The Winning Strides

  The Galway Festival & Glorious Goodwood - Fancies for the week Glorious Goodwood There is some great racing ahead this week with both Jumps & The Flat taking centre stage🏇but will the rain throw up some big-priced winners? ☔ Monday 31st July  Galway 5.10pm: Novice Hurdle  Top trainer Willie Mullins has won this race five times in the last ten renewals. His contender MYSTICAL POWER, sired by GALILEO and out of Champion Hurdle winner ANNIE POWER, has a strong pedigree.  With a 7Ibs weight advantage over most of the field and the pedigree suggesting he will be able to handle softer ground, he looks promising at even money. The stable will be hopeful for bigger targets in the future. MYSTICAL POWER to win at 1/1. Galway 6.10pm: Maiden I fancied MYTHOLOGY in a maiden a couple of weeks ago, and he showed improvement over 7f and softer ground, finishing behind potential star HENRY LONGFELLOW. This field lacks that level of potential, and with the possibility of s...

Weekend Reflections - The King George VI HUKUM takes the G1 King George The King George VI : Hukum's Heroics make him the Hero of the day.  Auguste Rodin & Emily Upjohn were sent off in the top 2 in the market and both failed to impress.  I must admit, I was left disappointed with the big race on Saturday. My top picks, AUGUSTE RODIN and EMILY UPJOHN, failed to perform despite being favoured. AUGUSTE RODIN was backed into favouritism but ended up tailed off, leaving some unanswered questions.  POINT LONSDALE'S role as a pacemaker for AUGUSTE RODIN didn't pan out, and I believe he might drop in grade and distance in his next race. EMILY UPJOHN, though fancied by many, ran flat. She had previously beaten WESTOVER, who finished as the runner-up, but the quick step up to 1m4f after a tough race against PADDINGTON may have been too much for her. What a race! Hukum is the King George hero at @Ascot ! pic.twitter.com/5lghUpPmOm — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) July 29...

  King George & Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes - Statistical Selection Pyledriver wins the 2022 King George at Ascot The King George at Ascot over 1m4f 🏇. Saturday's main race on the card at Ascot is the 3:40pm Group 1 King George VI over 1m4f. It looks like a renewal for the ages & you could make a case for every horse in here. Close your eyes and throw a dart at who you want to win!  Given the fact it looks like a very hard race to predict, I thought I would take a different approach this week, a statistical one.  Looking at the key stats from the last 20 renewals: 80% of the winners have been 3YO's (25%) and 4YO's (55%).  75% of winners have had odds of less than 6/1, with PYLEDRIVER being the biggest odds winner at 18/1 last year.  Colts have dominated with 75% of the wins, while Fillies, despite wonder mare ENABLE's 3 impressive victories, have a lower success rate. In terms of trainers and jockeys, Sir Michael Stoute (3), Aidan O'Brien(3), and John ...

    Weekend Reflections - The Irish Oaks Savethelastdance wins the Irish Oaks The Irish Oaks: Savethelastdance wins when all hope looked lost💃. Alas... I finally got the big race right this weekend.  It saw SAVETHELASTDANCE make it a Chester & Irish Oaks double as she got her preferred ground.   The rain played right into SAVETHELASTDANCE's hands, and she didn't disappoint, clinching the Irish Oaks after initially looking down & out. She defied odds of 999/1 on the BetFair Exchange, but Moore's late charge energised her to seal the deal. 💃 Savethelastdance swoops for G1 @JuddmonteFarms Irish Oaks glory A record seventh win in the Classic for Aidan O'Brien as the 10/11 favourite gets up in the shadows of the post under Ryan Moore for team @Ballydoyle @curraghrace pic.twitter.com/nvw4wVVdYi — Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 22, 2023 As suggested in my preview BLUESTOCKING made a stunning comeback, convincingly reversing form with WARM HEART this...

  Irish Oaks Weekend - Race Overview & Tips Savethelastdance wins by 22L at Chester The Irish Oaks Cup: Savethelastdance💃 vs Warm Heart 💖 Saturday's main race on the card at Curragh is the 3:45pm Group 1 Irish Oaks over 1m4f. The market is dominated by Aidan O'Brien horses and doesn't appeal too much as a betting proposition but I will break it down anyway.  Read on for some extra bets this week too! The 8 stand their ground & unsurprisingly it is the Chester Oaks winner & English Oaks runner-up SAVETHELASTDANCE topping the market Could Savethelastdance get back to winning ways in the Irish Oaks this weekend? 🏇 She is currently priced as the market leader with stablemate Warm Heart 👀 Hit ❤️ if you think Savethelastdance wins the Irish Oaks next weekend! pic.twitter.com/j9QJKDWDjk — GG (@ggcouk) July 16, 2023 . SAVETHELASTDANCE looks like a strong contender. O'Brien has four horses running, but Ryan Moore's choosing her, so she's probably their t...

