I thought the day would go swimmingly well—we were spot on in the first and somewhat foolishly swerved the opportunity to call the 32/1 forecast. But from then on, we might as well have been talking gobbledygook.
Somewhere in the middle of it all, the Slovakian PM was shot. I kept half-an-eye on that and was a little surprised to see the poor chap bundled into his car, and then his close-protection team seemed to disperse back to the assassin… while the car waited for… I have not a clue. When they later move him to the big hospital, the helicopter lands 300m away; he’s on a gurney with pram wheels surrounded by people who are very busy screening him rather than very keen to get him inside. The concept of urgency was much more apparent on the racing channel.
Meanwhile, the Puritan’s drive in Ireland to end Gambling – aah c’mon, lads don’t deny it and pretend it’s on health grounds – means that Racing TV and Sky will soon be off the air in Ireland with the proposed ban on bookies advertising. The perpetrator is wee Jamie Browne TD, who comes from a family of Fianna Fáil politicians and is also the party’s spokesman on mental health. Killing off gambling by driving it underground and breaking the racing industry is at the heart of his brilliant plan to be remembered in Irish history. Why do these people think they know best?
Lest I thought of popping over to Devon this weekend, a quick break in Brixham is off my bucket (inappropriate word) list, as yet another water company has revealed that it is struggling to do its job correctly. This time, it’s a significant outbreak of Cryptosporidium, a parasite that can cause sickness and diarrhoea if consumed. At first—and who would have guessed—it was nothing to do with South West Water. But then, when pushed to test the waters – because of the rising casualties, they admitted they had found the little critters in the water supply. I’m surprised they didn’t blame it on Fujitsu.
Talking of the trots and feeling sick due to contaminated material, here are my selections for Day 2.
YORK
The draw appears to be playing a strong role here this week and some small research suggests that in 5-6f races run on G or G/F ground , with 12+ runners, since 2022 to date, the win % for the low numbers (as in Low – Med – High) is 9.58% compared to 4.12% (Med) and 4.85% (High). Or what I like to think of as “twice as likely”. In my view I would be thinking twice about anything drawn higher than 12 as a likely winner.
14:15 Lindum York Handicap (Class 2) (5f)
COPPER KNIGHT 3 pts e/w – TEES SPIRIT 3 pts e/w
Use JM JUNGLE and WEN MOON for Exotics
14:45 Oakmere Homes Hambleton Handicap (Class 2) (1m)
DUTCH DECOY 4 pts Win – BOPEDRO 3 pts e/w
15:15 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Middleton Fillies’ Stakes (Group 2) (1m21⁄2f)
BLUESTOCKING 5 pts Win – with CAERNARFON ½ pt RFC – plus ***
15:45 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante Stakes (Group 2) (1m21⁄2f)
CAVIAR HEIGHTS 5 pts Win – AL MUSMAK 3 pts e/w – 1 pt RFC
16:15 British Stallion Studs EBF Westow Stakes (Listed) (5f)
***BIG EVS 3 ts Win Double with BLUE STOCKING – SOMMELIER 3 pts e/w
SALISBURY
14:30 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai ‘City Bowl’ Handicap (Class 3) (1m6f)
TORCELLO 4 pts e/w – MILITARY TYCOON 2 pts e/w
PROFIT OR LOSS FROM THIS POST: +2.90