Horses are not machines. Their performance changes due to shifting physical condition. Unlike sportsmen who can tell their coaches how they feel on any given day, the subtly fluctuating form of thoroughbreds is much harder to discern. The top modern trainers may run blood picture tests, weigh their charges regularly, have heartrate monitors and
This week’s handy hint looks at a type of “short form’ analysis that cuts down on the time spent studying the past performances. The idea is to “punt on profile” – choosing a powerful angle or edge and stick to betting only those horses that meet the specific criteria. Doing things this way doesn’t
“Everything has a story behind it…” says Martin Kalunga, owner of up-and-coming sprinter, Love In Winter who remains a perfect three from three after beating off Tchaikovsky in a thriller at Kenilworth over the past weekend. Indeed, there is a fascinating back story to how the Kalunga family came to participate in horse racing.
There is an obvious home ground advantage when wagering at your local track. Even reasonably observant casual fans can form sound opinions if they concentrate only on the small group of horses that race at home base. But with the expansion to round the clock international racing coverage, together with the reduction in local
It may be sacrilege to pick holes in the form of an outstanding filly that has won 9 out of her 11 starts, (including Multiple G1’s) just as the brilliant defending champ of the Schweppes Majorca Stakes, Captain’s Ransom (speed figure 110) has done. Yet she hasn’t quite been at the peak of her
There is no obvious stand out for this year’s Met and sponsors World Sports Betting are offering prices between 7/2 and 5/1 each of four classy horses proven at Grade 1 level: Durban July winner, Kommetdieding, Cape Guineas victor, Double Superlative, Queens Plate boss, Jet Dark and Daily News victor, Linebacker. Kommetdieding is joint
In last year’s G1 Cape Flying Championships, Brett Crawford’s Run Fox Run held off the late dart of a Justin Snaith’s Rio Querari in a dramatic tussle, and fans are expecting similar excitement in 2022, though fast- developing speedball, Real Gone Kid will be Crawford’s representative this time around. A strong field of 14
At a scorching hot Kenilworth racecourse, Jet Dark stormed down the inside rail to win the Grade 1 L”Ormarins Queens Plate, for the second year in succession. Described by trainer Justin Snaith as,” a beautiful animal – such a stunning individual” the son of Trippi, bred at Drakenstein Stud, reprised his feat in 2021
Horseplayers can only profit if they make accurate calls about what will happen in future – betting is, after all, an exercise in making predictions. To help form sharp opinions, punters look back at recent past performances trying to uncover something which may prove of value in future. October month, where races were split
Jockey, Devin Ashby completed a tremendous three- timer at Durbanville on Saturday, winning on Bonanza (14/1), Arctic Ice (9/10) and Power Grid (7/2) at accumulated odds of 127/1! Ashby does not get many opportunities in the saddle to ride a single fancied runner, never mind trebles, so this was a rare and entirely well-