     Weekend Reflections - The July Cup  Shaquille Powers Home to Victory The July Cup: Shaquille gets a 2 pointer to slam dunk his 2nd G1🏀. I'll admit it... I got it wrong again in the big race of the weekend. It saw Shaquille make it 2 Group 1's from as many runs & leave me with egg on my face.  In the July Cup, Shaquille scored his second Group 1 victory, leaving my selection, Little Big Bear, to finish last. Lightning struck twice as Shaquille stormed from the back, overcoming a slow start after rearing in the stalls again. He showed his class  with smart Group 1 winner Kinross in 3rd, despite ground conditions probably suiting him the most. Unfortunately, Little Big Bear failed to make an impact, finishing 8th out of 8 "HE CAN DO IT ANY WAY YOU LIKE!!!" 😲 Shaquille charges to the Pertemps Network July Cup Stakes 🏆 SHAQ ATTACK! ⛹️‍♂️ #ITVRacing | #JulyFestival | @JCamachoRacing | @Rossaryan15 pic.twitter.com/BpW1aoZIbm — ITV Racing (@itvracin...

  The July Cup Weekend - Race Overview & Tips Shaquille ahead of Little Big Bear at Royal Ascot The July Cup: Shaquille🏀 vs Little Big Bear 🐻 II Saturday's main race on the card at Newmarket is the 4:35pm Group 1 July Cup over 6f. It sees the rematch between last year's Ballydoyle Champion 2YO vs  live wire Shaquille, his victor at Royal Ascot.  The 9 runners come to post & unsurprisingly it is the Commonwealth Cup Winner topping the market, T he Julie Camacho trained Shaquille. 👑 A fairy-tale win in the Commonwealth Cup!! Shaquille gives Julie Camacho her 1⃣st Royal Ascot winner and @oismurphy his 1st winner of the week. Little Big Bear ran well in second for Ballydoyle!! #RoyalAscot pic.twitter.com/0Ql0a72eQ4 — Stephen R Power (@racingblogger) June 23, 2023    Despite rearing up in the stalls at Ascot, Shaquille still managed to secure a victory. He has outstanding claims with a 3lb weight for age advantage over most of the field.  However, ...

    Weekend Reflections - The Coral Eclipse       Paddington Pips Emily Upjohn Past the Post The Coral Eclipse: Paddington Proves He's top class🐻  In what turned out to be a weekend of hard luck for the blog, Paddington was out to prove me wrong & for the 3rd year in a row, the 3-year-olds reigned supreme in the Eclipse.  Speaking of the Eclipse, the race panned out very similarly to how I expected it to. West Wind Blows went forward but both Emily Upjohn & Paddington had too much speed for him. Unfortunately, Emily Upjohn lost a couple of lengths with a slow start and couldn't claw back enough ground to get in front of Paddington with his 7Ibs in hand. Nonetheless, it was a very impressive performance from both horses, but Paddington seriously has to be considered as the best 3-year-old in Europe now... someone get him a marmalade sandwich 🥪. Paddington and Emily Upjohn served us up an exhilarating battle in the Coral-Eclipse ...

  The Coral Eclipse Weekend - Race Overview & Tips Emily Upjohn  The Coral Eclipse: Paddington 🐻 vs Emily Upjohn 👧 Saturday's main race on the card at Sandown is the 3:40pm Group 1 Coral Eclipse over 1m 2f. It sees Ballydoyle's 2,000 Irish Guineas winner & Royal Ascot hero Paddington take on his elders, including the Gosden's Group 1 Coronation Cup wining filly Emily Upjohn.  Disappointingly, Only 4 runners line up here. T he Aidan O’Brien trained Paddington has been backed into favourite after dotting up in the G1 St Jame’s Palace at Ascot. 🏆St James's Palace Stakes (G1) 1.600 m - 600.000 GBP - for 3yo colts 🇬🇧 Ascot Paddington (GB) (Siyouni - Modern Eagle , by Montjeu) J : Ryan Moore T:A.P. O'Brien O :Tabor,Smith,Magnier,Westerberg,Brant pic.twitter.com/vkgWw4Awe8 — 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙𝙍𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 (@WorldRacing1) June 20, 2023 He’s in receipt of 10Ibs from Dubai Honour & West Wind Blows & 7Ibs from the filly Emily Upjohn. Being the highest rated i...