Posted in Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Captain Hurricane on Aug 3rd, 2007 1 Comment »
After yesterday I’m really going to struggle to ignore Ryan Moore’s rides. I watched his face after a couple of his wins - he seems to show no trace of emotion and he reminds me a bit of Lester Piggott. It’s a fairly obvious comment but I think he’ll turn out to be pretty special.
Captain Hurricane [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Effingham on Aug 2nd, 2007 No Comments »
Following my good day yesterday I’ll be coming back for more today, and the race I like is the King George Stakes. I’ve been planning to back Wi Dud all day. Our lawyer at Betfair knows some of the owners (similar connections to Amadeus Wolf) - the horse is apparently very well and the conditions [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Major Eazy on Aug 1st, 2007 No Comments »
A bad day yesterday - Major Eazy ran his worst race for a while and I lost a lot of money punting. To make matters worse I twice backed against horses of Pete’s and on both occasions Pete’s horse won. Major Eazy takes a decent break now, which I think is well overdue. I was at [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Captain Hurricane, Shawhill on Jul 28th, 2007 1 Comment »
Shawhill goes up to York to run in a competitive little listed handicap. She’s the outsider of five, and I fancy her to go very well.
There are a lot of imponderables here;
She’s never raced on ground as soft as this
… or over a distance as long as this
Last time she won she was on a [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Effingham, Horse Racing on Jul 26th, 2007 No Comments »
A fantastic result at Sandown today with Effingham coming second in his maiden. I’m extremely positive, for a number of reasons;
He clearly needed the run and will come on a lot for it
He ran green, missing the break a little and he lost ground jumping the walkway
Sandown maidens are generally pretty good (although I’m not so [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Captain Hurricane, Horse Racing, Shepherds Warning on Jul 25th, 2007 3 Comments »
One I forgot to mention - Captain Hurricane runs on Friday at Newmarket. He’s been pretty useless for a long time now, but I think that there’s a decent chance he’ll come right one day and when he does he’ll be a seriously well handicapped horse. He got to a point where he was so [...]
Posted in Baldovina, Berts Horses, Bouguereau, Effingham, Major Eazy, Prince Ary, Shawhill on Jul 24th, 2007 No Comments »
After a lot of hype Ary finally came out on Saturday. It looked as if he was dead and buried, but in a dramatic finale he stormed back to beat Tom. Unfortunately King’s Quay came on the wide outside and beat them both - still an excellent second, and if the cards had fallen a little [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Conservation, Horse Racing, Master of the Race, Thunderbolt Jaxon on Jul 17th, 2007 3 Comments »
The July sale at Tattersalls has just come and gone, and also a big sale at Saint Cloud. We’ve been pretty busy, but the market still feels pretty toppy and the selling has gone better than the buying.
Three of the string sold last week. Thunderbolt Jaxon made £6k, Master of the Race £11k and Conservation [...]
Posted in Baldovina, Berts Horses, Shawhill, Winker Watson on Jul 17th, 2007 No Comments »
… and treat those two imposters just the same… I’m not sure I agree with Rudyard Kipling on that one - I definitely prefer triumph to disaster and I’ve seen a bit of both this week.
Authorized’s defeat last week was a blow - I was hoping he’d have an unbeaten 3yo year. I’m less comfortable [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Winker Watson on Jul 17th, 2007 3 Comments »
I thought it was an absolutely stunning performance from Winker in the July Stakes - everything went wrong and we still won. I couldn’t have a higher opinion of the horse. We have believed for a while now that it would be an understatement to just call him a classy horse - his work at [...]
Posted in Baldovina, Berts Horses, Captain Hurricane, Conservation, Horse Racing, Major Eazy, Master of the Race, Shawhill, Winker Watson on Jul 2nd, 2007 1 Comment »
I’ve been waiting to write that headline for a long time. Major Eazy’s win at the fifth attempt on Saturday night was long overdue, and at last we have confirmation of something we have believed for a long time - he is a proper racehorse.
Every jockey who has sat on ME has told us that [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Major Eazy on Jun 30th, 2007 2 Comments »
I’ve got some catching up to do, but first a quick note on Major Eazy in the 7:15 at Lingfield tonight.
