UK Horse Racing Tips

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A number of big races may have come and gone this summer but there is still much to look forward to on the tracks around the UK.

At the end of the month all eyes will be on Ascot once again for the two-day King George meeting, with the feature race being the Group One King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

It is one of Europe’s top all-aged middle-distance races and Highland Reel will be back to defend his title.

The five-year-old is the current 6/4 favourite in many places and punters looking for a flutter on the contest should check out the racing at Bethut for all the best prices, markets and sites available.

Aidan O’Brien’s charge beat Wings of Desire to land the prestigious race 12 months ago and is eyeing a hat-trick having taken Epsom’s Coronation Cup and the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.

While it is too early to say who he will be facing, challenges are likely to come from Enable (6/1), Ulysses (5/1) and Cliffs of Moher (12/1).

The five-day Goodwood Festival follows in early August and the opening day will see a fascinating renewal of hostilities between Big Orange and Order of St George.

The former, trained by Michael Bell touched off O’Brien’s short-priced favourite to land the Ascot Gold Cup on June 22 and will be hoping to make it three in a row after winning at Sandown back in May.

Big Orange is 5/4 with many bookmakers to take the Group One contest, with Order of St George generally a 7/4 chance.

The Sussex Stakes takes place on Wednesday, August 3 and should see a couple of Royal Ascot winners square off.

Ribchester took the Queen Anne Stakes under William Buick while James Doyle piloted Barney Roy to glory in the St James’s Palace Stakes.

Ulysses subsequently lowered Barney Roy’s colours in the Coral-Eclipse but the three-year-old is 9/2 to return to winning ways, while Ribchester is on offer at 4/5.

Churchill (5/2) could only finish fourth in the St James’s Palace Stakes but the O’Brien – Ryan Moore partnership will hope for better things in West Sussex.

The Nassau Stakes is another Group One race and Coronation Stakes winner Winter will be hoping to keep up her superb record.

The daughter of Galileo has won three successive Group One races and is 7/4 to triumph on her first run at the venue.

Queens Trust and Nezwaah oppose but Winter looks the class animal in the field.

Towards the end of August, York’s four-day Ebor Meeting takes centre stage with the Juddmonte International Stakes on Monday, August 21 the feature race.

Almanzor, winner of the 2016 Irish Champion Stakes and Ascot’s equivalent is the early 11/4 favourite for Knavesmire glory despite not being seen since October.

On what looks set to be a fascinating contest, the big players may well all line up as Barney Roy (7/2), Ulysses (4/1), Highland Reel (5/1) and Churchill (9/1) have all be slated for a run out in Yorkshire.

Source: BBC Sport via Twitter

The Chester Cup presented an opportunity for Alluringly to enhance her reputation at the Cheshire Oaks. Trainer Aidan O’Brien was searching for his third win on the bounce at the meet, with Diamondsandrubies and Somehow triumphing in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

The Bay Filly had form on her side ahead of the race, having recorded her maiden victory at the Fillies Maiden in her last outing at the Tipperary Races.

As a result of Alluringly’s win in Ireland – she was expected to rise to the occasion and maintain O’Brien’s winning streak at the Cheshire Oaks by adapting to English conditions.

The American horse was considered a leading contender for the meet, being backed as one of Oddschecker’s tips of the day to string back-to-back victories together. However, despite a decent outing, she was narrowly beaten to the post by Enable, ending O’Brien’s winning streak at the meet.

The Irishman has a task on his hand to get Alluringly back to winning form for the rest of the season, with Epsom Downs on the horizon and the Investec Oaks showdown. O’Brien has done a solid job over the last year to get the Bay Filly into contention after a tough start to her career, which began last October.

Alluringly made her bow in a crowded field in Curragh at the Fillies Maiden and although she had talent, the American horse was not considered one of the leading contenders to taste victory. That showed in her performance as she struggled to match the pace of the leaders, although a decent finish towards the end of the meet yielded a seventh-place finish out of 25 competitors.

Source: AtTheRaces via Twitter

With only six days of rest, O’Brien threw the Bay Filly back into action to get further action under her belt ahead of an important 2017 season.

