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With the USA speed demon Acapulco sitting at as low as 7/4 for the York speed test, I think it is time to look elsewhere for some value.
Nothing could get near the imposing Wesley Ward filly at Royal Ascot but she faces older horses here and, despite the age/sex allowances, it will be tougher than the Queen Mary and she’s now shorter in the betting for this race than she was last time in general.
Sole Power doesn’t look the force he was, no shame there aged 8, and Muthmir is one of the few older horses who may still be improving. The race is as packed with 2yo contenders as I can recall at the moment and I am looking to the 3yo group for this years winner in the quest for some each-way value.
Today’s Sandown winner Waady may just be a specialist at the track after recording another win there but he’s developed a great strike rate and his one blip this year came at 6f. He’s entered in the Nunthorpe, so presumably they felt he might improve enough to go there. John Gosden said today after his win that Waady has to be considered for the Nunthorpe despite the obvious raise in grade. I am not sure there is that much between Gp 3, Gp 2 and Gp 1 in the sprinting division and would not be put off on the numerical front.
Paul Hanagan reported that the saddle slipped back on Waady today and it was a messy race where he ended up bursting through to win it.
Waady is 14/1 for the Nunthorpe and when you consider that G Force, who has done nothing this year, is only 2 pts bigger than a 4 time winner this year, you start to think there’s something crazy going on.
Today’s absentee Meccas Angel must be a doubt again if it’s quick at York and with the other mix of waning older horses and barrage of 2yo possibles who might be past it or won’t end up making the gig, it’s not hard to envisage John Gosden’s sprinting find going off a lot shorter than 14/1 in August.
Nunthorpe Stakes Waady each-way 14/1
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
Anthem Alexander – providing she runs she wins. She travelled like by far the best horse at Ascot. Cut a furlong off the race and I’m sure she would’ve ripped them apart, and that was top class opposition. That’s obviously not to dismiss the Nunthorpe, but to me it doesn’t look above what she’s faced. Eddie farms the sprints and I think he’s got a jewel to continue that trend here.
The Nunthorpe looks ideal for him. His cruising speed is very eye catching at one stage Hanagan had a tight hold of him and Waady’s head was sideways but once Hanagan loosened the reigns the horse seemed to take off with Hanagan a passenger and he had to grab hold of him again pretty sharpish as the ground was made up quick and the wall of horses was approaching too fast. If he gets a nice bit of cover and they go quick in front which is usually the norm in the Nunthorpe which also usually attracts a decent size field will play to his strengths of leaving it late and fast. My favourite sprint horse since Margot Did and she won the Nunthorpe despite the rise in class and Waady looks a better a horse to me than her.
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Anthem Alexander – providing she runs she wins. She travelled like by far the best horse at Ascot. Cut a furlong off the race and I’m sure she would’ve ripped them apart, and that was top class opposition. That’s obviously not to dismiss the Nunthorpe, but to me it doesn’t look above what she’s faced. Eddie farms the sprints and I think he’s got a jewel to continue that trend here.
That’s a bold statement Boz.
Salt Island did nothing for the Commonwealth Cup form today and runner-up Limato is stepping up to 7f next time according to reports. Anthem Alexander is entered in the July Cup so that might give us a chance to see how she gets on against Muharaar second time around, and how both of them compare to the older horses.
As you say, she may improve dropped in trip but her 5f winning form is more than a year ago and you would think they would have sussed if she needs to go back to 5f before now.
Just slight niggling worries for me when a 5f horse has beaten his elders, seems to be improving still and is available 4pts bigger with the trainer making the right noises that the Nunthorpe is where he is headed.
Good luck if you have wired in though
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
I’d agree that on “form” Waady looks value @ 14/1 Steve. But second fav Muthmir is in the same ownership and Waady is available at 25/1+ on betfair. So – reading between the lines – suspect the 14/1 could reflect the chances of him taking part more than the “form”.
Also, will Anthem Alexander go for 5f races like the Nunthorpe when she stays 6f and the trainer has Sole Power for 5f (who doesn’t stay 6)?
Value Is EverythingI think the ownership is pretty open to running more than one in a race.
Wasn’t Muhaarar third choice coloured cap when winning the greenham.?Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
I think the ownership is pretty open to running more than one in a race.
Wasn’t Muhaarar third choice coloured cap when winning the greenham.?Muhaarar was also running in the second colours, with Adaay carrying the first colours, in the Commonwealth Cup. If Gosden is keen on running him, I think Sheikh Hamdam would be a mug not to have two in the race with a chance.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
I can’t say she doesn’t stay 6, she was decent at Ascot. To the eye however it looks like 5 furlongs will be her game and she looks raging value. I think she’s genuinely top class and will back her off the metaphorical cliff if needs be
Anthem Alexander looked as if 6f wasn’t really her game in the July Cup. As I had said, horses lurking at huge prices seemed likely to at least place and two of them did just that.
There didn’t seem much that ran in the July cup that would cause John Gosden to be bricking himself about taking them on with Waady in the Nunthorpe.
