Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Sports World

The Grand National – Handicap Snips
Bucks and Crus set for Aintree rematch
Four Bites of the Cherry for Nicholls
Poulter looks for dramatic improvement in form

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 08:55 AM PDT

With the handicap for the Grand National being formed and framed in early February there is plenty of time after that date for horses to show "improved" form so it can be well worth looking for those that are therefore "well in" on their old form. Those looking for Grand National betting offers should remember this.

To put it bluntly there are some horses that are artificially handicapped at the time of the weights and would otherwise be far higher in the handicap and in recent years horses with protected handicap marks like Comply or Die, Rough Quest and Lord Gyllene have all won the Grand National.

This process of protecting handicaps marks is becoming more and more prevalent and there are five horses this year who would if the handicapper could take a look at the weights now be allotted more weight than they have actually got in the race this year and this is important when it comes to considering the Grand National latest odds.

In the order of which they are well in, these are What A Friend, the Gold Cup fourth, who on that race alone would be looking at carrying a massive 15lb more in this race.

Moving on two big handicap winners since the publication of the weights would also be looking at substantial rises – they are Silver By Nature, who won the Haydock Grand National Trial and should by rights be carrying 10lb more and he is closely followed by Quinz who triumphed in the Racing Post Chase at Kempton. Quinz would have been saddled with an additional 9lb for the Kempton form.

There are a further two runners that would also be saddled with extra poundage given their form post-publication of the weights and they would be two Irish contenders. In Compliance the Cashel Chase winner at Thurles is the first and In Compliance who was second in the Bobbyjo Chase would also be raised in the handicap. The former would have an extra 7lb to carry and the later 8lb more.

Of course the "system" is not foolproof and you need to consider how well those five meet any other selection criteria that you wish to use but there is no doubt that given his time again the handicapper would be allotting this five more weight that they will carry on Saturday in the John Smith's Grand National.

Bucks and Crus set for Aintree rematch

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 06:17 AM PDT

The Aintree Festival is always one of the big highlights of the National Hunt season and with a fair smattering of Cheltenham Festival winners on show at this year's three-day fixture jumps fans are in for a treat. The second clash within three weeks of the outstanding staying hurdler Big Bucks and his closest foe Grand Crus promises to be a thriller in Thursday's Grade 1 BGC Partners Liverpool Hurdle.

Eleven runners have been declared to face the starter for the extended three-mile contest, a race won for the last two years by the imperious Big Buck's who 12 months ago sauntered to a comfortable long odds-on victory over Souffleur. The Paul Nicholls-trained superstar, (unbeaten in his last 11 races over hurdles at the very highest level), went to Cheltenham last month bidding to land a hat-trick of wins in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle, but punters made David Pipe's up-and-coming Grand Crus a solid second favourite to give the champion a run for his money. The best horse racing odds suggest it should be a very close race.

And that's exactly what Big Buck's got as the pair locked horns going down to the final flight before Big Buck's found that extra gear that sets great horses apart from very good horses, eventually coming home to beat Pipe's gallant grey by a length-and-three-quarters. Battle will be rejoined on Thursday in the opening race of the three-day meeting, Big Buck's likely to be odds-on once again to extend his remarkable winning sequence to 12.

Amongst those set to take their chances against the big two are Coral Cup winner Carlito Brigante, Nigel Twiston-Davies smart two-miler Khyber Kim (who tries three miles for the first time in his career), tough northern raider Knockara Beau, and the capable but enigmatic Karabak, representing Jonjo O'Neill and Tony McCoy.

Four Bites of the Cherry for Nicholls

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 04:22 AM PDT

After the Aintree Grand National five day declaration, trainer Paul Nicholls has four remaining entries in this year's race - two of the favourites Niche Market and What a Friend and relative outsiders The Tother One and Ornais.

Nicholls has had 44 past Grand National runners, and yet has never managed to secure a National win, though he has already had four Cheltenham Gold Cup winners.

With only a few days to go before the big race on Saturday, Niche Market currently stands at 14/1 with a weight of 10st 13lbs. It's his second attempt at the National having been pulled up at the 29th fence in last year's race by Harry Skelton, who will ride him again this year.

What a Friend is part-owned by Man United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, and Ged Mason. But his jockey, Daryl Jacob, will face a stiff task on the horse with a weight of 11st 6lbs. No horse has carried more than 11.05 to victory in the National since Red Rum in 1974.

The eight-year-old came fourth in this year's Cheltenham Gold Cup and after that performance Handicapper Phil Smith said he'd have given him about 15lb more if the weights could have been reallocated for the National and those looking at the Grand National betting should remember this.

Since his debut two and a half years ago, The Tother One has only had one steeplechase win at Exeter in 2008, but showed promise in the Henessey Gold Cup in November finishing fourth. He also came fourth in the Argento Chase at the Cheltenham Trials this year. He'll carry 11 stones for the National, and seems to have legitimate claims despite his generous odds of around 50/1.

Ornais is a late confirmation as a National entry after the withdrawal of Ballytrim. The nine year old will be ridden by Nick Scholfield, with a weight of 10st 4lbs and a current price of around 100/1; so if Paul Nicholls is to get his first winner in the National this year – it will most probably be one of the other three!

Poulter looks for dramatic improvement in form

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 01:32 AM PDT

At the halfway stage of last year's Masters Ian Poulter was leading the pack and looked a good bet to pick up his first major, only for a disappointing weekend to see the Englishman drop down the field to finish tied for tenth. While it was Poulter's highest finish at Augusta, the 35-year old still walked away with more than a tinge of disappointment from the tournament.

This week Poulter will be desperate turn his consistently decent Masters record into a great one. Top-35 finishes in each of his six appearances at Augusta show that Poulter certainly knows how to play this course, but he will need to handle the mental side of winning the Masters, something the golf betting suggests he will struggle to do.

It is certainly going to need a significant improvement in Poulter's current form if he is going to be in contention come Sunday. His successful 2010 - which saw him taste victory at the Accenture Match-Play and play a key role in Europe's Ryder Cup triumph – has been followed by a disappointing start to this season. Poulter is currently without a top-ten finish in his last six tournaments and that poor run has had seen the Englishman's ranking drop from seventh down to 16th. The US Masters betting indicates he could struggle at the tournament.

While admitting his game is way off where it needs to be, Poulter has still made confident noises about his chances when speaking in the run-up to the season's opening major.

"It's very frustrating and driving me mad. I need to push on. When I perform well I think I can play with the best players in the world for sure," he said.
If Poulter is going to start fulfilling some of his self-made prophesies then he is going to need to start challenging at the big tournaments. And they don't come much bigger than the Masters at Augusta.

Visits

Archive

Sports World

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Sports World

0 Comments:

Online

Partners