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You are on the turn, graysons…………..too much fraternising with the Flatulent Tendency at Kempton, I reckon.
Hihihihi, not at all, GH! It just strikes me there’s a greater whole to be mindful of here.
That said, yes, if you can hear a dull thudding noise in the background, that’s probably the Graysonscolumn 2004 model turning in his Cartmel racecard-laden grave…
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Barbados will be perfect for you guys..(plenty sand)..maybe you can find a couple of donkeys to bring back and win "listed" races at Lingfield.
The inclusion of the Huntingdon race surprises not one iota – long-distance, low-grade handicap hurdles are frequently well-supported there
If there’s one type of low grade handicap hurdle that is generally solvable, its a long distance one.
Good luck!
If you think this one is solvable you’re a better man than me CR- the fact that the fav is 1-21 says it all!
If you think this one is solvable you’re a better man than me CR- the fact that the fav is 1-21 says it all!
21 to 1 on eh – that’s what I call a favourite
Rebel Melody, Celebrity Call, General Alarm, Domenico are all well handicapped and have winning form around the trip. Simple really, see you in Barbados
A bit of a numpties question here – Betfair now has a Tote tab. Presumably if you do the Scoop6 on your Betfair account your bet is part of the official Scoop6 pool rather than some separate Betfair thing?
As far as I am aware – it goes into the Tote pool
From Betfair Forum Service Announcements
BETFAIR customers collectively pumped an impressive £246,602 into the toteScoop6 pool last Saturday – and it was one of the exchange’s punters who came agonizingly close to netting the £2m-plus prize outright when 66-1 chance Maneki Neko finished second in the concluding 2m handicap hurdle .
The Betfair customer, who declined to be named and who was having only his second Scoop6 bet last Saturday, placed 2,304 x £2 lines on Betfair’s on-site Tote betting facility.
He still had three live tickets going into the last; 5-1 second favourite Hernando Royal, 9-1 chance Busker Royal and 66-1 outsider Maneki Neko.
Hernando Royal had every chance in finishing fourth, though Busker Royal was only 2 lengths away in third and finishing well when falling 2 out.
But when he saw Maneki Neko – which translates as “Beckoning Cat” but is also ironically known as money cat or fortune cat, and is a Japanese sculpture believed to bring good luck to the owner – challenging for the lead on the run-in, his heart must have skipped a beat.
Especially, as at one point, the horse went as low as 2-1 in Betfair’s in-running market before being beaten 4 lengths by Sunnyhilboy.
But it was not to be and the punter will be hoping for better Scoop6 fortune this weekend.
Betfair spokesman Tony Calvin commented: “It was a galling near-miss, that is for sure.“Our customers are now pumping significant sums into the Tote pools – for example they bet over £70,000 into Fakenham’s £228,110 Jackpot carryover today – and it is an area that we are keen to promote, both in the UK and globally, when possible.
“We also try to promote the bet on our site by offering markets on whether the Scoop 6 will be won, and this weekend we are also offering a market on how much will be bet into the pool.
“But we already have a number of our bigger customers gearing up to place six-figure perms into the pool on Saturday – so let battle commence once again.”
The tote PR department have got off their backsides and sent me an e-mail suggesting £5m will be up for grabs. The Tote Ireland that is…..
Doubtless I’ll get similar from all the other Tote (in)Direct providers.
Does anyone actuall put thei bet on with the tote itself?
Thanks db – just started looking at the races. The first looks very carve-uppable but the fillies handicap looks a real bitch of a race
I wasn’t sure if this was the right place to post this, please move or delete if it’s not.
I thought last week’s Scoop 6 was the biggest we would see for quite some time but yet again, it wasn’t won. Let’s hope it’s a single line or small syndicate that’s successful rather than someone who’s already a millionaire.
Like last week, I’m going to try and select a shortlist for each race and then a final selection. It’s a bit disappointing there are so many race from the all weather card at Lingfield. A number of the horses contesting these races have seen a lot of action the last few months and the form can be erratic.
Race 1 – 2.10 Lingfield
An extremely tough handicap to get us underway with a few possible improvers going up against proven all weather performers.Gay Kelleway’s Fajr is a much better horse on the all weather than he is on turf and 7 of his 8 wins have come here at Lingfield but only 1 of those victories was over this trip, the other 6 were over a mile. The last of those wins was in this grade off a 1lbs higher mark so he would have to enter calculations, I just feel he’s badly handicapped against some of these rivals.
Swift Gift is interesting for Martin Dwyer and Brian Meehan. He’s been contesting some decent 3yo handicaps on the turf and his 3 ½ length 4th place finish behind Plum Pudding at Newmarket last month reads well.