Brian described him this morning as “a certainty”. I’ve been in racing for long enough to know that certainties as described are anything but, and I suspect ME is no exception to this. Two hurdles [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Winker Watson on Jun 22nd, 2007 7 Comments »
What a day!! We thought he was up to it and we were right. It’s a great thrill and also a relief as I’d got a lot of people onto him who don’t often bet.
I was quietly happy after the race but also a little melancholy. I don’t take a lot of credit for the [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Major Eazy on Jun 19th, 2007 No Comments »
A good day ahead.
Winker ducks the first to go for the Norfolk. I’ve heard very strong reports on Henry the Navigator who is apparently the best of O’Briens by some way. He’s probably the best horse in the race, but he is favourite and O’Brien has seen a number of his leading lights beaten in [...]
Posted in Baldovina, Berts Horses, Etoile Argentee, Shawhill on Jun 16th, 2007 No Comments »
I went to see Tom Dascombe on Thursday, and welcome Shawhill back from France. The RP rated her run 99, and Timeform gave it 95. We’ll continue to aim her at listed races or better. Baldovina was well and she may run tomorrow. We’ve been trying to get a run into her for a while, [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Captain Hurricane, Kings Head, Major Eazy, Winker Watson on Jun 16th, 2007 3 Comments »
…and I’m beginning to get excited. Winker is extremely well and we’ve been arguing the toss with Pete all week as to which race he’ll go for. It’s looking like we’re going for the Norfolk on Thursday. Major Eazy will run in the Windsor Castle on Tuesday, and Frankie is taking the ride. He’s run [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Shawhill on Jun 12th, 2007 2 Comments »
I’ve had an enormous number of second places this year, and there haven’t been many that I have been genuinely happy about. Shawhill’s courageous second place in France, clobbered close to the line with a decent gap back to third, is one I will remember affectionately for a long time.
Taking a horse abroad is not easy. We took [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Captain Hurricane, Master of the Race, Mon Michel on Jun 11th, 2007 3 Comments »
Mon Michel ran second, ridden to sleep by a horse I suspect will turn out to be pretty decent. It was disappointing but not surprising - he’ll always be better value at long odds in a competitive handicap than as a short priced favourite in a little race.
Master of the Race ran another poor race - [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Master of the Race, Mon Michel on Jun 7th, 2007 No Comments »
Two runners today - Mon Michel in the first at Uttoxeter and Master of the Race in the last at Sandown.
I’ve just got off the phone to Gary. We’re running Mon Michel because he needs this to qualify for the Jewson in October, which is his early target. If the ground is too firm then [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Etoile Argentee, Horse Racing on Jun 4th, 2007 2 Comments »
Tom has had Etoile Argentee for a while now, and we have had a chance to check her out in full.
She is reasonable sized - around 15h3 but solid. She was skinny and appeared underfed on arrival, but nevertheless weighed in at 440kg - for comparison Baldovina weighed in at 410kg and Shawhill 418kg when [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Major Eazy on Jun 1st, 2007 No Comments »
Major Eazy looked good for a while but when the going got tough he fell away. I think he got there far too soon and could have done with more cover. Frankie was very positive after the race - he said he had a lot of speed, should go for the Windsor Castle [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Major Eazy on May 31st, 2007 No Comments »
Major Eazy goes for the National Stakes at Sandown tonight. We still have a fair bit to learn about the horse. On balance it feels as if the conditions of the race are a small negative - the draw looks moderate, we think he’ll go on the ground but it’s an imponderable we [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Mon Michel on May 27th, 2007 No Comments »
Mon Michel goes at Fontwell today having run up a string of three second places. He really should go in today - he’s a classy animal - although I wouldn’t want to take too short a price on him as he isn’t always the easiest ride.
AP takes the ride for the second time. [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Master of the Race on May 24th, 2007 No Comments »
Master of the Race has not been a resounding success over hurdles, so we’re taking him back to the flat hoping for a bit more luck - he runs in the 5.30 at Goodwood today.
