Friday is Horses For Courses (H4C) report day at Geegeez and this feature does exactly what you'd expect, as it shows the full course history since 2009 of any horse running that has previously had a run at that track, sorted by number of wins, but this can be changed to any column at your discretion.
As well as today’s race time, course, horse name, jockey and trainer name, there is a breakdown of runs, wins and places, and profit and loss calculations for both win and each way betting. And as with all Geegeez reports, there is a ‘Today’ and a ‘Tomorrow’ (for the next day’s racing) view.
HINT: Layers might like to look towards the lower end of the report, for those with negative performance at the track, but please refer to our User Guide for further information.
My chosen settings for the H4C report...
...have sadly yielded no qualifiers, but your own chosen parameters might give more joy. Thankfully, this free report is, of course, backed up by our daily list of 'free' races...
- 3.10 Epsom
- 6.05 Stratford
- 6.35 Stratford
- 7.20 Tramore
- 8.05 Stratford
- 8.25 Catterick
...the best of which is clearly the Coronation Cup aka the 3.10 Epsom, a 5-runner, Group 1 flat contest for runners aged 4 and over. The trip is a left handed mile and a half on good ground and here's the card...
Only five go to post and you could make a reasonable case for all of them, so let's have a quick look at them...
HURRICANE LANE won the Dante, the Irish Derby and the St Leger last season and won the Gr2 Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket four weeks ago. Loves good ground, has won a couple of times at this trip and is a major contender here.
POINT LONSDALE has won a pair of Gr3 and a pair of Gr2 contests but hasn't quite got his nose in front at Group 1. Steps up to 1m4f for the first time and whilst he is undoubtedly talented, I fear the ground might be too quick for him here on the faster side of good.
TUNNES won the German St Leger and a Munich Group 1 race last autumn and now makes a UK debut 40 days after finishing second in the Gr2 Carl Jaspers Preis at Cologne. This is tougher and he was beaten by more than 3 lengths last time out, despite going off at 9/10.
WESTOVER was third in the Derby here last year before going on to win the Irish version three weeks later. Hasn't been seen in UK/Ireland since flopping in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot last July, but was sixth in the Arc and ran a very good second behind Equinox in the Gr1 Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan ten weeks ago. Much will depend on which Westover turns up.
EMILY UPJOHN is the only female in the race and she too hasn't been seen for some time, as it's now 230 days since she landed the Gr1 Fillies and Mares Stakes at Ascot in October. She was unlucky not to win the Oaks here a year ago, going down by just a short head despite stumbling out of the stalls. Her 3lb allowance might be key, because she's a classy filly. Oh, and don't forget the Frankie factor!
Instant Expert only covers UK/Irish form, so we've nothing on Tunnes, but just look how good his rivals have performed under similar conditions...
All three course losers did make the frame and there's very little for me to pick apart here. The three to have tackled this trip have all actually done better over shorter and Point Lonsdale's best form is on soft (or worse) ground, so this might be a bit quick for him in the sunshine.
There's not a huge draw bias here, as you'd probably expect from a small field over a fairly long race...
...although those drawn higher do edge it on place results. Pace, however, is a different story...
Prominent runners fare best, suggesting that leaders get stalked and passed, whilst a hold-up approach is a definite no-no here on the Downs over this trip in a small field. That said, none of the four we have data for are hold-up horses, based on their last four outings...
...but those numbers suggest Point Lonsdale and Westover might fight it out and become vulnerable to being picked off by Hurricane Lane and Emily Upjohn.
Summary
I've disregarded Tunnes because I don't know a great deal about him and I don't think his run last time out was good enough to make him a likely winner here, so I'm down to the four I do have data about.
Point Lonsdale and Westover might do too much early on and become targets and I think the ground will be too quick for the former. Hurricane Lane's past achievements speak for themselves and Emily Upjohn is a really good filly and her 3lbs allowance will be more than useful here, so I'm taking Hurricane Lane to beat Emily Upjohn.
The bookies disagree and they've go Westover as the 9/4 fav, whilst my 1-2 are currently 4/1 and 3/1, but the market isn't always right!