The Neighsayers

Weekly Eye-Catchers 23 rd  29 th  – October 2023     24 th  October – 4:25 Wolverhampton    Reidh    Nice run on AW debut, travelled well in rear, settled better than he usually did, smooth headway into contention but he was ultimately in a bad track position for how the race was ran. Looked like a step up to 1m would suit or a stiffer 7f, will be plenty of races for him at Newcastle this winter.   26 th  October – 1:55 Lingfield    Sun God    Showed bits of ability amidst greenness on both starts. Travelled well here but was slightly tapped for tow, shaken up not fully knocked about putting in a nice final furlong sectional. Half-brother to Sumo Sam suggest the step up in trip will more than likely work the oracle. 1m2+ ill look to bet, may be on handicap debut.   26 th  October – 2:30 Lingfield    Gloves    Learning on the job she is, but has shown ability on all her runs. Races ke...

 With abandonments galore, it’s made a hard time of things in terms of spotting potential bets, however the jumps lads are relishing these conditions and Swanny and Elliot have found 3 bets for today’s racing. 1:15 Cheltenham  In the opener on Saturday I’m siding with the Gary Moore trained Haddex des obeaux, a rapid improver last season under front running tactics, made mince meat of a mark of 136 last time out and I can’t see a 10lb rise stopping him, think he could hold his own in the 2 mile graded races this season so 146 should be fine. There has been some cash already but the 5/2 generally available is still fair and he’s a bet for me. Haddex Des Obeaux 5/2 1:50 Cheltenham  Another fav in the masterton holdings (Shock) but Blueking D’oroux should just be too good for these in my opinion. Sent off 6/4 fav for the triumph trial on UK debut last season before being pulled up shows he was highly thought of , although he was the beaten fav again round Taunton over Xmas h...

Floodlit Friday Week 2    6:00 Dundalk – 6f Handicap    Kicking off this week’s Floodlit Friday with a nice competitive Dundalk handicap, and it would be rude to not tip up a duck egg horse in the form of  ADAMS BARBOUR.  Hes winless since February 2022 but he was a prolific winner months prior to that, mainly due to the aid of Toungstrap and Blinkers. Hes been on and off this year but is slowly creeping back down the weights to an attractive mark.   He normally comes on for a run and his run here the last day suggested that. Ran without blinkers and did look sluggish once the taps were turned on, Can easily write that off as he didn’t have his headgear on. I go back to his Navan run in June, where he really suggested a win was just around the corner. Tanked out the back, given loads to do and ran on very well in to a close enough 13/19 beaten 5l. with a better track position and intention on winning he could have easily picked that race up, what speak...

Now the flat is pretty much done with, what better way to get into the National Hunt feels than by looking at the be all and end all, Cheltenham. With Lew and Quinny taking a back step for winter, this series will feature weekly selections from Elliot, Swanny and Blackie in the weeks and months leading up to the Cheltenham Festival. This series will see lads give one antepost selection, every Tuesday for a bit of competition amongst us and we hope to take you along with us. All selection's will be 1pt win unless stated. Let's get into week 1... Elliot  -  (@ elliotwhite5) RYANAIR CHASE My first selection of the season is EDWARDSTONE for the Ryanair. Looked to be the best 2 mile chaser in Britain last year going into the Champion Chase where he ran no race whatsoever. Alan King has since said that nothing came to light but has come back in great order from his summer break. In the same interview he also mentioned stepping him up in trip which should be no issue given he stayed ...

Weekly Eye-Catcher’s 16 th  – October 2023   16 th  October - 2:45 Windsor   Ghaidhaban    Nice debut, educated on what was very soft ground. Showed a nice cruising speed and responded well to hand riding. Looked to have much more left in the tank when crossing the line and should be back next time out in Maidens/Novices. Good level of ability.   Brunel Nation    Ran well in the circumstances, raced alone on the standside rail what was completely dead, no horse went near the rail after this race. Travelled well for a long way but couldn’t have gone with the horses on the better ground. Will get a mark now, wouldn’t mind him being gelded in the interim or a switch to the AW. I think he could improve massively once he learns to race. I’d be following as a 3yo also.    18 th  October – 3:20 Navan    Mehman   Nice run back after small break, held up in rear, switched across track, moved into the race nicely but was n...

The official end to the British flat season is unfortunately  upon us but we couldn't see the season out without previewing 6 fascinating races. Let's get into it... 13.15 - British Champions Long Distance Cup (Group 2) After a somewhat competitive stayers season, where we haven not seen a standout performer all year, we see a couple of the big names line up in the finale.  Kyprios, for all his monster season in 2022, has had a year to forget after an injury setback, seen re-appearing at the curragh where he ran an encouraging return, 2nd to Eldar Eldarov in the Irish Leger. He’s currently at the top of the market with 6/5 generally available. I think this looks a tad skinny in my opinion, especially with how testing the condition look to be this weekend. I’m looking elsewhere.  We then see the mad horse, and another fan favourite, Trueshan installed at a general 7/4 in the market. This has been some revival, from seemingly looking disinterested at Nottingham and ascot, t...

The Neighsayers - Floodlit Fridays Week 1   Evening all, starting a new weekly AW blog for Friday night racing, hopefully finding a few winners in the process. The support from you all so far has been amazing, and it gives us the motivation to keep providing informative blogs for you guys. Hopefully this new blog can become a success over the winter and find you all plenty of winners.   7:45 Dundalk – 7f Fillies Handicap    11 go to post here in what looks an open filly’s handicap on paper. Previous Eye-Catcher from her last run at Dundalk APRICOT TWIST will be the bet in here for me. She showed loads of promise at 2yo but never really hit the hights she was destined for, but has subsequently dropped to a very attractive mark, what I feel will be more than exploitable.    She was ridden cold from a very wide draw the last time she ran on the AW, and she picked up very well around 3f out, making a sweeping move into contention and stayed on very well under h...

