Graham Cunningham's Weekend Racing Tips: Courage could see Fahey's warrior through

General / Graham Cunningham / 18 September 2009 / Leave a Comment

"Total Gallery, who lines up against very smart sprinters in Newbury’s 3.25, is one of the best bets of the weekend."

Don't go overboard but Genki, Redford and Knot in the Wood head the Gold Cup short list, writes Racing UK analyst Graham Cunningham.

It rates among the most popular betting races of the entire season and will dominate most of the racing headlines this weekend. So why does Saturday's Ayr Gold Cup (3.10) leave me a little cold this year?

On balance, it's probably because this hugely valuable sprint handicap doesn't look much different to plenty of others that have gone before it over the last few months.
Progressive horses and blots on the handicap are thin on the ground in a race where the entire field is spanned by a 10lb weight range, but for what it's worth my three against the field are Genki, Redford and Knot In Wood.

Genki has been hiked 7lb for his Stewards' Cup success but is probably still improving, while Redford isn't the easiest of rides but boasts a tremendous cruising speed which could see him trading at skinny odds if Hayley Turner can produce him at the right moment.

Some would say a vote for Richard Fahey's Knot In Wood comes more from the heart than the head. Granted, this popular warrior is now 6lb higher in the weights than when fourth last year, but he's in corking form and his undoubted courage counts for plenty in a battle like this.

* * *

Quest can continue the success story for Fahey and Hanagan

It was fascinating to hear Fahey say that he feels at least a couple of his Silver Cup (2.05) contenders would have the beating of Knot In Wood were they to meet him in a handicap off their current official ratings.

It's well worth remembering that Fahey is the man who sent out Utmost Respect to land a mighty gamble in this race two years ago and the fact that the bang-in-form Paul Hanagan has opted to ride Quest For Success ahead of potent stablemates like Johannes, Mister Hardy and Kaldoun Kingdom has to be worth noting.
And it looks like Quest For Success has been laid away with this in mind since his gutsy success in a hot handicap at Hamilton in the summer.

The four-year-old still looks fairy treated having been raised 5lb for that win and the Fahey team are plainly holding their form tremendously well from summer to autumn.

* * *

Total Gallery is the bet of the day in Newbury dash

Weekends like this one provide a timely reminder of how tough it can be to pinpoint good value bets on the flat in the autumn, but two more races at Ayr and one at Newbury are worth a second look before signing off this week.

Ayr's opener at 1.35 looks a very strong nursery, but that man Fahey saddles yet another leading contender in the shape of Our Joe Mac. The handicapper has had to take an educated guess at how good this youngster is based on his bloodless Thirsk success and it could be that an opening mark of 88 is very workable indeed.

Beyond Desire looks bound to be very popular for the Firth of Clyde Stakes at 2.35 based on her fine second in York's Lowther Stakes, but there are several others worth considering at each way prices and Conniption looms large among them. Brian Meehan's filly left a deep impression when bolting up on her Newbury debut only to disappoint slightly when drifting left at Salisbury recently.

The presence of Frankie Dettori on top for the first time should see her do a great deal better this time around, while I'm hoping it could be a case of saving the best until last with my final recommendation.

Total Gallery, who lines up against very smart sprinters in Newbury's 3.25, is the horse in question and I rate him as one of the best bets of the weekend.

Triple Aspect and Strike The Deal are bound to corner a large chunk of the market, but Total Gallery has thrived on racing this season. The way he travelled when chasing home Kingsgate Native was impressive and this looks just the right stage for him to prove that he is more than capable of scoring at Group 3 level.