The Neighsayers

Racing League Week 4 The racing league is back and so are we. Normally the selections all come from Lewis but this week the help of Quinny has been resourced and we're both putting up some selections for Gosforth Park this week. Although the selections might not show it, we're still hoping that London and The South can make a miraculous comeback but without further ado, let's get into it... Race 1 – 1m 4f Handicap – 3yo+ Much like one later in the blog, we’re returning to the scene of the crime, with the Michael Bell trained TRUE COURAGE. He won the race here C&D last year off a 1lb higher mark and this year’s renewal is in a lower grade. He seems to have been brought to hand this year with this race in mind, his first start of the season was promising enough when staying on late against some well handicapped rivals, just a complete float up. He then had what looked like another quiet run at Yarmouth, considering he’d never ran well on soft ground he must’ve just been t...

Weekly Eye-Catchers 21 st  – 27 th  August 2023   21 st  August – 7:50 Lingfield   Lucy Lightfoot    Was starting to lose faith with this one but she showed enough today to suggest she will be winning or going close soon. Showed loads of speed, sometimes over racing but not ruining her chances. Made nice enough headway in the middle of the track, what was much more notable when the far side rail was riding much quicker on the card. Ran on well enough for 5 th . Will be big prices in low grade 5f races, may need a bend to race around to help her settle. Entered at Chelmsford 31 st  August, will back if getting low draw.   24 th  August – 1:50 York    Makanah    Ran very well from tough draw, travelled with usual zest, made challenge on standside but ended up across the other side of the track in the finish, giving up plenty of ground in the process. Hopefully he doesn’t go up in the weights as that run would put him ch...

Antepost Angle   Another Antepost bet here from myself. I think I’ve found a great EW angle into one of the seasons marquee races. Let’s just hope it’s better than the last blog I did… @Swan1_Oliver   I was massively impressed with Onesto on comeback run in the Group 1 Jacques le Marios, staying on gamely over the inadequate trip of 1m into 4th, following a 9-month layoff. Both the trainer and jockey mentioned post-race how the horse “would have gone very close had he ran previously this year”. This horse is bred for the middle distances, and I expect the horse to come on massively from that run, back up to a suitable trip.    This is where I land on him in the Irish Champion Stakes. Last year’s 2nd, he was just denied by the Aiden O’Brien trained Luxembourg, in one of last year’s races of the season. I expect this race to be the plan again and I can see him being bang ready to go one better this season and win.    Looking at the market, I feel like t...

Weekly Eye-Catchers 14 th  – 20 th  August 2023   14 th  August – 2:25 Wolverhampton    Louaizah    Ran well on handicap debut here against a fair enough pace bias. 1 st  2 nd  and 4 th  all were prominent or led, whereas Fergusons handicap debutant was held up in rear, made loads of good ground past horses and ran on for a well beaten 3 rd  in the end. Great run and should be competitive in low grade races over 9-12f.   14 th  August – 3:55 Kempton   Billiegee    Nice debut here, even more so for a yard who don’t normally have them wound up first time up. In rear, loads to do from miles back, made rapid headway into the straight and was just denied a win by a better placed horse. Shown loads of ability and should be going in next time.   15 th  August – 2:10 Dundalk    Apricot Twist    Slight bounce back to form here after being disappointing since her 2yo days. Well backe...

With just a week in between fixtures this week, there was no time to lick our wounds on our London and The South bet, with South Wales pulling further away. This week the racing league goes to Windsor, which is the home track for London and The South, so let's hope Chapman has them lined up for us. Now, let's get into the racing. Race 1 - 6F Nursery 2YO Only The return to Windsor, see's the return of Sean Levey to the racing league, which is where we'll begin this week. PINK SATIN made a successful debut over C&D, although stalls weren't in use due to thunder and lightning I'm not sure how literally I can take that form because of that, however, plenty of promise came from the 2nd start when attempting to give 6lb to now listed winner, Shuwari. He was just a bit one paced over that trip, having travelled well for a long way. Now going back down in trip I think he will be primed to run a big race. Plenty of pace in the race to suit the run style too and furth...

7 th  August – 5:05 Ripon  Vallamorey    Ran slightly disappointing here but had excuses. Trip looked on the sharp side in my opinion, never really handled the track either was always niggled along, push came to shove, and jockey hasn’t really asked for maximum effort. Looked after for another day. Would like to see him back up in trip to 12f on soft ground, away from very undulating tracks.   8 th  August – 3:25 Catterick    Andromedas Kingdom    Ran outstanding race in the circumstances. Missed break very badly, swerving right leaving all chances of winning at the start, was pushed along very early to get into the race but still had a mountain to climb in order to win. Made good ground into the straight but got no run on the rail, hands, and heels into 4 th . Her antics in the stalls is ruining her chances and I will recommend playing her in running if she breaks on terms. Handicapped to win in low grades.   8 th  August – 8:...

The racing league arrives at Chepstow this week after commencing at Yarmouth a fortnight ago. Wales and the West are top of the leaderboard and they'll be wanting to improve on that at their home course. Our selection for the series, London and The South are 3rd but have a full allocation of runners this week. 5:30 1M Handicap 3YO+ Unfortunately for our leading team bet, I think the Wales and The West trained YANTARNI can go close to landing the spoils at a relatively decent price. Ian Williams is no stranger to plotting one and I think he's done a very good job of getting this horse handicapped. Showed a decent return to form in week 1 of the racing league over a trip that's too short, so the step up to a mile should suit, having previously won over the mile and placed over 9 furlongs. He likes to be forward enough but doesn't have to lead, so I think with Titian and United Front likely to force the pace, he'll sit behind them and be played late. The apprentice in ...

Weekly Eye-Catchers 31 st  July – 6 th  August 2023    31 st  July – 6:22 Lingfield   Roman Tempest    Held up keen in rear, held together for far too long, sat on the bridle at the 2f pole and I think John Egan may have forgotten how to ride a finish, poorly stopped. Very ill-judged ride and wasn’t missed by the stewards. Keep an eye on the market.   31 st  July – 6:57 Lingfield    Decisive Call    3 rd  run for a mark, held up in rear never really going on the ground, ran on very a very distant 6 th , look to follow into handicaps, maybe on better ground. has shown enough on the bridle to suggest he has enough ability to progress.   1 st  August – 5:20 Yarmouth    Available Angel    Nice bounce back to form here, travelled very well for a long way only to be edged out by a nicely handicaped type for the level. Won’t get any more than 2lb for that run putting him still in the 0-50 b...