SP2A News Centre
Friday 13th DecemberPublished: 13/12/2024I don't think we particularly missed anything yesterday in abstaining for the day. We have 3 cracking days of action starting today and although field sizes at Cheltenham or Doncaster aren't great today we've found a couple of cheltenham Handicaps that we fancy a couple of longer-priced horses in, a Doncaster Handicap with some very telling form to attack and a 19 runner Handicap Hurdle at Cork where we are quietly confident of a few at very juicy early prices. [Read More]
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Thursday 12th DecemberPublished: 12/12/2024A couple more nice winners yesterday with Robert D'Ores and Rattling Road both backed in to 4/1 and 15/2 respectively. There are a couple of AW Fixtures today and NH Cards at Taunton and Warwick. We took a long hard look at the very competitive Handicap Hurdle at 2.25 at Warwick and frankly it's a race that any one of the 11 runners could win, even those at bigger prices. There are some very nice prospects there and 4-5 to TRACK and follow. If there is something more exposed at a nice ... [Read More]
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Wednesday 11th DecemberPublished: 11/12/2024A couple of nice well backed winners from the two tip races and a couple placed too. Sammy Smart who was advised 1t 16/1 was steadily backed into 8/1 and won nicely with a decent effort from County Champs to place. Shantou Princess looks a nice prospect and advised at 9/1 was also steadily backed in to win at 4/1 SP with the admirably consistent He Fitz In also running a place. The Hereford Card looks to favour the top end of the markets on Good to Soft ground, there are a couple of AW Fixt... [Read More]
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Tuesday 10th DecemberPublished: 10/12/2024A nice win at an extraordinary price for Twilight Glory at Lingfield yesterday. The early morning 5/2 looked a bit strange but despite drifting out to 9/1 the horse stayed on resolutely. Shot Boii was in contention all the way before just fading to 3rd and it was not surprising to see Mortens Leam run another solid race and once again be unfortunate in finishing just out of the money. The pair of more speculative selections at Musselburgh failed to trouble the judge but may have better chan... [Read More]
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Monday 9th DecemberPublished: 09/12/2024My biggest frustration this Autumn has not been the form of the Tipsters, granted it's not great in some cases but I would argue very strong in other cases, but the fact that whether it be lack of rain for long periods, too much rain on a few occasions and then other blips with high winds and storms, that we have never really been able to get in to a nice rhythm with a few races with decent fields each day to attack. I feel very much that when those chances have come along we have taken them, bu... [Read More]
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Saturday 7th DecemberPublished: 07/12/2024A nice 20/1 placed SP run from Night Duty at Exeter yesterday was the highlight in deteriorating conditions. It seems a bit churlish to talk about Horse Racing as Storm Darragh sweeps across many parts, especially our friends in Wales and the Western side of the Country, but it will clearly affect all parts at some point, so staying safe is the most important thing. We started by identifying two possible races at Aintree which is OFF, three possible races at Chepstow which is OFF,... [Read More]
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Friday 6th DecemberPublished: 06/12/2024A number of non runners impacted the sole tip race yesterday and we will keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't happen again today. There are predominantly small fields at Sandown and Sedgefield although RJ thinks that Moroder at odds over 25/1 might be an each way punt worth having in the 3.03 at Sandown. The AW offers little opportunity so we'll focus on the Card at Exeter on soft bordering heavy ground where we'll hope that "low sun" is not an issue and with 11 runner Handicap Hur... [Read More]
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Thursday 5th DecemberPublished: 05/12/2024It's a bit of a shock to realise that 3 weeks today the Christmas Festivities will morph into Boxing Day and the start of what is traditionally a great week of Horse Racing. Lets just hope that between now and then we get some decent rainfall to deliver perfect Jumping ground and stay free of frost, ice and snow, at least in the crucial final week of 2024. We had a runner up effort on the AW yesterday with Tortured Soul at 8/1 at Kempton where the mentioned outsider Blue Collar r... [Read More]
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Wednesday 4th DecemberPublished: 04/12/2024A disappointing result for us at Clonmel but a smidgen of shrapnel each way returned on the widely available 5th place with Parish Star coming home 5th of the 16 runners at an SP of 25/1. There are few punting options in the generally small fields over the jumps at Haydock on heavy ground and Ludlow on soft ground. The Maiden Hurdle at Haydock at 1.40 has some interesting irish 3 mile P2P recruits, some have been sold in to UK for frankly ridiculous prices but a couple with a more... [Read More]
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Tuesday 3rd DecemberPublished: 03/12/2024It was no surprise that Ffos Llas was called off yesterday and having looked at the results in the other 2 Meetings, I don't think we missed out on anything by abstaining. We have looked at the 2 AW Fixtures at Lingfield and Newcastle today but they look pretty competitive at the top end of the markets and nothing for a speculative punt really stands out. There is National Hunt at Southwell and Clonmel and with some enhanced places available we have decided to attack a Handicap Hurdle ... [Read More]
