Hi all,
Mountain Angel saved the day on Friday. Hopefully Saturday will see a profitable day for our selections which all come from Epsom. Like yesterday I have concentrated on the handicap races on the card.
Epsom Derby Festival – Day 1
2:00 – The Trader – Was a good 5th in the London Gold Cup 14-days ago and looks capable of bold show here, especially if ridden more prominently today.
The Trader – 11/2 @ William Hill
3:45 – Copper Knight is in the form of his career and this very speedy 5-year-old should enjoy the track. Big chance off 1lb lower than when 3rd at York 7-days ago.
Recent eyecatcher Eeh Bah Gum should be suited by the fast 5f. A stablemate of Copper Knight, he finished 4 length behind the winner at York 7-days ago. The 4-year-old didn’t get the clearest of runs a furlong or would have finished much closer than he did. I tipped them last week and I won’t be deserting them here, in a typically open renewal.
Copper Knight – 10/1 @ Bet365 & William Hill
Eah Bah Gum – 11/1 @ Bet365 & Paddy Power
4:30 – There’s nothing I can tell you that you probably don’t already know about this year’s Derby runners.
Sir Dragonet looked to have a bit of knee action when winning the Chester Vase last month. How good will he be on much quicker ground? If there is a superstar colt in the race it’s probably this son of Camelot.
One who come into the race a little bit under the radar was Circus Maximus who was workmanlike when winning the Dee Stakes at Chester but I like the son of Galileo. Earlier in the week he was 20/1 for the race but the booking of Frankie Dettori has meant he has now half those odds. He was value at 20/1, now he’s the right price. Norway was 8 lengths behind stablemate Sir Dragonet at Chester but he didn’t appreciate the soft ground that day and is surely better than that running. I tentatively put him up at 25/1 for the St Leger but he could outrun his odds and get into the money. I’m hoping he will go well with Doncaster Classic in mind.
A boring selection but I’m hoping that Sir Dragonet is the star the 3-year-old colt division requires
Sir Dragonet – 100/30 @ Paddy Power & Betfair Sportsbook
5:15 – Recent eyecatcher Soto Sizzler did the business for us over C&D at the previous meeting. I kept him in my tracker after that run as I think he can land a decent handicap over 1m 4f+ later in the season. This looks tougher with recent Ascot winner Sextant, just 2lb higher and, another with plenty of scope for improvement.
Soto Sizzler – 7/2 – Coral & Ladbrokes
5:50 – Roger Varian had a good day here on Friday and for that reason Spanish City must be respected. The 6-year-old returned to action with a second at Newmarket 14-days ago. That was over 7f but the drop back to 6f shouldn’t pose a problem. Looks capable of winning a handicap like this off his present mark and it hopefully could be today if stall 14 isn’t too much of an inconvenience. A tentative rather than a confident selection!
Spanish City – 11/2 @ William Hill & Ladbrokes
Recent Eycatcher Running
Doncaster
4:15 – Moss Gill – 4/7 @ Paddy Power & BetVictor
Always check with an odds comparison service like Oddschecker to get the best prices available.
All selections win only unless indicated as each way.
Cheers
John