Ante-Post Update

I'm very excited about Saturday's showdown between Frankel and Cirrus Des Aigles. I'm not taking the great horse lightly with my bet on the latter but the ground looks like it could almost be on the heavy side and that brings them quite close together. I've topped up the initial small money I had at 16/1 and may do the same on the day of the race depending on the conditions.

After Champions Day I concentrate on the Jumps as the Breeders Cup is trappy from a betting point of view and to be honest American racing leaves me a bit cold. The Paddy Power Gold Cup is the first major race of the season on the 17th November and I've opened a small position on For Non Stop. The weights aren't out yet but the Nick Williams trained gelding is currently on a mark of 151 which underrates him. He has a certain amount of scope, especially for a race of this nature. He's been running on well at the end of small field graded novice chases up to now and I think being held up in a big field with plenty of cover will suit him. Naturally I am slightly biased given where he is based but I don't back Nick Williams horses willy nilly. For me following a stable just means I get to know a certain amount of horses better, I get more familiar with their form and the conditions they need to perform to their best.

Last weekend Fingal Bay had his first race over the larger obstacles and whilst he wasn't overly impressive he jumped very tidily before idling near the finish. We'll learn more when he faces better rivals.
Also on Saturday there were a couple of really big two year old races. Dawn Approach looked some tool in battling out an impressive win in the Dewhurst and will be tough to beat if he returns to Newmarket in May. I  also thought Cristoforo Colombo was interesting in the 6f Middle Park that preceded it. He got badly outpaced against faster rivals but ran on really well at the end and I think another couple of furlongs in next year's Guineas and faster ground will suit him far better. Immediately after the race some quite insulting prices were available on Betfair about him so I took some action.


Champion Stakes:
Cirrus Des Aigles £30w @ 10/1

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Paddy Power Gold Cup:
For Non Stop £10w @ 24/1

Arkle:
Trifolium £10w @ 27/1

Champion Hurdle:
Spirit Son £35w @ 13/1

RSA Chase:
Fingal Bay £50w @ 12/1

Gold Cup:
Flemenstar £50w @ 13/1


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2000 Guineas:
Cristoforo Colombo £10w @ 36/1

1000 Guineas:
Newfangled £15w @ 16/1