Punting
Michael Duffy
IF only there was a Grand National on every week! Fresh from success with Hear the Echo in the Irish Grand National, The Final Furlong was looking for a more obvious success in the English equivalent with Comply or Die - and Timmy Murphy duly obliged with a peach of a ride, and in the process help break the Pipe family hoodoo in National Hunt racing’s showpiece event.
It was a great race all round, there were no hard luck stories, and the first six home were all quality animals, none priced longer than 20/1. The good thing is the that first six are all young enough to be aimed at next year’s renewal and with horse likes Hear the Echo and Royal County Star likely to go to Aintree next year, we already have a race to look forward to in 2009. Next on the agenda is the Scottish National and next week we will try and decipher who looks to good for the Ayr event.
Of course, the flat season is up and running with Dermot Weld sending out a warning signal last Sunday with a Classic trial treble at Leopardstown. And fresh from winning his seventh UAE jockey championship in Dubai over the winter, Ted Durcan was home in Westport over the weekend for a short break before heading back to England for what promises to be his biggest season there to date. We’ll be keeping a close eye on Ted’s exploits over the next few months where he hopes to be riding some extremely exciting animals for Henry Cecil, none more so than Twice Over, second favourite for the Derby at present. He also has a good chance of getting his season off to the perfect start aboard Phoenix Tower in the Doncaster Mile Stakes at 3.35 on Saturday.
THE MASTERS
THINGS are quiet on the racing front this weekend but golf fans will no doubt be glued to the Master at Augusta. Last week we advised readers to have an each-way punt on Steve Stricker for the green jacket and though the 80/1 has well and truly dried up, there’s still plenty of value out there on the world number four. He’s 50/1 to win the tournament outright and 33s without the favourite.
That jolly is, of course, Tiger Woods, back at his favourite course in search of yet another Masters title. But 11/10 isn’t a very attractive price about a player even of Woods’ calibre, and a look elsewhere should pay off.
Fans of Retief Goosen may have been concerned with the South African’s form earlier in the season after a laser operation on his eyes seemed to have backfired. Indeed there were doubts that Goosen would even be a contender for major honours again.
But those fears have been laid to rest in recent weeks and his course form at Augusta makes him a confident bet in the Rest of the World market and worthy of an-each way wager in the outright market too.
Ireland’s Padraig Harrington has a chance now that he’s a proven major winner but he’s as low as 22/1 with some books and that looks on the mean side. Of the rest Justin Rose has been knocking on the door for some time now and with Augusta holding little fear for him, he might be worth a look too. Goosen though at 33s, and Stricker at 80s, should give you at least a run for your money into Sunday night’s final round.
BOXING CLEVER
MEANWHILE, boxing fans will flock to the ‘Into the West’ special on Saturday night in Breaffy House Resort for a feast of boxing action. The big bout is of course the return of Bernard Dunne and while opponent Felix Machado is a former World Champion, Dunne should have too much class for the 36-year-old so have a few quid on Dunne to win in the fourth.
