Saturday racing tips: Andy Ayres picks out his best bet for today’s racing while talking James Doyle’s quest in the Arc
SPARE a thought for James Doyle when you tuck into your Sunday lunch.
The word at Lingfield on Thursday was that `Doyler’ had to lose six pounds to make the weight for leading Arc fancy Sea Of Class at Longchamp tomorrow.
That would be plenty for a coach potato to sweat off in a couple of days, but we’re talking about a fella who carries less fat than a butcher’s apron.
James hasn’t done lighter than 8st 11lbs in the past 12 months, so it will be a Herculean effort for him to make 8st 9lbs here.
He wasn’t well enough to ride at Lingfield or Chelmsford on Thursday and you can bet your bottom dollar the boiling down process is taking a toll.
Let’s just hope Sea Of Class serves it up to Enable and gives him a spin to remember in the big race.
LATEST IN HORSE RACING
Silvestre de Sousa doesn’t have an Arc mount but wins ride of the week after coercing the reluctant Fox Fearless to finish a nose second in a 1m nursery at Lingfield.
This colt moved worse than `Dancing Queen’ Theresa May in the early stages and would have finished tailed-off but for SDS’s steadfast refusal to run up the white flag.
The jockey’s reward for this never-say-die effort was a referral to the BHA for using his stick above the permitted level!
If that was harsh, then what about the dopey stewarding decision to scratch Magic Pulse after mistakenly naming her as a withdrawn horse at Nottingham on Wednesday.
Reinstating the filly had serious betting implications but sending her back to the stables really was a case of putting the cart before the horse.
Ralph Beckett doesn’t look like an A-Team fan but he was certainly sporting a George Peppard grin after Stormwave (12-1 to 5-2) lagged-up at Salisbury on Wednesday.
This handsome colt looked the paddock pick by a country mile and cruised to post like a Baby Bentley.
He could be named the winner when the runners turned for home and judging by the bounce in Beckett’s step this was definitely a plan that came together.
GET ON TREND Don't miss the all important trends ahead of Sunday's Arc at Longchamp
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for punters though and Corrosive’s (5-2 to 15-8) narrow defeat at Kempton on Monday caused more than a few murmurs of discontent.
Basically the horse got rolling too late under a moderate ride from Josephine Gordon and should have won.
Last season’s golden girl made a similar mistake on a heavily backed horse on the AW a couple of weeks ago – connections assure me that reverse cost them £250,000 – and just isn’t riding with her old verve at the moment.
Sir Michael Stoute has been known to plot one up and his El Picador is definitely a name to note after finishing fifth in the 1m maiden on this card.
SATURDAY SELECTION
EIRENE (4.10 Ascot) will appreciate any rain and drops in class after a massive run at Doncaster last time.
It would be fair to say Jim Crowley has given horses more urgent rides than this and I think we might see a bit more when he runs in a bad nursery somewhere soon.
Heavy rain is forecast at Ascot today and that can only help EIRENE in the Listed October Stakes (4.10).
Dean Ivory’s filly loves a bit of cut in the ground, ran a blinder at Doncaster last time and has everything in her favour here.