Tag: "West Coast"

Road to the Kentucky Derby: Final prep race for Pletcher’s main hope

Derby trials are taking place across the US this weekend. Simon Bray looks for likely winners “Eskendereya is undefeated on a conventional dirt surface and will be installed as the Derby favourite if he reproduces his most recent effort this Saturday. Despite his short price, he is a worthy choice so let’s play an exacta with Eskendereya (no.3) over Awesome Act (no.2) and Schoolyard Dreams (no.4).” After three straight weeks of Derby preps little light has been shed on the big picture. The Tampa Bay Derby was a blanket finish with the winner (Odeysseus) looking hopelessly beaten three furlongs from home. A 20-1 outsider (Ice Box) won the Florida Derby a nose ahead of a 25-1 shot (both had previously been beaten huge margins by Eskendereya). The undefeated Conveyance was upset in the Sunland Derby by a horse (Endorsement) coming off only a maiden win. Finally, Todd Pletcher’s fifth string Derby hope (Mission Impazible) beat a weak field in the Louisiana Derby . But this weekend’s preps should , considering who is running, make the Derby picture much clearer come Sunday morning.

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Apr 01, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Road to the Kentucky Derby: Time to separate the contenders and the pretenders

The Sham Stakes and Gotham Stakes are the graded races to watch this weekend as Stateside trainers look to get their Derby runners on track for the big one, says TVG’s Simon Bray “The Gotham was a key prep for the great Secretariat on his road to the Kentucky Derby. Last year’s edition was won by I Want Revenge who went on to be the morning line favourite for The Derby but unfortunately had to withdraw the day of the race due to injury. This year’s race is headlined by Awesome Act, who should really take to the dirt.” As we head into March, The Road to the Derby begins to separate the three-year-old crop into contenders and pretenders . The all important graded stakes earnings are there for the taking nearly every weekend from now until the week before The Derby. Graded stakes earnings are what determine which 20 3yos will line up in the gate on May 1. The prep races this weekend are centered on the East Coast (Florida and New York) and the West Coast (California). The advent of synthetic surfaces within the US the last few years has forced bettors to re-evaluate some of the traditional prep races and their merit

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Mar 05, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Winter Olympics Diary Day Two: Hosts struggle to keep pace with US

Our man in the Olympic Village explains why Whistler is suffering at the hands of the Pineapple Express, tips a Canadian to win gold for Australia and reports on the hosts’ struggle to keep up with their rivals’ impressive start. “The host nation, currently sixth on the medal tally with one silver medal, has work to do if they are to keep up with their biggest rivals, the US.” It’s a strange feeling now that it’s all here

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Feb 14, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

NBA Betting Preview: Happy Birthday LeBron!

If you follow Nick Shiambouros’ tips for this weekend’s NBA action you could, like Shaq, find yourself in a position to shower your colleagues with half a million dollar birthday presents. Then again, you might not want to… “Shaquille O‘Neal bought LeBron James a brand new Rolls Royce Phantom for his birthday

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Jan 08, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Graham Cunningham’s Racing Blog: Early thoughts about the Breeders Cup

Before jetting off to California to enjoy a well earned break, Graham Cunningham shares some stories and thoughts with betting.betfair.com “Organisers are surely praying that the mighty West Coast filly Zenyatta will take on Rip Van Winkle in the Classic” Don’t get me started on starters…… An interesting little episode at Carlisle on Thursday while on RUK duty. In short, the BHA starter Jason Callaghan and his assistant – both decked out in matching tweed coats and caps – tackled me about comments I made about the ragged start to the 3.15

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Oct 24, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post

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