Atlantic Story has two wins over course and distance to his name but they were both under Jamie Spencer who instead rides Madahee for Clive Brittain. Both these runners are trying to win from career high marks but of the two, Madahee is the one I would side with as a 3yo even though he is up 10lbs for his impressive win at Great Leighs earlier this month.
My Gacho doesn’t quite look up to this grade and Ebraam is badly handicapped although both horses have been running well and could be placed again.
If playing a perm, it may pay to put in one runner that is proven in the grade and on the all weather surface, as well as one of the younger improving horses.
Shortlist: Madahee, Swift Gift, Fajr.
Selection: Swift Gift.
Race 2 – 2.40 Lingfield
It doesn’t get any easier with another race where you could make a case for the majority of the field.Secret Night is only 1lb higher than when winning a similar event over course and distance. She has seen a lot of racing since though and that would put me off her chances slightly.
Miss Brown To You got off the mark at Great Leighs last time in a muddling race, beating a few of these rivals in the process. This lightly raced filly is open to improvement and hails from a stable that is hard to ignore in this type of event.
Spring Goddess was 2nd behind Miss Brown To You in that event and shouldn’t be far away again on these terms.
Shortlist: Secret Night, Miss Brown To You, Spring Goddess.
Selection: Miss Brown To You.
Race 3 – 2.45 Haydock
There’s a decent prize on offer to the winner of this Class 2 handicap where 16 runners go to post.The top horse Darkness is a particularly interesting contender. He’s been off the track for 945 days and it would be some training performance to have him ready to win a race like this but his previous chase form would give him a massive chance off a mark of 142.
I always take note of anything Venetia Williams sends into battle in these types of races but Mon Mome seems to perform better with a run under his belt.
Osako D’airy from the Paul Nicholls yard is bound to be a popular choice for casual punters. For me, his form doesn’t look special enough to warrant his place at the head of the market. I often oppose these Nicholls favourites in handicaps as I did last week with Silverburn. They do win sometimes but they also get over bet and go off at more prohibitive odds than they should.
I struggle to get a handle on runners from the Henrietta Knight stable and Glasker Mill is another I can’t make head nor tail of. He’s still fairly unexposed over fences and after a shaky start to his chasing career with two falls, he picked up a decent price at Cheltenham last November. He could strip a lot fitter off the back of his run at Cheltenham last month and is the only runner in the field with a win to his name at the track, albeit over hurdles.
Philip Hobbs runners performed quite well in the big races last weekend and I think Gold Medallist could do the same here. He was a very good performer on the flat and may well come into his own over fences this season. He contested some decent Novice Chases last year and doesn’t look badly handicapped to these eyes.
Shortlist: Darkness, Glasker Mill, Gold Medallist.
Selection: Gold Medallist.
Race 4 – 3.20 Lingfield
A very competitive Listed race sees Royal Hunt Cup winner Mr Aviator go up against John Gosden’s lightly raced Bronze Cannon.I’m really having a tough time narrowing down the field here. Baharah and Harvest Queen are closely matched on their race over a mile here last month. At least we know both are in decent form and there is no reason why these fillies won’t run well here again.
The horse that stands out for me is Michael Jarvis’ Philatelist. He has been off the track a while but coming here fresh might not be a bad thing. He is a course and distance winner and has the beating of Mr Aviator going by their meeting at Kempton in March.
Clive Brittain’s Yahrab is 2 from 2 on the all weather over this trip and has the assistance of Jamie Spencer in the plate. He’s still relatively lightly raced and could well prove a threat stepping back into Listed company.
Shortlist: Harvest Queen, Yahrab, Philatelist.
Selection: Philatelist.
Race 5 – 3.30 Huntingdon
The worst of the six races in terms of quality and probably the toughest to get enthusiastic about any of the participants.The tissue favourite is Tim Vaughan’s House Of Bourbon. This horse was with Charlie Swan in Ireland and did have some reasonable form over there but it’s hard to know what it amounts to exactly but it’s probably as good as anything else in the field.
Lowe Go and Domenico have both won off higher marks in the past but are both also average and on the downgrade.
Acosta had looked very average until winning easily last time out at 20/1. He’s been put up 12lbs for that win and it’s hard to see him following up.
Millards Lad looks well in on his chase form but he’s never produced the same level of form over hurdles. Even so, I’d say he has a level of ability above anything else in this field.
Pearly Star knows how to win but is probably a little high in the weights.
Charlie Mann’s Rebel Melody is the only other one I could seriously consider. This course and distance winner is lightly raced for a 7yo and comes back to hurdling after a couple of disappointing chase efforts.
