BBOTD - Thursday the 9th of January

17.10 Wolverhampton: Ewell Place @ 12/1 Bet365 - 2pts win

Big price and too big in my mind. Ewell Place ran a better race than his finishing position suggested last week at Lingfield. In fact he travelled really well turning for home but it was a big field and he not in the best position, pretty much stuck in traffic on the inside rail and the jockey realized he wouldn't have chance to get out there in time, so he was eased down with one furlong out and clearly saved for another day. He ran with credit the two races before, at Lingfield in November he was unlucky when short of room when it mattered, and at Wolverhampton I feel he didn't quite stay the trip despite finishing in 4th. Probably a mile is fine, not sure if 7f is too sharp, but he won over this trip a good conditions race back in 2012, leaving the likes of Arnold Lane and Producer behind him. He never could quite reach this level in 2013, but he is down to a very handy mark now and has the assistance of a promising looking 7lb claimer. So he should go really well tomorrow and has no excuses if not.

BBOTD - Wednesday 8th of January 2014

14.00 Lingfield: Munsarim @ 8/1 William Hill - 3pts win

Munsarim travelled like a dream of a career lowest mark lto at Lingfield. He had the widest draw to overcome and consequently settled in rear trailing the field. He made headway from 3f out on the outside but lost loads of ground turing widest of all and needed a while to hit top gear. But once he did, he flew home from 1f out and came from an almost impossible position to nearly win it. He steps up in grade tomorrow, and a result he is the bottom weight here, while he is allowed to race of the same mark as last week. He also steps up in trip, which is sure to suit since he has one over CD already in the past. I feel he has an outstanding chance off his current mark under these conditions.

Photo Gallery - Irish St Leger 2013

Irish St Leger 2013, a set on Flickr.

A set of photos I've taken at - now - last years Irish St leger meeting at beautiful Curragh racecourse. Check them out on flickr.

Photo Gallery - Gowran Park

Gowran Park, October 2013, a set on Flickr.

Find a beautiful photo gallery from my visit at Gowran Park now on Flickr.com. I have a profile there now and you can find plenty more of my work over there.

BBOTD: Monday 6th January

Huge performance by Copperwood on Saturday. He finished 2nd, just beaten close to the line by a better horse on the day. Unfortunate, but I feel this was a good start into the new year. Copperwood good a really good ride, considering the way the race panned out. He looked to win it 1f out but then Ocean Applause simple found another gear when it mattered.

14.10 Wolverhampton: Lastkingofscotland @7/2 Bet365 - 4pts win

I thought Lastkingofscotland ran with more credit in a claimer over 6f last time out than the bare result might suggest. He had the widest draw to overcome that day and settled in rear where is was a bit rough though. He switched to the inside before turning for home while not getting a hundred percent clear run there. He probably hasn't quite the speed for this trip anymore these days but he was also never really asked for a serious effort in that particular, yet he kept going when room was there. That shows he is in good nick, following two nice performances in December. Now back in a Handicap, he can race off a career lowest mark. This race is a pretty poor one, and he looks the standout candidate for me, with conditions in favour, back over 7f now.

BBOTD - 4th of January 2014

11.50 Lingfield: Copperwood @ 6/1 Bet365 - 2 pts win

Copperwood seems to be in very good nick considering his latest impressive performances. He won well and with a bit of authority a seller at Lingfield on his first start over 10f which seems a distance to suit better now since he doesn't get any younger. That day he stayed on really well. He dropped in trip in his most recent start, back to 1m, when he got a really lenient and poorly judged ride from an inexperienced rider. He travelled still very strongly turning for home but had too much to do and the jockey was quite easy on him. He made some nice headway nonetheless and looked to have much more to give than the eventual result suggested. Now up in trip again, with a decent weight in this claimer and the jockey booked who gave him the winning ride two weeks ago, I think Copperwood has a cracking chance to win this contest.

A Day at New York's Aqueduct Racetrack

I have been recently to New York's Aqueduct Racetrack. The course opened in 1894 and is situated in Queens, close to the JFK Airport. Find a photo gallery of the visit here and on our Facebook page:

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Nap of the day: Tuesday the 5th of November...

