Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Sports World |
- Cheltenham ‘Top Trainer’ title looks a three-way contest
- Bud to bow out on biggest stage of all
- Five Championship Race Statistics
- 2011 – Record Breakers
- Who are the best all-weather trainers?
| Cheltenham ‘Top Trainer’ title looks a three-way contest Posted: 01 Feb 2012 04:48 AM PST If you have been thinking about which trainer to support to come out top at the end of the four-day Cheltenham Festival fixture (March 13-16), then the latest news is that you can bet 2/1 each of three, with last season's winner Willie Mullins, champion British trainer Paul Nicholls, and festival specialist Nicky Henderson all available at the same odds if you shop around, writes Elliot Slater. Mullins left the bookies licking their wounds last term having been originally priced up a 13/2 chance to take the title, horse racing betting odds that were soon taking by the hordes of Irish race fans who soon realised they were on to something good as the champion Irish trainer sent out Hurricane Fly, Quevega, Final Approach and Sir Des Champs to win at jumps racing's premier fixture, seeing off the challenge from both Henderson and Nicholls. Mullins again looks to have a very strong hand with Hurricane Fly and Quevega bankers for many punters and horse racing betting tips , but Nicholls and Henderson are also set to arrive at Prestbury Park with plenty of guns to fire, Henderson having three live candidates for the Champion Hurdle as well as leading contenders for the novice chase events such as Sprinter Sacre in the Arkle Chase, Bobs Worth in the RSA Chase, and then there is the little matter of Long Run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup itself. Long Run will have to overcome Nicholls' superstar Kauto Star if he is to retain the title, while Nicholls will also be very hopeful that the likes of Al Ferof (Arkle Chase), Zarkandar (Champion Hurdle), Silviniaco Conti (Jewson Novices Chase), and a certain Big Buck's (Ladbrokes World Hurdle) will give him plenty of chances of success. The 25/1 about Philip Hobbs pipping the aforementioned trio looks generous with the Minehead handler having genuine prospects with Sadlers Risk (Triumph Hurdle), Menorah (Arkle Chase), Fingal Bay (Neptune Hurdle), and Colour Squadron (Supreme Novices Hurdle).  |
| Bud to bow out on biggest stage of all Posted: 01 Feb 2012 04:20 AM PST The admirable 14-year-old Hello Bud is set to have the final race of what has been a very successful career when he competes in the John Smith's Grand National at Aintree in April for the third and final time, writes Elliot Slater. The Nigel Twiston-Davies trained veteran finished fifth in the 2009 Becher Chase over the awesome Aintree fences, (having landed the Scottish Grand National at Ayr some six month earlier when beating Gone To Lunch in a tremendous finish), before occupying the same position in the 2010 Grand National, running a blinder and being prominent throughout only to fade approaching the final fence in the race won by Tony McCoy on Don't Push It. Returning to the Liverpool track in November 2010 the then 12-year-old put in a tremendous round of jumping to show a clean pair of heels to a host of younger rivals when landing the Becher Chase, but failed to cut any ice back at the track in last year's Grand National where he weakened from halfway and was eventually pulled up before the 19th fence. Still in front in this season's renewal of the Becher Chase when blundering and unseating his rider at the Canal Turn, Hello Bud has since put up two solid performances in decent staying handicap chases at Cheltenham and Warwick and connections report him to be looking as good as ever – leading to a flurry of racing betting tips. Ridden almost exclusively these days by trainer's son Sam Twiston-Davies, Hello Bud, a borderline case for being high enough in the handicap to sneak into the final 40 for the big race, is quoted at ante-post best racing odds of at least 100/1 to become the oldest winner since 15-year-old Peter Simple in 1853 of 'the world's greatest steeplechase' staged in front of a global audience of well over half a billion television viewers.  |
| Five Championship Race Statistics Posted: 01 Feb 2012 03:14 AM PST Statistics and trends are an important part of the Cheltenham Festival. Here are five from the Championship events at the meeting. All of these events (apart from the Ryanair) have a long and rich history and the statistics and trends behind them have plenty of data to back them up. Stan James Champion Hurdle Horses that won last time out are very strong statistically in this race and just following those types of horses that were successful last time out landed the one-two again last year. Only four horses in the last 28 runnings of this race have won without winning on their previous outing. A powerful statistic to consider in the Champion Hurdle when attempting to find the winner. Fans of the Cheltenham betting should remember this. Queen Mother Champion Chase Previous Festival form is a recurring theme in the championship races at the Festival, notably the Queen Mother Champion Chase and 20 of the last 27 winners have won or finished placed at this meeting in the past. Those looking for 2012 Cheltenham betting tips need to bear this in mind. Ryanair Chase Only a seven year history to work with here but the one standout statistic is that all six winners and five of the runner-ups in that period have previously won at Cheltenham. If there is a race where course form counts this is it. Ladbrokes World Hurdle With Big Buck's likely to dominant here there is little chance of the Irish breaking their 17 year hoodoo in this race or a five-year-old being a major challenger as they haven't won the race since its inception in 1972. Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup A fascinating clash this year between Kauto Star and Long Run will be the major storyline in the race but the fly in the ointment could be Grands Crus – a novice. if he takes his chance, no novice has won since 1974 but, arguably of more relevance, is that only a true great in Dawn Run, who was having only her fifth start over fences when winning an historic renewal in 1986, has won the Gold Cup for horses with less than six chase starts since Mill House in 1963 who had five previous chase starts to his name. This will be Grand Crus' fifth chase start if he lines up to here, assuming he has a prep-run between the Feltham and Festival. He would add another dimension to what is already a fascinating head-to-head clash.  |
| Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:35 AM PST 2011 proved to be a vintage year for horse racing and there were plenty of feats that deserve to be applauded and lauded especially on the equine front. Four particular stars worthy of a Kauto Star, Frankel, Goldikova and Rapid Redux. The first three are pretty much household names but the last named my not be as well-known to you all. So let's start with Rapid Redux who broke one post-1900 US record and equalled another while winning 21 races in succession since 2010 (since then victory 22 has been added) – including all 19 starts in 2011. The all-time US record is 23 consecutive victories by Leviathan (1797-1801) and the world record is 56 by Camarero in Puerto Rico (1953-55). Trained by David Wells, the ultra-tough and consistent front-running Rapid Redux is no champion having scored all his victories in lowly company but that should not detract from his superb record this year. Fans of on line racing should remember this. Kauto Star needs no such introduction and his win on the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day made him the greatest steeplechaser since Arkle and the first horse to win Kempton's mid-season championship race five times, beating the record that he had previously shared with Desert Orchid. When Kauto Star won the Betfair Chase on November 19 he became the only horse, Flat or jumps, to win two different Group/Grade 1 races four times each, as he had already landed the Haydock prize in 2006, 2007 and 2007 – a remarkable achievement. Those looking for a horse betting how to need to bear this in mind. Frankel bestrode the Flat season and this colossus of a horse and on most rating systems he was a record breaker, his wins in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and his spectacular four-length victory in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on the inaugural British Champions Day being performances that will long live in the memory and his record breaking feats look sure to be continued in 2012. Finally, no equine list of record breakers for 2011 would be complete without the inclusion of Goldikova. She won two Group 1 races in her final year of racing which extended her tally in very top-level races to 15. The six-year-old mare trained by Freddie Head, retired with a total prize-money total of £4,364,886, a record for a filly or mare trained in Europe. Four very different horses but all ones from whom 2011 was a record breaking year.  |
| Who are the best all-weather trainers? Posted: 01 Feb 2012 04:25 AM PST National Hunt racing will take centre stage for the next couple of months of the year, especially with the big meetings at Cheltenham and Aintree to come but with a cold snap looking likely, the all-weather will be keeping the show on the road as well as entertaining die-hard Flat fans. So we thought we would take a look at the trainers who perform well on the all-weather over the months of February and March. Many trainers are creatures of habit and looking at their patterns can unearth plenty of potentially interesting angles which will hopefully prove popular in the next couple of months. In terms of strike-rate over the two months under consideration in the last five years, John Gosden takes the plaudits but doesn't return a level stakes profit, although due to his good strike rate 33% he should be kept on-side in the right situations. Perhaps it would be worth noting the horses that he sends to Southwell and Wolverhampton, where from a handful of runners he has a very good record. Fans of racing betting should bear this in mind. One trainer who should definitely be kept on your side over February and March is Ed Dunlop and his record of 20 winners from just 68 runners on the all-weather over the past five years marks him down as a trainer to follow. In fact he makes a profit at three of the four all-weather tracks with Lingfield being the odd one out. He is it must be said a rare visitor to Southwell and the fibresand surface but his runners should be noted when he does go there as he has been successful with his runners on his last three visits. Those looking at the online racing need to remember this. Another favourite to follow over the coming months would be Ralph Beckett who has a fine 23% strike rate in the period we have analysed, with 9 winners coming from just 39 runners, so Beckett is certainly selective with his all-weather runners. Once again there are tracks that are favoured out of the all-weather quartet and in this case Beckett and Kempton fit together very well, five of his winner from 16 runners coming there. Of course profitable past performance gives no guarantees of future profits, but we will certainly be staying on the right side of the trainers highlighted here – especially under the right circumstances that we have mentioned.  |
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