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Monday 2nd DecemberPublished: 02/12/2024Another good winner for sEan in Ireland yesterday when History of Fashion who backed up an excellent run in the same race last year by going one better this time at an SP of 10/1, was advised at 14/1 with the price drop mainly due to a number of non runners. Our Northern Expert had concluded that Gipsy Lee Rose would improve markedly for a recent seasonal debut off a nice handicap mark at Carlisle and although a speculative punt advised at 25/1 the winning starting price of 40/1 was probabl... [Read More]
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Sunday 1st DecemberPublished: 01/12/2024We have to start with a hats off to The Greatest Trainer Paul Nicholls, a stupendous Training performance with Kandoo Kid, upped in trip on seasonal debut to win the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury yesterday. The "Sir Alex Ferguson" of Horse Racing has re-invented his String to win Trainers Titles before, more than once, indeed several times, and certainly don't write him off doing the same again. The odds are stacked against him simply because of the huge prize money on off at Cheltenham which c... [Read More]
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Saturday 30th NovemberPublished: 30/11/2024A nice win for Lets go Joe at Doncaster at 11/2 who just prevailed over Be The difference, who was a confident bigger priced selection at 20/1, I guess we were all shout for the 20/1 shot to get up. The runs by Scarface to be runner up and Lord Baddesley an unplaced 4th were not too bad, although we had no joy also at Newbury in the final race on the Card There is action at Newbury, Newcastle, Fairyhouse and Doncaster today, smaller fields at Doncaster lad us to 3 full tip and analysis race... [Read More]
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Friday 29th NovemberPublished: 29/11/2024It was very interesting to read the comments from The Clerk of The course at THurles yesterday after a glut of non runners of Good ground at a track (like quite a few in Ireland) with no watering facilities. Good ground that is considered too good for many continues to be an issue with many of the UK TRacks especially on the eastern side of the Country. A recurring theme that Ian will cover on Sunday. We've managed to find some confident each way selections in 3 races today, all curre... [Read More]
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Thursday 28th NovemberPublished: 28/11/2024We again have very little in terms of competitive action to attack today. Unusually small fields over in Ireland at Thurles, apart from an 18 runner 2 mile Handicap Hurdle with very little form to go on. Small NH fields at Musselburgh and Lingfield where the non-runners on forecast Heavy ground are already mounting up and some moderately decent Fields at Taunton where on closer analysis races look more than likely to be dominated by the top 2-3 in the respective markets (we looked very clos... [Read More]
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Wednesday 27th NovemberPublished: 27/11/2024A decent day for Sean yesterday with his 3rd rated Danesfort Mayfly at 10/1 SP (advised at 16/1) just getting the better of He Fitz In, which was somewhat frustrating and unfortunate as he was a main tip, whose returned an SP of 8/1 (advised at 12/1). One to definitely note too is I Am Rocco who finished 5th at 9/1 (well backed in from 20/1) and one who looks like he can pick up a small race soon. Far less joy for Michael whose speculative selections failed to deliver with the exception of Starl... [Read More]
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Tuesday 26th NovemberPublished: 26/11/2024There are 3 NH Cards today and whilst the numbers at Southwell and Sedgefield aren't great, and Good ground forecast at Sedgefield feels a bit wrong, there is a cracking competitive Card at Tramore and we'll go there to attack 3 competitive Handicap races. The selections are speculative in terms of price, but there is very strong confidence in the analysis from Michael and Sean, if you wish to stake according to the prices, feel free to do so, but they are clear and concise in their lo... [Read More]
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Monday 25th NovemberPublished: 25/11/2024Good Morning;After another frustrating day yesterday we have just two NH Fixtures today with pretty small fields overall at Kempton and Ludlow.We hope that Tramore and Dedgefield may offer some good competitive fields tomorrow and with the ground now softened there are genuine hopes too for some very good field sizes over the Jumps on Wednesday and through the rest of the week.We've looked long and hard for some value, any value today, but it's desperately hard to find anything to back with... [Read More]
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Sunday 24th NovemberPublished: 24/11/2024A very wet and very windy 24 hours here in Devon and more to come later today. A poor day yesterday which we will contemplate and consider in great detail over the next few days. I'm staggered Exeter is currently ON, it's sure to be bottomless ground, the high winds are going to make travel a real issue for some and I whilst there are always big economic considerations in calling any Sporting Event off at short notice, health and safety of horses, jockey's and the general pu... [Read More]
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Saturday 23rd NovemberPublished: 23/11/2024We're continuing to fire in some nice places and enhanced places with Eceparti, Holly Hartingo and Mortens Leam yesterday, but winners are proving frustratingly elusive. There is top class action today at Punchestown (awaiting an inspection) , Haydock and Ascot as well as an NH meeting at Huntingdon and some AW. Storm Bert, which has already hit the South West as I write (thankfully a storm from the South so sitting on top of a north facing cliff to it's not as serious for us as it may be f... [Read More]