Muthmir never looked likely yesterday and if they wanted to keep him near the back to conserve energy it just didn’t work. He will need to improve for the drop to 5f and at 5/1 for the Nunthorpe, he is a joke price in my mind. The other problem is that, if they return to the tactics where Muthmir led in his race they will have to fight with 2yo filly Acapulco and it’s unlikely to prove suitable.
I still feel Waady is the value here. He should get plenty pace to aim at in the form of Wesley Ward’s speed machine and that should suit the Gosden horse’s style. Even if he can’t quite catch her, he should be one of those finishing well and taking a place at 14/1 is not a bad day at the office.
As I have said, G Force at the same odds looks ridiculous, with only two horses behind him in the July Cup and his glory day looking a distant memory
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
It would be a brave bet to put on Mecca’s Angel but if the ground went soft then 10/1 would be 3/1 in a jiffy. I will look at the weather forecast a week prior to the race and if there is plenty of rain predicted then I could get stuck in. In a way Mecca’s Angel has no value at 10/1 right now but could possibly be great value come race time.
Anthem Alexander was beaten favourite at The Curragh today and is out to 25/1 with several firms for the Nunthorpe. Stan James go 8/1 and that has to be some kind of blip, or they just don’t want to be a proper bookies these days.
Tiggy Wiggy and Anthem Alexander both seem to have failed to bring their A game from 2 to 3 years of age. It’s not the first time these precocious youngsters get caught up, and passed, by later developing types.
Ivawood was poor again as well today. Muhaarar has left him well behind since the Hannon horse handed him his rear on a silver salver in the July Stakes last year.
Of the 2yo’s entered here, I think Washingston DC is the best value at 16/1. A Royal Ascot winner, he ran really well to finish second in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes today, and I believe he was bested by a potential Classic winner in Airforce Blue. I am not sure if he is a guaranteed runner but he looks a speedy sort who might take his racing well and be more of a horse for this year than next. I would probably be aiming him at the Breeders Cup as well if he were my horse.
Washington DC 16/1 SkyBet
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
The Breeders Cup would suit Washington DC.
Interesting his two wins were both on good/firm going and that has been the trend for those sired by Zoffany. Royal Ascot came up on the firm side and they swept all before them in many 2 y/o races.Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Well, Waady isn’t in the race and Washington DC is out of it as well.
I would say back to the drawing board but I don’t have anything else that I am remotely interested in.
Just a race to watch and see of the speedball Acapulco can make the most of the lumps of weight she is getting. Muthmir will appeal as solid to some people at 5/1 but I am not quite convinced by him yet.
One of these will probably run the race of it’s life and win at a big price, only to flop next time at short odds.
Waady is shown as entered on the Haydock Sprint Cup but looks an out and out 5f horse to me. I suppose Gosden knows best.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
Admittedly she’s very short from a betting angle, but if Acapulco is in the same form as she was at Royal Ascot I can’t imagine she will get beat.
She looks like a four year old anyway, her speed figures compare favourably with her rivals here and the older horses have to give nearly two stones to her- that’s a huge amount.
Admittedly she’s very short from a betting angle, but if Acapulco is in the same form as she was at Royal Ascot I can’t imagine she will get beat.
She looks like a four year old anyway, her speed figures compare favourably with her rivals here and the older horses have to give nearly two stones to her- that’s a huge amount.
I don’t think there is much class in the sprinting division amongst the older horses, that is why I opted for 3yo Waady as an alternative to the favourite. She’ll be hard to catch I think and the only angle I can take into the race to oppose her is in thinking that if she sets a really searching gallop it might just play into the hands of an on-song Sole Power, who likes to come late and fast.
Sole Power has been continually campaigned at 6f without success and I don’t see the point in persisting with that now that he’s eight. Probably on the wane but he has been there and done it all and won the race last year.
Looking at Sole Power’s last run gives some encouragement. He was 4th in the July Cup and not beaten that far by Muhaarar, the find of the season in the division. It wasn’t his best trip and the ones in front of him have all run well since. Tropics ran a cracker in the Stewards Cup under his huge weight, only giving in to his welter burden in the closing stages. Eastern Impact came out and won a Listed race and Muhaarar went over to France and won the Van Gheest, where the third went on to win the Marois.
With a largely uninspiring bunch lining up I would expect it to be fast and furious. Those trying to chase Acapulco will surely pay for it and Sole Power may just come through to benefit. It’s an ask at his age but he’s arguably the best sprinter for a while and he may just reach seasonal peak form here. I think 7/1 for him is about right and he finished ahead of Muthmir when they met in the July Cup.
The man of the season in some ways, Frankie, takes the ride.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
I think that Mattmu is overpriced at 25/1 1/4 first four with skybet!
They have said all year that he hates firm ground and as far as I can see if he can lay up early without getting outpaced he will come home strong.
I think there are ground doubts about a few of the fancied horses and this race could be a serious blowout aart from Mecca’s Angel which I have missed the price on!The ground has to go good by tomorrow surely, there is no rain about now so the track has plenty of time to dry up. Michael Dods will be cursing his luck as both Wednesday and Thursday it’s good to soft, Friday will be good and there is a fair bit of rain around Friday night to change the going again for Saturday.
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