 |
|
|
|
| Punter's Diary by Malcolm Heyhoe |
 |
| Updated: 27th April 2009 - GG.com |
May's Big Days
The first weekend in May can only mean one thing to the followers of Flat racing and that is the arrival of the Guineas meeting at Newmarket. On Saturday May 2 Headquarters draws back the curtain on the first colts’ Classic and if the betting is anything to go by this year’s race has very open look that suggests any number of horses might well be capable of winning.
Brian Meehan bids for a breakthrough Classic success in the 2,000 Guineas with Delegator and the master of Manton may just have the colt to seal that landmark success while Ireland’s Rip Van Winkle and Mastercraftsman represent the all-powerful Aidan O’Brien team and market support in the past week suggests that the former may just have the edge. Finally, no Guineas would be complete without a Sir Michael Stoute contender and the stable’s Evasive holds sound claims.
On Sunday May 4 Rainbow View is a hot favourite to land the 1,000 Guineas and take her unbeaten record to five straight wins. Last season’s outstanding juvenile filly, she surely holds all the case here against a set of ordinary rivals and it will be a major surprise if she is beaten. On the same day Main Aim looks a solid bet in the big 6f sprint handicap while Sir Michael Stoute and Dermot Weld are the two trainers to note in the Jockey Club Stakes.
On Wednesday May 7 the Derby hopefuls will bid to put flesh on the bones of their Classic challenges in the Chester Vase while in the Huxley Stakes, Sir Michael Stoute’s Doctor Fremantle will bid for back-to-back victories at this valuable meeting. Lastly Chester’s third day, May 7, sees the older horses take centre stage in the Ormonde Stakes.
The chain of Classic trails continues on Saturday May 9 when Lingfield stages the Derby trial and the similarly-titled Oaks trial for the fillies’, a race that yielded Look Here, last year’s Epsom Oaks heroine. Over at Ascot on the same day Barry Hills will be bidding for a second consecutive success with Zaahid in the Victoria Cup while over at Haydock, the valuable Swinton Hurdle invariably draws a high-class field.
On May 10, the European Flat season takes a big step forward with the Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French 2,000 Guineas) and the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (French 1,000 Guineas) on the same card at Longchamp. Ballydoyle and Godolphin should both field strong contenders for each race while Luca Cumani’s star filly Fantasia might well be the one to land the ‘Pouliches’.
The Flat’s rolling caravan pitches up at York for its three-day meeting that begins with the Musidora Stakes, an acknowledged Oaks trial on May 13 and Sir Michael Stoute’s well-regarded Leocorno might be just the filly to boost her Classic claims here while on the same day some of the top sprinters will be in action in the Duke Of York Stakes.
On May 14 the Derby hopefuls will be pressed into action in the Dante Stakes and Crowded House, the current Derby favorite, will have his work cut out against Epsom aspirants such as Kite Wood, Nehaam, Redwood and possibly Freemantle from Ireland. On May 15 the Yorkshire Cup takes centre stage and Marco Botti’s Fiulin and Sir Michael Stoute’s Spanish Moon should be leading contenders.
On May 16 it is the turn of the top milers to show their mettle in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury where Saeed Bin Suroor and the Godolphin team boasts a brilliant record and maybe Gladiatorus, their recent top mile purchase might be on show at Newbury. May’s high-class action reaches fever pitch with the Irish 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas on May 23 and 24 respectivelywhile the Tattersalls Gold Cup on the latter date is a Group One middle-distance event that should see Tartan Bearer adding to his recent Gordon Richards Stakes success. May’s racing roundabout ends with the Brigadier Gerard and Henry 11 Stakes on May 28.
Malcolm Heyhoe writes weekly horse racing articles for GG.COM-Horse racing betting, information, news, results and free daily tips
Archive April 2009