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Friday 22nd NovemberPublished: 22/11/2024After a bit of a "phony war" that seems to have lasted 3-4 weeks with very dry conditions we should certainly have no complaints nor excuses after the past couple of days and after the incoming Storm Bert. We eagerly anticipate some very competitive fields and options from after the weekend. Ascot hasn't really got much to offer today, other than free entry to a load of toffs least in need of any more freebies and Catterick who face an inspection also have just 38 runners in 7 races i... [Read More]
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Thursday 21st NovemberPublished: 21/11/2024With Inspections planned at Warwick and Thurles and a deluge heading towards Wincanton that may mean a number of non-runners, we'll switch to two of the three AW Fixtures today and have a poke in a race at Lingfield, where there have been a number of big priced winners and placed horses in the past few weeks, and also a trip to Wolverhampton to try to find the winner of a decent Class 4 race. Whilst Bridget Mary and Supasunrise were well backed placed horses in the 2 tip races yesterda... [Read More]
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Wednesday 20th NovemberPublished: 20/11/2024No joy at Limerick in the sole tip race yesterday on a day when the main talking points would have been 100/1 and 150/1 SP winners on the AW at Lingfield. We will be looking at AW more closely very soon but out of interest, I always like to look at that sort of winner and see if analysis may have picked it up. The 150/1 one had literally no form but the 100/1 did if you look specifically at some old Course form. The one aspect of AW we need to fine tune our thoughts to is that often th... [Read More]
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Tuesday 19th NovemberPublished: 19/11/2024The sole tip ran very well yesterday to finish 2nd at 18/1 justifying the confidence of the analysis, and I'd rather focus on one confident one like this than throw numerous arrows more in hope than anticipation. Finally we have some rain in parts, sadly we have some frost and snow in other places but hopefully by the end of this week, we'll at least have "soft" in the Going description regularly, and a return to some competitive racing and competitive fields. Carlisle faces a frost an... [Read More]
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Monday 18th NovemberPublished: 18/11/2024It's sometimes best to refrain and consider opinions and views after the sort of day we had at Cheltenham yesterday, and things are amplified x 000's when it is in the full glare of Live TV and especially when that LIve TV has a tendency to over dramatise to fill in time between races. The one hard fact is that 3 gallant horses lost their lives yesterday, two to respiratory failure and one to a crushing fall. Our thoughts as always in such circumstances should be with all of those connected... [Read More]
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Sunday 17th NovemberPublished: 17/11/2024A few places yesterday and I'll review the 3 days at Cheltenham and a couple of days at Navan tomorrow with a look ahead too. There are some great races today, at Cheltenham and Navan but one of the most eagerly anticipated Irish Autumn Chases has frankly been destroyed once again by the complete domination in terms of Entries by one Yard. We love and passionately support Irish Racing, in so many ways it is better than UK racing and gets far more right than wrong. However when a marquee Han... [Read More]
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Saturday 16th NovemberPublished: 16/11/2024Both Grandpa Ger and Klassman ran well enough at Punchestown yesterday to place and the 22/1 win of Robindevidastar was not a complete surprise as the analysis suggested he ticked many of the right boxes. No joy at Cheltenham where the winner of the tip race is clearly progressing at a rate of knots. It's Paddy Power Gold Cup day today and like many races at the moment , held on Good ground, without the great leveller and shock maker that is mud, it does look likely to be "market dominated"... [Read More]
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Friday 15th NovemberPublished: 15/11/2024I think that in the context of the weather and ground situation that we are fortunate that the opening day of The Open Meeting at Cheltenham is bookended by a couple of big field handicaps. We will focus on the opening race today as the closing Novice Handicap Hurdle looks like a minefield. There is also a 21 runner Handicap Hurdle at Punchestown for Sean to attack, and as we do these days at Cheltenham, we will split tips between UK and Irish based runners in the tip races. [Read More]
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Thursday 14th NovemberPublished: 14/11/2024A win for the favourite Jagwar was not unexpected as we had suggested in the sole tip race yesterday but sadly the big priced each way pokes on this occasion could not find places or enhanced places. The ongoing lack of rain and the subsequent firmish ground has seen the Card at Thurles abandoned today and also means that Cards at Market Rasen, Sedgefield and Taunton are impacted with really only a couple of races with double figure field sizes. AW at Chelmsford offers no viable opportuniti... [Read More]
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Wednesday 13th NovemberPublished: 13/11/2024A nice confident analysis and a nice confident winning tip from Sean at Fairyhouse yesterday with Whatsavailable, advised at 12/1 and a winner at 10/1 SP. Whilst Michael could not follow that up with a winner in the later tip race it was a timely reminder from Sean of what he is capable of, and if we look back at the 2023/2024 NH season in Ireland, the sort of confident winning analysis that became the norm rather than the exception. Hopefully a sign of some positive spells ahead. The... [Read More]
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