19.00 Kempton: Dominium @ 7/1 Coral 3 pts win

 Dominium looks still ahead of the handicapper considering how well he is in form judging on his last two tremendous performances. He produced a stunning turn of foot at Kempton three weeks ago and was able to put a huge margin between himself and the rest of the field in a matter of strides to win easily in the end. Stepping up to 7f was no problem for him the next time, but the pace of the race was. It wasn't particularly fast run and it was clearly and advantage being ridden close to the pace, which meant Dominium faced an uphill task turning for home trailing the field. The front-runner won in the end but Dominium clearly finished the strongest gaining a huge amount of ground. He's up another 2lb for this, so 8lb above the last winning mark now, but very talented Robert Tart takes off invaluable 3lb, which should be an enormous help. In addition to that Tart and trainer Jermey Gask enjoying a 29% strike rate this year together.

Big Buck's: On the road to full recovery...

Wonderful to see Big Buck's being back in training and looking as well as ever. The world-class staying chaser sustained an awful leg injury last year and was out for the whole season, but he is now back on his way to a racecourse. It's been a long road and he still isn't quite there but all is well at the moment if we can believe the words of trainer Paul Nicholls. So fingers crossed that we see this fella on a racecourse rather sooner than later again.

This lovely video records Bick Bucks' recovery and way back to full training: 

Nap of the day: Mondy the 4th of November,,,

16.55 Wolverhampton: Konzert @ 8/1 Bet365 - 2pts win

 Konzert was backed like mad before his last start at Wolverhampton, opening at 25/1 and starting at 5/1 but then didn't quite get the run of the race having to travel very wide from 4f out while making a big move from that point onwards but having to turn widest of all for home and losing vital ground. The jockey soon realized entering the home straight that the horse wouldn't catch the leaders and eased him down, as it was pointless to beat the shit out of the horse only to finish fifth or something. To me he still looks a horse perfectly suited to the All-Weather surface anyway and he is open the improvement, being generally lightly raced. While Konzert didn't show too much in his first five starts, he looked then very much improved on his All-Weather debut, when showing dramatic improvement for the new surface. That day he was slightly outpaced soon after the start, trailing the field for a long way, and as a result faced an impossible task turning for home, and in fact the eventual winner travelled all the way from the front and wasn't to catch. But Konzert really made some eye-catching ground once straighten up in the home straight suggesting there is more to come on this surface and that he's ready to strike sooner rather than later. He couldn't back up this performance the next time, switching back to turf, when he finished a disappointing last, but ignoring that performance, I can see a horse with a massive debut performance on the All-Weather and an unlucky second run on that surface. Considering he is in the same form, he should be competitive getting also a chance by the handicapper as he's allowed to race off a 2lb lower mark tomorrow.

2013 Breeders Cup Classic

What an epic race we have just witnessed this evening! The spirit of the Breeders Cup is still alive - who would have thought that? Well, from a European perspective it is fair to say that the relationship to the big US event did definitely cool down over the last number of years at least. You hardly can call it World Championships these days, as most of the top class horses from Europe simply won't come over. But then this years renewal renewed some of the past glory. We saw some great races, the European horses that went over where largely successful, particularly in the turf races, while even the dirt races - which I find often pretty dull - produced some amazing finishes. But a Breeders Cup is only a really good one if the main race, the Classic, is a also good one. That wasn't the case last year, and probably not the year before. But it was all different this year! 

Last years winner and second went to post this Saturday evening, as well as last years favourite. In addition to that it was the Irish runner Declaration of War who added some spices. Personally I was very keen on his chance, as he ticked all the right boxes, with his US pedigree and top class Group 1 form. The race itself then turned out to be epic. A real thriller, a race that had it all, a race that was fascinating, exciting, tight and dramatic. It was racing at its best! I don't say this lightly if it is about Dirt racing, but in all honesty it is the case. The 2013 Breeders Cup Classic will become one of the all-time greats, a race we will watch over and over again. So sit back and enjoy this epic clash of world-class thoroughbreds:

Irish National Stud...

I paid recently a visit to the Irish National Stud, which is located in county Kildare, just 45 minutes off Ireland's capital Dublin. On a lovely sunny Autumn day I took the chance to meat all the current stallions at the stud. They've been out in the paddocks that day, enjoying the sun while waiting for some cute mares to arrive. The National Stud's stallions are the likes of Famous Name, Dragon Pulse, Big Bad Bob and super stallion Invincible Spirit! I also got to see the retired racing legends, who were turned out in a huge paddock, where they are enjoying life after racing. Moscow Flyer, Vintage Crop, Beef of Salmon Kicking King residing there. That's what you would call real legends, no doubt. And indeed they look so happy and well in themselves, which is great to see. So if you ever have the chance to go to the Irish National Stud, all I can say is: Do it! It's a lovely place. You can find a couple of pictures in a photo gallery on out Facebook page...

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