Monday, 12 May 2008

Onwards and upwards...

Performance ratings

CHESHIRE OAKS
Sail 62

CHESTER CUP
Bulwark 67

CHESTER VASE
Doctor Fremantle 72

ORMONDE STAKES
Macarthur 81

DEE STAKES
Tajaaweed 74

VICTORIA CUP
Zaahid 71

SPRING TROPHY
Appalachian Trail 69

CHARTWELL STAKES
Sabana Perida 69

DERBY TRIAL
Alessandro Volta 66

OAKS TRIAL
Miracle Seeker 57

DERRINSTOWN DERBY TRIAL
Casual Conquest 72



I mentioned at the end of Chester that it hadn’t been a great week for the trends and that theme unfortunately continued over the weekend. Of the five races on Saturday and Sunday, I thought two of the winners were gettable, including Zaahid in the Victoria Cup, especially as the placed runners from the Newbury Spring Cup were given a good mention in the ‘Future Pointers’ section of the book. However, the other three race-winners from the book were difficult to find - Sabana Perida for example not being a three or four-year-old in the Chartwell – and I lost money over the weekend after breaking even at Chester. Overall, though, the trends have worked out fairly well this spring, but there will be blips in any season, and hopefully some of the big-race winners at the Dante meeting will be easier to find.

The one positive to take from Chester, though, was Tajaaweed in the Dee Stakes. This event has produced a couple of Derby winners since 1999, including Sir Michael Stoute’s Kris Kin, and Tajaaweed looks a similar sort, backed up by his performance rating – the time on the clock was also fast.
I said last week that I would mention the occasional ante-post fancy and I have backed Tajaaweed for the Derby at 14-1. Considering the waters are still muddied regarding the other market leaders – and Curtain Call was pulled out on fast surface at the weekend – I think Tajaaweed rates a solid option and goes on most ground.

Anyway, I’ll be back on Wednesday, and if I get time – six days at the Guardian this week! – I will preview the Duke of York and Musidora Stakes from a trends perspective.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Regarding Top of the form in the RFO, a list in alphabetical order would make checking in the runners index more efficient.
Interesting stuff this!
Cheers
Kevo

David Myers said...

Kevo,

A letter was printed a few weeks back in the RFO in reply to a similar query regarding the Top 20's entries for the week in the index.
The reply was that the IT department are currently working on it, so hopefully there will be a development soon. In the meantime, feel free to email the RFO enquiring about any updates regarding this matter.

*There was an error in one of the races at No.5 in this week's chart, as Brouhaha finished 2nd next time out, not 1st, but still earned a +1 rating.

Best, David