Horseracing: Will Snowfall Land The Curragh’s Group 1 Oaks?
Aidan O’Brien has won the Juddmonte Irish Oaks five times in the past. His first success was in 2006, his most recent was in 2016 with Seventh Heaven. On Saturday the trainer, regularly referred to as the ‘Ballydoyle Maestro’, will launch a four-pronged attack on the race. Amongst his armory is Snowfall who landed the English Oaks by a remarkable 16-lengths in June.
Racing at Newmarket’s July course. Just one of seven race meetings taking place in the UK on Saturday. ©TheJockeyClub
Lightening Quick with No Rain for Snowfall
While purists will want to see Snowfall complete the UK/Irish Oaks double, at a predicted starting price of 1/4 she will not attract many bets. In fact, given her romp in the English Oaks came on a soft surface, some may choose to oppose her.
Saturday’s going at The Curragh will probably be lightning quick. There has been no rain on the course in over a week and the forecasters are predicting Saturday to be the hottest day of the year in Ireland. Will this be to Snowfall’s liking?
Chipotle Could Prove Super in Newbury’s Sprint
In addition to the big Irish meeting, there are seven meetings in the UK on Saturday. These will ensure punters have plenty of betting opportunities during the day.
The largest field of the afternoon comes from Newbury where 22 horses are set to contest the Weatherby’s Super Sprint Stakes. This race dates back to 1991 and it was devised to cater for horses sold as yearlings by public auction for less than a specified price. In 2021 that price was £63,000 (c€73,500).
Essentially a horse’s purchase price acts as its handicap mark and that means Chipotle looks to have an outstanding chance on form. Last time out he landed the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot.
On his debut, Chipotle also won the Brocklesby Stakes at Doncaster. Unibet sponsor that particular contest and they make this two-year-old their 7/4 favorite to go in again on Saturday. Interestingly second best in the a href=”/uk/unibet/”>Unibet betting list is Vintage Clarets. The 9/4 shot finished well behind Chipotle in the Brockelsby but has won twice since.
The Crisfords’ Strong Newmarket Hand
At Newmarket, the father-and-son training duo of Simon and Ed Crisford has three outstanding chances. Simon Crisford was Sheikh Mohammed’s racing manager for several years before he set up as a trainer having his first season of runners in 2015.
With state-of-the-art stables in Newmarket, the Crisford’s have been very successful. They regularly finish the flat season with a 20 per cent winning strike rate. Their Saturday runners at the nearby racecourse are Finest Sound (2.55pm), Makashi (4.40pm) and Corvair (5.15pm). They could easily return a profit on a patent bet which consists of seven bets: three singles, three doubles and a treble.
Summer jumps racing is rapidly approaching its 20th birthday – in other words it is here to stay! The wonderfully quaint Cartmel Racecourse is amongst the tracks on the summer jumps racing roster and the Cumbrian course also stage a meeting on Saturday.
Doubtlessly track officials will have their grass surface well-watered for the seven race-card which is sponsored in its entirety by William Hill bookmakers.
Once again, there is a local trainer who looks to have an outstanding chance of entering the winner’s enclosure. Based a stone’s throw from the track, James Moffatt has four runners during the afternoon. Of those Alquamar (2.30pm) and Native Fighter (3.05pm) make the most appeal.