He’s one of those horse who is good on the home gallops but hasn’t done it on the racecourse. When [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Kings Head on May 24th, 2007 No Comments »
A very poor show from King’s Head. Having spoken to Gary I was feeling pretty confident before the race, but he ran badly again and there could be no excuses this time. I’ve had a long chat with Gary - he says the KH is throwing away his chances by racing to keenly, [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Etoile Argentee, Horse Racing on May 24th, 2007 No Comments »
I claimed a horse from Saint Cloud yesterday - Etoile Argentee. She ran a close third in a 1 mile 3yo fillies claimer on heavy ground - the provisional rating from the Racing Post for the run was 73. She was in for E26k - I bid E31k and I was the only bid (hence [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Kings Head on May 23rd, 2007 No Comments »
King’s Head goes today at Huntingdon, and he could be a real value bet. The ground is key for him. Last time he ran the rains came and ruined his chances - he gets another chance today on ground that he will appreciate. The firmer the ground the better his chances - the first races [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Thunderbolt Jaxon on May 23rd, 2007 No Comments »
It was another very disappointing display from Thunderbolt Jaxon, and it highlights the folly of persevering with horses who don’t do it on the track. There’s no question that TJ has speed and some level of ability, but he’s not showing it and his runs if anything are getting worse.
Pete has another 2yo running [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Thunderbolt Jaxon on May 23rd, 2007 No Comments »
Mon Michel was pulled out on Sunday as we were unhappy about the ground. It was getting firmer by the hour and we didn’t want to risk him on it. He’ll probably come out on either Wednesday or Saturday.
Thunderbolt Jaxon goes tonight at Wolverhampton in what looks a pretty low grade race. He goes well [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Mon Michel on May 19th, 2007 1 Comment »
Adam Eterno ran a stinker, coming stone last. Kerrin McEvoy said he “ran green” - maybe so but for now I’m assuming that he’s pretty useless, which I can live with as I was assuming that anyway and the other two with Brian are looking decent. All things considered Captain Hurricane ran ok - a [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Captain Hurricane, Horse Racing on May 17th, 2007 1 Comment »
Authorized was stunning today and it’s going to take a very good one to lower his colours in the Derby. In the end I decided to back him, and the result was never in doubt - he could be a very special horse.
No runners today but a couple on Saturday - Adam Eterno and Captain [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Shawhill on May 15th, 2007 No Comments »
Shawhill showed again what a game filly she is without getting her head in front. The ground was totally different to anything she had encountered to date, but she dealt with it well. She blew a lot more than last time and she’s due a rest. I’ve had a chat with Tom - we’ll give [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Kings Head, Shawhill on May 11th, 2007 No Comments »
The end of a long week. King’s Head didn’t win, but after the rain I didn’t expect him to and I didn’t have a penny on him - for some reason he was heavily punted. Crimson Monarch didn’t stay. Ger Butler proved that he is very much in form, winning Highland Legacy’s race with a [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Kings Head on May 10th, 2007 No Comments »
King’s Head goes to Wincanton tonight to try to open his account over hurdles. We took him back to the flat last time, but there were technical reasons for doing that - if he had won a hurdle before May 1 (the beginning of the new jumps year) he would have lost his novice status, [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Prince Ary on May 9th, 2007 2 Comments »
Another winner for the string and my betting form is still very solid. Prince Ary won easily and posted the best time of the night - he finished tired but he appeared to stay the slightly longer distance. Hernando Royal was a well backed and easy winner.
The bet that got away was Potentiale in the [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Major Eazy, Prince Ary, Shawhill, Winker Watson on May 8th, 2007 4 Comments »
Winker Watson, recently top of the Racing Post 2yo ratings with 92 has slipped to fourth - Major Eazy is joint seventh on 88. Achilles of Troy tops the list with 100. Call me a pedant but I don’t like the name - Achilles was Greek and he fought against the Trojans, not with them.
Shawhill [...]
Posted in Berts Horses, Horse Racing, Major Eazy on May 2nd, 2007 1 Comment »
Major Eazy finished fourth after Jamie Spencer found trouble in running. We were pretty happy after the race - when the Major saw daylight he shot through, and if he had had a clear run earlier we think he would have won. He’ll probably go for the National stakes now.
Captain Hurricane runs on Friday - [...]
