.

However, most people prefer to find the winner if possible and Mawatheeq and Twice Over look the value options.

Mawatheeq's turn of foot has been striking in lesser company. He's the sort of rapid improver who has to be respected, while last year's runner-up Twice Over has no New Approach to contend with this time and looks all set to outrun his double figure price under conditions which will suit him well.

2: Chabal is a worthy favourite for the Dewhurst (14:25)

A couple of pals of mine spoke to Jim Bolger at Longchamp on Arc weekend and he told them that Chabal represents his best chance of winning the Dewhurst for four years.

Joker Jim was fully aware that he has won the last three renewals with Teofilo, New Approach and Intense Focus, but Chabal proved he belongs in Group 1 company with a cracking second to Kingsfort in the National Stakes at the Curragh and he looks bound to go very close on his last start before joining Godolphin.

Of the rest, it's hard to assess the O'Brien-trained Steinbeck, but he hardly looks great value taking a big hike in class after a long break.

Silver Grecian and Xtension rate highly among the home challenge given their form in Group 2 contests, but Dick Turpin is a good deal better than he showed under a negative ride at Longchamp and I wouldn't be surprised to see him turn in a much bolder effort than his big price suggests provided Richard Hughes avoids the traffic this time.

3: Don't follow the stats blindly regarding Darley Sun in the Cesarewitch (15:40)

I know from personal experience that well handicapped three-year-olds don't always live up to their billing in this autumn marathon.

Henry Cecil's Canon Can cost me plenty when just beaten into third from a lenient mark back in 1996, while Sir Mark Prescott's Alleluia's Doncaster Cup win meant she was 19lb well in on official figures when finishing only sixth in 2001.

Askar Tau was another highly progressive three-year-old who failed to rise to the Cesarewitch challenge when beaten into fourth as 7-2 favourite last year, but Darley Sun hasn't been reading the trends in his box of an evening and there is no denying that he has a great chance at these weights.

David Simcock's colt proved he was firmly on the upgrade when powering clear of Alanbrooke at Ascot in July and showed further improvement after the weights for this race were published when making the aforementioned Askar tau pull out all the stops in the Doncaster Cup last month.

In summary, Darley Sun looks a smart young stayer on the rise with few stamina concerns. Add in a favourable high draw and his rider's handy 3lb claim and the Betfair layers who are offering [7.0] and bigger could be cruising for a bruising if they rely solely on the stats to keep them out of trouble.

Tags: Champions Day Racing, Fame and glory, Graham Cunningham's Weekend Racing Preview, Horseracing betting, Newmarket Races