Charlie Hall Chase - Big Race Preview

Hi Ho Silviniaco - Silviniaco Conti can land Saturday's Charlie Hall at Wetherby

This weekend is not just about the action Stateside at the Breeder’s Cup, the jumps season also starts to really kick in to gear with some top cards up and down the country.

The Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby is without a doubt the feature race of Saturday and a fantastic renewal looks in prospect with some big names set to take their chance, including last year’s first two home Weird Al and Time For Rupert.

It shows the depth of the potential line-up for this year’s race that those two Gold Cup horses are being usurped for favouritism this time around by the gambled upon Silviniaco Conti from the all-conquering Paul Nicholls yard.

The six-year-old has been well backed all week and the fact that Ruby Walsh has opted to head up to Wetherby for this race rather than heading south for an all round better card at Ascot looks a tip in itself.

Not that you need to read too much in to things in order to be able to back this horse because on the strength of his demolition job of a decent enough field at Aintree in his last start as a novice last season he’s probably deserving of the punt currently being taken on him.

Breeder's Cup 2012 Preview

Wise Move - Wise Dan leads the American charge at the Breeder's Cup this weekend.

Regular readers will know I have more than keen interest in American racing so this weekend’s 29th Breeder’s Cup is like Christmas come early for me.

On Friday and Saturday the 2nd and 3rd of November the top horses in North America, and some of the best horses from around the world, will descend on the beautiful Santa Anita Park racetrack in California for the annual thoroughbred World Championships.

Over the years the Breeder’s Cup has given some fantastic, unforgettable and iconic moments and the coverage of this spectacular event really is second to none. This year’s Breeder’s Cup looks set to be another incredible instalment with some of the world’s best race horses set to battle it out round the turns of Santa Anita.

The British & Irish challenge is typically strong but with Longchamp’s Arc meeting and Champions Day so close to the American racing showpiece the transatlantic raiding party is no longer quite what it used to be. Although we have some of our best in this year’s raiding party, 2012 looks to me to be a year where the home team will dominate proceedings.

Racing Post Trophy - Kingsbarns Gamble Continues

Kings Ransom? - Supplemented Kingsbarns continues to be well backed for the Racing Post Trophy

The money continued to pour in today for Aidan O’Brien’s supplemented Racing Post Trophy contender Kingsbarns.

Along with Richard Hannon’s Van Der Neer, the once-raced, unbeaten colt was supplemented for the Group 1 contest yesterday at a cost of £17,500 and immediately caused a stir with bookies.

Last night Bet365 had Kingsbarns as low as 3/1 while Coral still had him at 6/1, with several other bookies scattered in between those prices. Today the money has continued to come for the impressive Navan-winner and he is now clear favourite and no bigger than 5/2, with Coral still top-price – the 5/2 is also available with Boylesports at the time of writing.

Kingsbarns is as short as 2/1 with most of the other high street bookies with former favourite Battle Of Marengo now on the drift along with the majority of the rest of the field; although there has been money for Mark Johnston’s tough Steeler and Jim Bolger’s Future Champions Day winner Trading Leather in places.

The Kingsbarns supplementation and subsequent gamble raises a number of intriguing questions, was O’Brien lacking in confidence in his other entries for the race or does he just want to give himself maximum opportunity to take home the £122,494 on offer for the winner given how close the trainer’s championship is at present?

After Kingsbarns’ Navan romp Joseph O’Brien reportedly suggested that although he was still quite green the horse would maybe be put away for the season with any eye on next year – he is currently 20/1 for next year’s Derby.
Thus it is a little surprising to see him supplemented for a race the O’Brien team already have such a strong hand in.

The way the money has piled on the horse in the last twenty four hours though suggests that for most people this will be Aidan O’Brien’s best chance of victory in a race he won last year with a very lightly raced horse called Camelot.

