Scoop6 – 7th March – rollovers of £300,000 (Estimated win fund) & £200,000 (bonus fund)
Leg 1–2.00 Sandown: Six-year-olds have won twelve contests during the last seventeen years (including eight of the last eleven) and with seven of the eighteen declarations hailing from the vintage, six-year-olds are around the 13/8 mark to land the spoils before form is taken into consideration. My six-year-old reserve nomination (Brave Vic) won the race last year at odds of 20/1 and I’m hoping that vintage representatives GREAT TRY, HELLO GEORGE and CHIDSWELL can at least figure prominently this time around. Five-year-old AIGLE DE LA SEE appears to be the potential fly in the ointment on this occasion. Three favourites have won during the study period, though only four of the other fifteen market leaders additionally claimed toteplacepot positions.
Leg 2–2.15 Wolverhampton: Favourites come into the race on a hat trick, whilst it’s worth noting that seven of the eight winners have been returned at single figure prices. Marco Botti has secured two of the last six renewals and the trainer is double handed this time around having declared GREY MIRAGE and AL THAKIRA. It’s worth noting that Marco’s only other runner finished second twelve months ago. INTRANSIGENT completes my trio against the other nine contenders. AL THAKIRA is attracting a lot of business in the positive queue as I write this column in the dead of night.
Leg 3–2.35 Sandown: Eleven of the last thirteen winners have carried weights of 11-1 or more, statistics which will please connections of five of the seven declarations if we take a jockey claim aboard Financial Climate into account. A winner of two of his last three races, BALLYHEIGUE BAY seems to win on any type of ground, whilst conditions appear to coming right for ZIGA BOY. Three favourites have obliged during the last seventeen years, whilst eleven of the nineteen market leaders have secured toteplacepot positions.
Leg 1–2.00 Sandown: Six-year-olds have won twelve contests during the last seventeen years (including eight of the last eleven) and with seven of the eighteen declarations hailing from the vintage, six-year-olds are around the 13/8 mark to land the spoils before form is taken into consideration. My six-year-old reserve nomination (Brave Vic) won the race last year at odds of 20/1 and I’m hoping that vintage representatives GREAT TRY, HELLO GEORGE and CHIDSWELL can at least figure prominently this time around. Five-year-old AIGLE DE LA SEE appears to be the potential fly in the ointment on this occasion. Three favourites have won during the study period, though only four of the other fifteen market leaders additionally claimed toteplacepot positions.
Leg 2–2.15 Wolverhampton: Favourites come into the race on a hat trick, whilst it’s worth noting that seven of the eight winners have been returned at single figure prices. Marco Botti has secured two of the last six renewals and the trainer is double handed this time around having declared GREY MIRAGE and AL THAKIRA. It’s worth noting that Marco’s only other runner finished second twelve months ago. INTRANSIGENT completes my trio against the other nine contenders. AL THAKIRA is attracting a lot of business in the positive queue as I write this column in the dead of night.
Leg 3–2.35 Sandown: Eleven of the last thirteen winners have carried weights of 11-1 or more, statistics which will please connections of five of the seven declarations if we take a jockey claim aboard Financial Climate into account. A winner of two of his last three races, BALLYHEIGUE BAY seems to win on any type of ground, whilst conditions appear to coming right for ZIGA BOY. Three favourites have obliged during the last seventeen years, whilst eleven of the nineteen market leaders have secured toteplacepot positions.
Leg 4–2.50 Wolverhampton: Seven of the last eight winners of this ‘Lincoln’ trial event have been burdened with a minimum weight of 9-1 which eliminates five of the ten runners, or six if we include BILLINGSGATE who will fall below the ‘superior’ barrier if Shane Gray forgoes breakfast. The pick of the remaining quartet appears to be MINDUROWNBUSINESS, PEARL NATION and SOLAR DEITY.
Leg 5–3.10 Sandown: I’m duty bound to report that the last eleven winners have carried weights of 10-13 or less (as have 31 of the last 44 win and placed horses) which brings BIDOUREY right into contention for ‘Team Pipe’ who have won this race four times during the last decade. Their 7/1 winner was the first horse mentioned in dispatches twelve months ago and with stable companion Heath Hunter probably losing out via the drying conditions, BIDOUREY attempts to become my third winner in four years having opted for the 20/1 gold medallist in 2012. Others with definite claims in the lower half of the handicap include THISTLECRACK, WEST WIZARD and CHIEFTAN’S CHOICE who was still going plenty well enough when falling in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury last month. Seven favourites have obliged during the last fifteen years, though just two of the other eight market leaders additionally claimed toteplacepot positions.
Leg 6–3.45 Sandown: Five-year-olds have won six of the eleven contests and the pick of this year’s eight relevant raiders will hopefully prove to be COPPER KAY and ROBINS REEF. Fellow vintage representative WHISTLE DIXIE joins the other trio as I reach for yet another cup of coffee this morning. Six-year-olds have won three of the last eight contests and OUT OF THE MIST might prove to be the best of the trio of relevant representatives this time around. Four of the twelve market leaders have claimed toteplacepot positions to date, whilst we had to wait until 2012 for the first (and only) successful (2/1) market leader to emerge.
