The Traders View: Jockey form, Stradivarius and a Wexford NAP on Saturday

Nathan Joyes
13 May 2022
2:00 min read

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Betfair trader Ryan McCue reflects on a couple of horses at York this week, if a jockey in form impacts the price of a horse, as well as his NAP over in Ireland on Saturday...

"This is definitely a weaker race than what she has been competing in of late and with a good jockey booking in Jordan Gainford, Junior Bee gets my vote."

Betfair ambassador Ryan Moore has been in red hot form lately, does jockey momentum play into prices?

Not particuarly. We always price the horse the day before so it's impossible to tell what might happen with certain jockeys. We obviously check the jockey form beforehand, however, we know if Ryan Moore goes through the card and rides plenty of winners is never good for us - much like his performances at Chester last week!

As bookmakers though there are certain jockeys that we look to avoid racking up wins in succession and Ryan Moore is certainly one of them!

Has anything caught your eye this week?

Stradivarius Gold Cup 128x720.jpg

There were plenty of fancied horses that won during the week, so it's been an up and down week for us. Although Stradivarius was a drifter in the market, he's a horse we always lay given his reputation, so it was nice to see him maintain his unbeaten record at York (five from five), and as a result we've gone 3/1 from 6/1 for the Ascot Gold Cup off the back of that.

I thought Bluegrass ran well in the Dante considering he looked to get outpaced before staying on inside the last furlong. I'd imagine a step up in trip to a mile and a half will be in the offing and I'd be expecting that to bring out more improvement in him.

What is the biggest loser in the book for us over the weekend?

Baaeed is a very short price around 4/9 but plenty of punters are looking to take him on due to his skinny odds. However, we are likely to see him popular in plenty of multiples.

Another horse worth flagging is Tiber Flow in the 13:50 at Newbury who is currently 5/2 and we've definitely seen plenty of support for William Haggas' three-year-old today and this may well continue tomorrow.

What is your NAP of the weekend?

My NAP on Saturday comes from the jumps, rather than the glamorous flat racing up and down the UK. I'm heading to Wexford and I like the look of Junior Bee in the 15:05.

She's been knocking on the door of late, and running of a mark of 88, this consistent mare should be able to get her head in front. This is definitely a weaker race than what she has been competing in of late and with a good jockey booking in Jordan Gainford, Junior Bee gets my vote.

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