Alluringly did have an outside chance of victory with decent odds to claim her first win, but a slow start to the meet in Naas proved costly, and she finished slightly off the pace of the leading pack to come in fifth as Wayside Flower triumphed.

Following a six-month break, the American horse returned to action at Tipperary at the Fillies Maiden. The three-year-old was considered among the top two horses in the field alongside Dabulena, but on this occasion, she rose to the occasion with an excellent display to beat her nearest rival by four-and-a-half lengths with a strong finish down the final furlong.

As a result of Alluringly’s comfortable win in Tipperary, she was considered the favourite for the first time in her career at Chester. However, the three-year-old did not have the pace to match Enable – as Frankie Dettori and John Gosden snatched the victory from O’Brien and Ryan Moore.

There are important races ahead of the American horse this term, with the Epsom Downs and Ascot on the horizon. O’Brien has moulded the Bay Filly into a strong competitor and it would be no surprise to see Alluringly bounce back from the first disappointment of her career to claim victories at the prestigious meets later in the term.

Racing Pro, a friend and contributor to the horseracingtips.org.uk site has been setting the world alight on Tipstrr of late, winning tipster of the month recently! As a special offer and in celebration of the Tipster of the Month achievement, he’s offering new members the opportunity to subscribe for three months at a reduced rate. Check here for the offer:  https://tipstrr.com/tipster/racingpro/promotion/dectotm (promotion over).  Let’s hope this month is a repeat of late! Good luck all!

While the weather is wet and icy cold in the UK, riders are enjoying warmer climates at the Jodhpur International British Polo Day event.

The event which began in 2009 has been hosted in over 50 countries including Abu Dhabi, Australia, China, Dubai, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Mexico, Morocco, Russia, Singapore, Sumba Island (Indonesia), Thailand and the US to name a few. One thing they all have in common is their growing industry and business connections. The aim of a British Polo Day is to continue the tradition of playing high quality polo against friends in host countries, while also acting as a platform for businesses in emerging and growth markets.

Hosts, British Polo Day, www.britishpoloday.com/ have teamed up with some well-known brands and companies to bring you the event including Harrods, Land Rover and Bentley.

The Indian event includes a cavalry vs guard’s elephant polo match as well as a gala dinner for networking. The event spans over the weekend of the 9^th to 11^th December 2016 and attended by an expected 20,000 plus guests.

So why polo? The sport was originally played in Persia and China. In the 19^th century Britain revived the sport and Sir Winston Churchill was a big fan of the game. Polo is not taught in some of the country’s leading schools including Eton and Harrow not forgetting the British Army.

Mixing business and sport is nothing new, the difference here is the calibre of guests to such an event. Previous British Polo days have seen over 12 members of the Royal family, 100 billionaire and leaders including Sir Richard Branson of Virgin amongst other global names. The guest list make it the ‘it’ place to attend this winter. Tatler, Harper’s Bazaar, and Vogue all cover the event in their listings.

Why India? Because they defeated us at Polo many decades ago. The Jodhpur Polo and Equestrian Institute hosts the event this year. It was established in 1889 when Sir Pratap, younger brother of the Maharaja and Prime Minister of Jodhpur State took an interest in the sport and requested training from a Bengal Lancer. It resulted in the formation of a team which travelled to Britain and defeated our polo team’s twice over. Around the same period horse racing took off in India and is to this day just as popular a sport as in the UK. Only in 1993 did the centre re-open and establish itself once again under the Highness the Maharaja Gaj Singh II.

During the event there will be some healthy competition between two of the world’s best known educational institutes, Mayo and Eton. Mayo College is the Indian equivalent of Eton and the two go head to head over the weekend. The games are full of old traditions in both cultures.

Polo teams are made up of four riders who play on a 270 by 150m grass field with a plastic ball and mallets. A game lasts for approximately two hours and is divided into periods called chukkas. The Indian game is likely to see up to seven players per side and no goal posts. Instead a team wins by putting the ball out of the far end of the field.

Previously polo was Olympic sport and as such has a federation. It is played in a number of countries professionally but it still has the class stigma that sets it aside from other sports.