Shortlist: House Of Bourbon, Millards Lad, Rebel Melody.
Selection: Rebel Melody.
Race 6 – 3.50 Lingfield
A nice little six furlong race to finish and one where I think the ultra consistent Ceremonial Jade will be tough to beat. His record at Lingfield is superb with 3 wins, 3 2nds and a 3rd from 8 runs. His record over 6 furlongs reads 3 wins and 2 2nds from 6 runs.Chief Editor is likely to give Ceremonial Jade something to think about if taking to the polytrack. He did win at Southwell on his racecourse debut.
Bonus ran a stinker during the week but I wouldn’t not be surprised if he bounced back with Hayley Turner back in the saddle.
John Gosden’s Prohibit contested some very decent races during the summer and he scored in decent fashion at Great Leighs last time. He merits serious consideration.
Shortlist: Ceremonial Jade, Chief Editor, Prohibit.
Selection: Ceremonial Jade.
Only done the scoop 6 once, the very first one. Was going to do it again on sat but I am in jump mode now.
Roll over for Newbury please.
Mark
Value Is EverythingRebel Melody, Celebrity Call, General Alarm, Domenico are all well handicapped and have winning form around the trip. Simple really, see you in Barbados
Not words I’ll live to regret uttering, I hope, but the Norman and Guy Pewter operation that has acquired General Alarm is not one especially given either to improving or finding races for horses.
A record of 0-66 over the last five seasons tells few lies, and the yard’s most ubiquitous animals, General Hopkins (chase OR48) and Homeleighwildchild (hurdles OR64), are actually flattered by their respective dismal marks.
Irish Whispers actually ran to somewhere close to his best at Fontwell last weekend, but General Alarm’s debut for the yard at Folkestone on Wednesday was nothing to gladden the heart.
Not for me, all in all.
Millards Lad looks fairly interesting to me, taking in his first ever handicap hurdle off 21lb lower than the chase mark off which he contested the Whip Swap Shop Chase a week ago today. Yard form – 0-35 since September 2007 – could be a little more inspiring, though.
The place finishes of House of Bourbon in good or fast ground Cork 3m hurdles this last summer ticks lots of boxes, and I fancy him to do better than his fourth at Fontwell last time, where the trip was inadequate and he always had too much to do after taking one of the early obstacles home with him. Tim Vaughan will win races with him, maybe starting tomorrow.
Heathcliff won’t want for stamina, having still been staying on at the death over Newcastle’s 3m last time out, but that was back in April and he needed a few runs to find a degree of form last term. He’s also by no means straightforward.
Domenico is a staple in C&D handicap hurdles, but a record of 2254487445 in them doesn’t advertise his claims as a winner in waiting of one. The latter of those two seconds was gained just over a year ago off tomorrow’s mark, and he only went down by 1/2l, but he was flattered by the proximity as winner Jackie Boy crashed his way round in comparison and was value for a comfier score.
Rebel Melody is the only C&D winner in the line up, albeit in a moderately-run NH novice last Boxing Day whose form hasn’t been franked too much in the interim unless I’m missing something. He’s not totally handicapped out of this, though, and the combination of Kevin Tobin (who did well on him in defeat the only previous time he got the leg up) and first-time blinkers may work the oracle.
Acosta made it 20th time lucky over this trip at Hereford last time, but it was appreciably slower ground that day and she’d had a number of convictions in long-distance handicap hurdles prior to that.
Conclusion: um, no idea. I’d spend over an hour on a race like this ordinarily rather the 10-12 minutes I’ve just invested, so I wouldn’t presume to have cracked this one by any means. More time needed at it later tonight!
Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Won’t Heathcliff improve a stone for going from Easterby to Richard Lee?
People moaning about there being AW racing in this Scoop 6 but that is surely preferential to this woeful selling hurdle at Huntingdon!
Was quite excited about having a few lines this week but probably won’t bother now 4 of the races are on the AW.
Have no interest in it whatsoever and haven’t a clue about the form.Cannot see why the 16 runner handicap hurdle at Haydock wasn’t included; lets face it; won by a 20-1 shot last year. The 2m Hcap Chase also looks competitive enough.
Poor decision by the Tote in my view.
I agree, who on Earth decided that this woeful race should be in the Scoop 6, didn’t they move the veterans chase to allow this in as well? Awful.
Why does Domenico keep being entered in races at Huntingdon when he is 0-14 and he’s one of the horses who’s been tipped in the RP! Millards Lad is fancied when his trainer hasn’t had a winner in over a year.
Have no interest in it whatsoever and haven’t a clue about the form.
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