Friday 18th May 2018


14:35 Newbury

 Ultimate Avenue was a frustrating sort last season, he is a horse who clearly has his quirks but he has been gelded, had a wind operation and gets a first time hood here which can hopefully unlock the untapped potential. Ed Walker's four year old has only run seven times and has run well enough on occasions to think that he could be better than his mark of 99, with the possibility of improvement to come. He caught the eye in a Newmarket handicap over six furlongs when outrunning huge odds, he was held up and given what some may call a 'Jamie Spencer Special', finding trouble in running and finishing well when it was all too late. Despite not having the clearest of runs he was still only beaten 3/4 of a length. He was too keen to do himself justice on his next start at Goodwood over seven furlongs when sent off favourite but ran another eye-catching race at Ascot on his final start of the season when doing well to finish as close as he did in a race that favoured prominent racers. Hopefully this quirk bag can fulfil some of the promise he showed last season.

Ultimate Avenue 11/2 - 1 Point Win

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cheltenham Festival 2024 - Day One

Image
13:30 Supreme Novices' Hurdle We have become accustomed to seeing a short-priced Willie Mullins-trained runner in the curtain raiser in recent times. Still, the market is much more open this year as a result of Ballyburn switching to the Ballymore instead (can't keep up with the changes of sponsors for that race). That being said, two of Mullins' runners are battling for favoritism as I write this.  Tullyhill  is a frustrating one for me, I have a useless ante-post slip for the Ballymore, but he has progressed well with each run this season and runs much better over this 2-mile trip than when tried at longer trips previously. I would still have major concerns regarding his jumping when he faces this better-class opposition, though. He got a freebie on the front end last time out and would be hugely surprised if the others allow him a soft lead in this, I'm not sure his jumping will hold up if he is taken out of his comfort zone. His engine may be good enough to get away...
Read more

Cheltenham Festival 2024 - Day Two

Image
  14:50 - Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle Sa Majeste  has been all the rage in this in the build up to the festival and it's easy to see why punters would latch on to him,  a completely unexposed hurdler having had just two starts for Willie Mullins. The first of those starts he disappointed at 13/8 in April 2023, but last time out he was impressive when beating Noble Yeats over 2m4f at Christmas. However, that wouldn't be the grand national winner's optimum trip and I'm wary of backing Sa Majeste on the basis of that run alone. I really fancied Doddiethegreat  to run a huge race in this when I first looked but the form of the Henderson stable is certainly tempering my enthusiasm, with 5 of his 6 runners being pulled up on day one. That being said, everything is price related and he drifts enough (would want 12/1+) then I will end up backing him. There is certainly no worries regarding Henry De Bromhead's stable form and BALLYADAM  looks to be a solid option with almo...
Read more

Cheltenhan Festival 2024 - Day Three

Image
  14:10 - Pertemps Handicap Hurdle GABBY'S CROSS   has caught the eye the last twice, running on well late after trouble in running to finish 2nd and he has clearly been held back to protect his mark for this. His Irish mark is 127 and although the UK handicapper has given him 133 here, that still looks like a very favorable mark based on his chase form (rated 143 at the start of the season). He is proven on all types of ground and Darragh O'Keeffe rides well around Cheltenham finishing in the first 4 in 35% of his rides here and +£13 to £1 level stakes. GABBYS CROSS 11/1 - 1 Point Each-Way 14:50 - Ryanair Chase I think there is an outstanding bet in here at the time of writing, not an imaginative selection but you can get 9/2 with 4 places each way on ENOVOI ALLEN  and I think that has to be taken. He won this last year and ran to the same RPR when 2nd to Gerri Colombe over a 3-mile trip where he was just outstayed. Back down to 2m4f at Cheltenham where he is 3-5, I fin...
Read more