QIPCO British Champions Day - The Big Punt Podcast

Tomorrow is QIPCO British Champions Day, the now traditional curtain call for the British flat season. This year's sophomore instalment of the richest day in British flat racing has the added excitement of a certain horse called Frankel's last ever race.

In the latest edition of The Big Punt podcast we offer tips and analysis for all six races across the Champions Day card including the mighty Frankel's race the Champion Stakes.

You can download the latest edition of The Big Punt podcast HERE

QIPCO Champion’s Day Preview

Heroes - Frankel and Sir Henry Cecil can light up Champion's Day again

The British flat season is drawing to a close after another fantastic summer of racing but domestic racing’s richest day is yet to come, and this year QIPCO Champion’s Day can become even bigger and better than last year’s spectacular curtain-raiser.

Five Group races across one fantastic card plus the world’s greatest race horse’s suspected final run equals an afternoon more than capable of rivalling the greatest racing from around the world.

Frankel lit up Champion’s Day last year with an imperious performance in the QEII and he looks set to do just the same and then some in 2012, before he takes centre stage one last time though there is the small matter of four other Group races, including another Group 1 to get through.

Here, in race order, are the odds, some analysis and betting guidance for the sophomore year of British Champion’s Day.

Future Champion’s Day – Preview

Make it a Double - Unbeaten colts Reckless Abandon and Dawn Approach are the stars of Future Champion's Day

One week before the biggest day in the UK flat racing calendar: QIPCO Champion’s Day at Ascot, some of the horses that may be starring at Champion’s Day in twelve months time get the chance to strut their stuff on Future Champion’s Day at Newmarket.

The highlights of the day, primarily for two-year-olds, are the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes and the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes; but there are four other Group races on the card (2 Group 2s and 2 Group 3s) as well as the Cesarewitch the great staying handicap.

Although the Challenge, the Autumn, the Rockfell and the Darley Stakes all look set to be great races in their own right, as well as the Cesarewitch being as competitive as usual (I like Triumph Hurdle winner Countrywide Flame for that for what it’s worth), it is the two Group 1s I want to focus on here as both feature an unbeaten star two-year-old.

Ten To Follow - Jumps Season 2012-2013

On The Hunt - The highly progressive Hunt Ball looks one to watch this season.

The flat season is by no means over but the return of the jumps season proper is very nearly upon us.

Following the exploits of Frankel, Camelot et al this summer, the jumps stars have a lot to live up to but with us still in the midst of a golden generation of National Hunt horses there is every chance that they can put up a campaign to rival the fireworks we’ve seen on the flat in 2012.

With the more household names of recent years coming to the twilight of their careers or retired already, a new wave of jumping superstars are ascending to the throne and I’ve decided to highlight ten of them.

These are by no means under the radar horses and aren’t exactly radical or original choices, but they are perhaps not quite as well known as some of their peers yet still look set for a huge 2012-2013 campaign.

So in no particular order let’s take a look at ten to follow for the upcoming jumps season:-

Prix De L'Arc De Triomphe - Big Race Preview

Arc of the Coveted - Can Shareta go one better than last year in the Arc?

It’s a shame that last year’s impressive winner Danedream will miss the chance to defend her Prix De L’Arc De Triomphe crown this Sunday due a freak twist of fate that will keep her from travelling.

One reason for that being that one can argue that this year’s Arc looks somewhat lacklustre in some respects and she would have been a big story going in to the race and thus adding an extra dimension to proceedings. The other reason being that with Danedream in the field disputing favouritism, some pretty juicy prices were available on some of the other contenders.

With my ante-post pick Snow Fairy also already ruled out, it’s been back to the drawing board in recent days in trying to find the winner of this year’s Longchamp spectacular.

It’s been a difficult market to weigh up for some time, with high-profile defectors and a huge question mark still hanging over Camelot’s participation; even now despite being left in the race at the forfeit stage whether the 2000 Guineas and Derby winner will take his chance remains up in the air.