With Lew and Quinny having more of an affinity with flat racing, they've decided to produce a list of horses who they fell can progress over the winter and maybe overlooked due to their turf form. We hope you enjoyed reading the other lads jumpers to follow and hopefully can resume the success of the flat horses to follow from back in March. Get your trackers ready and let's get into it... Aljezur (Galileo Gold x Lady Mega) Trainer -  Luke Dace High enough rated really for what we typically like to include in these sort of things, but I still think off a mark of 82 there’s plenty to work with. Particularly on the all-weather. He’s a half to Khabib who ran to an RPR of 92 on the AW, winning 4 times and placing a further 5 times from 15 starts. A 60% SR of being in the front 3 shows the ability he possesses on the artificials gives us plenty of hope that ALJEZUR can be a very good horse. Plenty of solid form in the book to back this one up too. 2nd to Baheer on debut ...

The Neighsayers Weekly Eye-Catcher’s 9 th  – 15 th  October 2023   11 th  October – 1:50 Punchestown    Schiehallion    Rare NH Eye-Catcher for you. Nice not off here, jumping was okay but had room for improvement, travelled well enough and when ‘making effort’, jockey didn’t have much of a connection with the horse, struggled to keep him straight whilst driving forward. Manoeuvred behind horses coming to the last suggesting he didn’t want him going too close. Could only suggest a bet in maidens if a proper jockey is on at a lesser track. If not, wait for handicaps.   11 th  October – 2:02 Nottingham    Finn Ironside    Didn’t escape the eyes of the stewards, was called in after a kid glove ride. Travelling in rear, going well enough but never knocked about. Did look slightly unbalanced on the track but showed more than enough to suggest he has a moderate level of ability. May be asked to have another run for a mark. ...

It’s been a while since the last blog, longer than we’d like anyway, but we’re back here with 4 selections to hopefully brighten up your Monday and not add to the gloom. 3:00 Pontefract - 1M Handicap A modest handicap I think here but one with an abundance of pace to set the race up for one that’ll be coming late which I believe we have. CREATE for the Scott Dixon yard couldn’t have been unluckier but also couldn’t have been any more impressive at the same time. The horse was unfortunately pushed very wide on the Southwell turn due to an Ill-fated runner in the race conceding plenty of ground to the winner there who was floundering close home. He finished comfortably in front of the 3rd and I think she’s a real good horse for Dixon. I don’t see much in here with a bit of mileage in their handicap marks bar Tobesto who this race set up could suit also. Indiana Be, In These Shoes, Mount King and My Honey B are all prominent racers and if there’s a place you don’t want to get into a pac...

Weekly Eye-Catcher’s 2 nd  – 8 th  October 2023   3 rd  October – 2:12 Ayr   Firebird   An Eye-Catcher what will already be in everybody’s trackers. Really nice debut here, showed loads of ability under educational ride, doing best work late under hands and heels. Was the best horse in the race in my opinion, Should come on loads for that run and will be very hard to beat NTO in maidens.   3 rd  October – 3:22 Ayr   Abduction    Stones of the week goes to Shane Gray. Terrible excuse of a ride, travelled strongly in rear, sat for far too long in behind horses, switched across the track, nearest finish without picking his whip up. Was the best horse on the day here but didn’t even hit the frame. Was looking at Musselburgh over 7f for him but it seems they have scrapped the race I was looking for. Nice races in the program for him at Haydock and Doncaster in back-end October-Early November. Does hold entry for Ayr next week.   3 r...

 With the flat season coming to a close and the championship races slowly coming towards us, Swanny has done an Antepost preview of 4 races where he thinks he can find the winner and hold some juice in their prices, including one as soon as this weekend. Let’s get into it… Newmarket 07th October  Sun Chariot Stakes (Group 1)  A really disappointing turn out for a Group 1 at HQ, and not a lot of Group 1 talent on show. People will probably find it hard to trust Inspiral, having had a pretty inconsistent campaign yet again, but I can’t ignore the Evens being on offer here in a bleak looking field. With Frankie in the saddle and the horse being expected to line up, this should be a pretty straight forward race for Inspiral, who I expect to be shorter once the decs have been confirmed.  Selection - Inspiral (Evs - General) Santa Anita 4th November Breeders Cup Dirt Mile Over the Pond to America we head and I can’t ignore the price on offer for last years BC Dirt Mile win...

Weekly Eye-Catchers 25 th  September – 1 st  October 2023   25 th  September – 3:00 Down Royal    Dream Ticket    Liked this pre off after promising debut, missed it slightly and dropped in, travelling nicely out the back and try’s to go inside behind a wall of horses, was never going to get a run, finished on the bridle not knocked about. Could have easily won that race with a better trip. I’ll be following up next time and into handicaps if she’s not off in 3 rd  run.   28 th  September – 4:30 Pontefract    Free Nation    Looked like the gelding operation has done its job, settled much better here, travelling well on inside, made challenge on far side rail what was dead ground all day, ran on but rolled about when tackling the undulations, ran on well enough. Never looked at home on the track and would prefer better ground. Hood might have settled him too well, wouldn’t mind it being left off and letting him ru...