Monday racing tips: Andy Ayres picks out his best bet for today’s racing and has all latest news, gossip and gambles from around the tracks
Don't miss out on the best and most hilarious takes on this week's racing from our resident Trackman, Andy Ayres.
WHAT a cracking job Sandown did to get Saturday’s card on.
The south of England was frozen solid and gridlocked tighter than Tommo’s wallet, but Clerk of the Course Andrew Cooper assured us the meeting would go ahead - and was spot on.
The ground was more testing than your nans’ rice pudding, but that didn’t stop Buveur D’Air putting up an exhibition round in the Contenders Hurdle.
A third Champion Hurdle is within touching distance now, but I bet Nicky Henderson would sleep a whole lot sounder if Apple’s Jade was headed for the mares’ race.
Talking of top mares, how good was Warren Greatrex’s La Bague Au Roi at Leopardstown on Sunday. She makes Dame Kelly Holmes look like a lightweight and it’ll take something special to lower her colours.
Over at Lingfield, big John Gosden turned up alongside a frozen Frankie Dettori to nick the Betway Winter Derby Trial with Wissahickon (8-11 to 8-15).
BEST OF THE BUNCH Check out our review of the last seven day with the latest 'Hotpots and Howlers' instalment
Frankie made this routine job a bit more interesting by getting hemmed in on the rail, and I’m told Johnny G wasn’t exactly gushing with praise about his ride in the post-race debrief.
Still, he got the job done and, barring accidents, the colt won’t be beaten in the Winter Derby or Easter Classic.
They’re still cleaning up the scorch marks Kachy (5-4 to 10-11) left when running a track record time in the Betway Cleves Stakes.
This fella’s got more muscles than Billingsgate Fish Market and will be diabolically hard to stop in the Sprint Final on Good Friday.
Simon Crisford goes racing less than the Dalai Lama, but was here with his trusty deputy Les Reynolds to saddle well-backed Mokarris (16-1 to 17-2).
Tony Blair had just left office when this one last ran, so he definitely deserves a pat on the back for finishing fourth after fluffing the start.
By the way, the track executives were woefully slow announcing a 25 minute delay to racing, which led to several jockeys missing intended rides at Kempton’s evening meeting.
Gerald Mosse did the double though and landed the mother and father of a gamble on Gay Kelleway’s Global Spectrum (7-2 to 4-6).
Gay has never been the shy retiring type and looked as if she’d just half-inched the crown jewels when this one strutted back to the winners’ enclosure.
The bookies grabbed a bit back in the mile handicap where Charlie Fellowes’ team came within a gnat’s wotsit of landing a monster punt through Intrepidly (8-1 to 5-2).
He was given the full Adam Kirby treatment from the cutaway but wilted late and was done on the line.
Young Callum Shepherd was made to look a proper muppet by Derek Shaw’s Loyalty at a bitterly cold Lingfield on Friday.
Trackman's Monday Selection
SILVER QUAY (4.45 Taunton) won as he liked here last time and can follow-up under the excellent Bryony Frost.
The old horse was making his hundredth and final appearance and had Shepherd looking left, right and under his armpits for dangers before finding nil when asked to quicken.
Callum has never been short on confidence but I reckon he learnt a lesson here.
HATHAL (5.55) impressed when winning at Wolverhampton last time and can follow up there today, while CRACKING DESTINY (3.15) has enough scope to defy a 9lbs rise over fences at Taunton.
Bet of the day there is SILVER QUAY (4.45) in a Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle. He won pulling a cart over C&D last time and has the massive advantage of Bryony Frost being in the saddle.