So, my review of the 1,000 Guineas has taken a little longer to
prepare than I expected. Blame my second
cold of the last six weeks. Thinking
positively, the delay has served to allow the entries to be slimmed, first by
scandal (Certify a non-runner, and also Great Timing, a filly for whom I
entertained high hopes, particularly for the Oaks – with Lovely Pass a less
significant removal) and then by another declaration round. So, unlike the 2,000 preview, I won’t be
wasting time assessing horses whose connections have no intention of running
them. Even with a smaller field (18
remain entered) this looks a very, very tough race to crack. Let’s see what we can do to narrow the field.
Monday 29 April 2013
Tuesday 23 April 2013
Thoughts on the 2,000 Guineas
The trials are done, the betting markets
are pretty mature, and we’re just a few days away from the first two classics
of the season. For me, Guineas weekend
is one of the highlights of the season – the “final exam” for my work on the
2yos that takes up so much of each summer, and a weekend that throws up plenty
of clues for the seasons ahead. The
Guineas are the best trials around for the Derby and Oaks, and there are plenty
of pointers for later races.
I’m particularly proud of my
notes by Rip Van Winkle’s name back in 2009: “miler, needs to grow, compact,
pwful. Cld be Gdwd type”. Backing him at
6/4 in the Sussex was hardly rocket science, but avoiding him in three runs
before then (and against Sea The Stars) was valuable indeed. Nuggets like that get me to Newmarket with my
notebook set to stun. Anyway, with my
excitement well established, let’s look at the field for the 2,000. The 1,000 will follow as soon as I can get
around to it.
A few thoughts on my favourite race courses
Comments on the course that top
my rankings, and a few thoughts on some other courses:
Sandown (58):
I know how expensive Sandown is,
and yes, that upsets me. However, it has
some of the best racing under both codes – there are few better days on the
calendar than the Eclipse, but the Tingle Creek is one of them – and it is just
about the perfect course. The course
views are unparalleled. The racing is fair (by which I mean, the best horse
usually wins, not a universal truth) and the chase course is the best challenge
of a jumper anywhere on earth.
My will calls for my ashes to be
scattered at the pond fence. Did you
really think any other course might be higher up the rankings?
Eddie's first ever course rankings!
Something I enjoyed putting together
for my old blog was reviews of the courses I visited. Although they were a lot of fun, I never
really pulled them together in one place.
So I’ve taken on a hefty project to start things off on my new site. There are 29 courses I’ve visited, and below,
I’ve marked them all out of 70, and ranked them. This is a lengthy post, but hopefully it’ll
be a useful reference point to anyone thinking about heading to a new
course. Dip in and out, or search by course name, that's my advice. I love the variety of courses and I'm always happy to chat to anyone searching for the right course for them!
I'm baa-aack!
So, I’ve decided to start blogging again. The sound of one
more tiny voice echoing through an uncaring internet is unlikely to change the
world, but it shouldn’t do much harm, either. My primary aim is selfish –
this is a blog to help me get some things out of my head and onto a piece of
paper. I find the discipline of writing orders my thoughts and allows me
to see the wood for the trees. A secondary hope is that this will be read
by others, and enjoyed, so do stick around.
Of course, feedback is always welcome. Before I start churning out
my articles, though: who am I, and why am I writing?
My guess is that you’ll know me (or at least “know” me online, if
not in meatspace) if you’re reading this. If not – welcome! My
name’s Andrew. My alter ego is EdredonBrowny, a combination of my
schoolboy nickname, and the name of my favourite racehorse, and the reason I
got into this game in the first place – Edredon Bleu. Your one piece of
homework for this blog is to watch this .
If you’ve already seen it, watch it again.
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