The Student Punter

  15:35 Goodwood David O'Meara won this last year with Suedois and I think he has a great chance of landing it again, this time with Escobar . He was obviously very disappointing looking at his finishing position last time out at York but that doesn't tell the full story. After jinking right at the start he found himself towards the rear early on and on a day where it was pretty much essential to be up with the pace, he never got a look in. I'd rather judge him on his run here at Goodwood the time before when third in the Group 2 Lennox Stakes. The winner Space Blues has franked the form since by winning a Group 1 in France and the fourth (Safe Voyage) won a Group 2 at York fairly comfortably on his next start. The winner actually cut him up a furlong from home that day so there is a fair argument to say he would've finished closer. A winner on heavy ground in the Balmoral handicap at Ascot at the end of last season, beating the talented Lord North fairly comfortably, t...

19:35 Newmarket I have been waiting patiently for Knowing  to return to the track since his nightmare run over course and distance earlier this month and this looks like a suitable opportunity for him to gain some compensation. I've had him on my radar for most of the season as a quietly progressive type who hasn't been getting much luck, but he has running to a level that suggests this mark of 77 is potentially on the lenient side. James Fanshawe's gelding was a huge eye-catcher here last time, despite racing keenly early on he was still cruising two furlongs from home but had to wait what seemed like an age for the gaps to appear, they eventually did before the door was slammed in his face again. Eventually when he had weaved his way through the field he stayed on well in the closing stages but it was too late in the end.  I am sure he has a race in him off this mark and, although forecast weather is likely to take underfoot conditions into unknown territory for the selec...

  17:00 Yarmouth As much as the booking of Oisin Murphy certainly catches the eye with Martineo,   he looks plenty short enough in the betting especially with forecast rain looking likely to change conditions underfoot. Roman Spinner  offers some each-way value after an encouraging return to action last time out. He rattled home late on behind a progressive Roger Charlton runner and he is now back on his last winning mark. He is yet to score on turf but the run last time was certainly enough to suggest that could change imminently. With 4 places each-way available, he looks worth backing to confirm the promise of that last run. Roman Spinner 8/ 1 - 1 Point Each-Way

14:45 York This looks a belter of a race and a tricky puzzle to solve, fortunately bookies are paying extra places so we can have a couple of each-way bets in the race in the hope of at least hitting the frame. Top Rank  is an obvious starting point, he has looked highly progressive so far but anyone who has read this blog before will know that as a 3/1 favourite in a race of this nature, I will be looking to take him on. He jumps up from a class 4 to class 2 and has gone up 12lb for his most recent win, he did win in some style that time but looks short enough here. Walhaan  was a seriously big eye-catcher at Ascot last time out when running a huge race to finish 3rd at 100/1. He met trouble in running that day and was unlucky not to finish closer to the winner, a winner who has followed up off a 6lb higher mark on his subsequent start. He didn't show much on his first two starts this year and the Ian Williams yard have clearly been bringing him along slowly but they may have...

  13:45 York Annoyingly the price on Arecibo  has crashed since I first looked at the race and his price looks short enough for me now, but my other selection still has plenty of juice in his price. It may well turn out that Came From The Dark  will be one to follow for later in the season but at the prices I'm willing to take a punt that Ed Walker has him ready to go from this long absence. It's 319 days since his last start where he looked unfortunate not to win a big field handicap at Ascot. Well backed that day he was held up in rear and was probably delivered too late by Gerald Mosse, gaining all the way to the line while the winner was up the with the pace for much of the race. Given how progressive he was at the end of the last campaign its exciting to see how he can go on from here especially given the confidence of the trainer, in a stable tour with Sporting Life he said '   I think he can do better as a four-year-old as, looking at him, he's an absolute mon...

  11th August 2020 Annoyingly the price has already started to go as I write this but I'm still going to have a small bet on Eljaddaaf  here. His mark has tumbled over the last year so, rated 95 at the start of 2019 he now finds himself down to a mark of 80 and there were encouraging signs on his penultimate start over this course and distance at the end of June. Based on that run he has to have a better chance than his double figure odds suggest and I’m willing to forgive his last effort when he missed the break at Kempton and never got involved. Eljaddaaf 12/1  - 0.5 Points Each-Way (4 places e/w)

  15:35 Goodwood Another big handicap to solve here and Nahaar  will likely prove popular after his fairly comfortable success at Newbury last time out, he is up 7lb for that but he fits the profile of previous winners as a progressive unexposed younger type. His current price of 4/1 may appeal to some but in a 28 runner field at a track which throws up hard luck stories so often, I think I'll have something at a bigger price onside. Talking of hard luck stories, I'm not sure what Kimifive  did in his previous life but it must've been something fairly horrific to deserve all the trouble in running he has been a victim of. Obviously his draw of stall 1 does mean that, not only does he need to avoid bad luck, he probably needs fortune to be on his side. Despite all that I can't resist a bet on him here, he has been in my tracker for some time and 6f on rattling quick ground at a course he has been seen to good effect at before may be just what he needs to get his head bac...