Aintree Day 2

Bar the Bull

Bar the Bull

At the Start
Joined
May 2, 2003
Messages
9,534
Location
Llandubno, West Wales (very west)
From the Sporting Life

http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/...E=racing/11/04/06/RACING_Melling.html&BID=465

RUN LEADS MELLING FIELD
Albertas Run will face nine rivals as he attempts to pull off the Cheltenham-Aintree double for the second successive year in the John Smith's Melling Chase.

Jonjo O'Neill's 10-year-old won the Ryanair Chase last season before running away with this contest and after bouncing back to his best at Cheltenham, he will have plenty of followers again.

Master Minded steps up in trip having been outpaced in the Queen Mother Champion Chase.

He was beaten by Voy Por Ustedes, a surprising absentee, way back in 2008 in this event and trainer Paul Nicholls has kept to shorter distances since.

Edward O'Grady's Tranquil Sea was forced to miss the Ryanair after a late setback but has recovered in time to take on Albertas Run here.

Kalahari King was a fast-finishing second in the Ryanair and he reopposes again while fans of Henrietta Knight's Somersby will be pleased to see him race over two and a half miles again with Robert Thornton in the plate.
In the absence of Voy Por Ustedes, Nicky Henderson runs French Opera and Mad Max.

Chaninbar, Tartak and Made In Taipan complete the field.
 
Alberta's is a good thing. Hopefully everyone will punt Masterminded and Alberta's goes off too big a price again...
 
Albertas Run (7/2) , Kalahari King (4) , Somersby (5) , French Opera (6) , Master Minded (6) , Tranquil Sea (8) , Mad Max (10) , Tartak (14) , Made In Taipan (25) , Chaninbar (50)

I am amazed that Master Minded is 6/1. I thought you should always forgive a horse one bad run?
 
Bar the Bull said:
Albertas Run (7/2) , Kalahari King (4) , Somersby (5) , French Opera (6) , Master Minded (6) , Tranquil Sea (8) , Mad Max (10) , Tartak (14) , Made In Taipan (25) , Chaninbar (50)

I am amazed that Master Minded is 6/1. I thought you should always forgive a horse one bad run?
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French Opera and Mad Max seem too short here whilst I think Somersby & Tranquil Sea are priced above their chances of winning the race. Only Boylesports betting at the moment, be interesting to see how the rest of them price it up.
 
Bar the Bull said:
Albertas Run (7/2) , Kalahari King (4) , Somersby (5) , French Opera (6) , Master Minded (6) , Tranquil Sea (8) , Mad Max (10) , Tartak (14) , Made In Taipan (25) , Chaninbar (50)

I am amazed that Master Minded is 6/1. I thought you should always forgive a horse one bad run?
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Easy ground over the trip - Masterminded looks the part at 6/1 - huge huge price to me - and I'm not a huge fan.:whistle:
 
Kalahari King must go well. I backed him at Cheltenham and don't see a reason to go off him now. Master Minded does look a big price though.
 
Favourites:Albertas Run (7/2) , Kalahari King (5) , Master Minded (
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5) , Somersby (5) , Tranquil Sea (8) , French Opera (9) , Tartak (14) , Mad Max (16) , Made In Taipan (33) , Chaninbar (100)

They've taken the 6 to 1. Pushed out French Opera and Mad Max as per Steve T's gut. Still missing the zero on Made in Taipan.

The above is the best prices of Powers, Boyles, Stan James and Bet365
 
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Surely Aintree suits Albertas Run even more than Cheltenham. Provided the ground isn’t significantly worse than good I don’t see how I can look past him. Master Minded isn’t the horse he was a couple of years ago, failed last time he tried this trip and ran poorly last time. Somersby and Kalahari King aren’t quite good enough (cue a barrage of abuse from their adoring fan clubs), and Tranquil Sea wants it soft.

Albertas at 7-2 looks a good bet to me, and as Aragorn says, if MM is punted AR could drift.
 
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People questioning about MM over the trip need to bear in mind he won the Amlin chase over 2m 3f this year. I'm a massive AR fan at this time of year but I have been thinking for some time MM has been dying to be stepped up in trip and think he will be hard to beat.
 
I'm coming to the conclusion that Master Minded might just want to be going right-handed these days. Jumps like an absolute stag round Ascot and Sandown, but nothing like so fluently around Cheltenham.

The 6/1 has to be respected, because it's hardly an everyday price for a horse of Master Minded's quality, but with concerns about going left-handed and his stamina still not quite thoroughly proven to my satisfaction, I will reluctantly have to pass him over.

The only real worry Alberta's Run backers have, is that I have never called this horse right once. Every time I've backed him, he's been turned over, and every time I've left him alone, he's romped-up - usually at a very handy price.

By rights, I should sneak into Jackdaws under the cover of darkness and shoot the bastard, but I can't help liking him. I'll do connections and backers a favour and sit this one out, because he looks the logical winner to me.
 
AR is easy to work out. Back him on goodish ground, leave him if it's softer.

Good to soft but drying poses problems admittedly, but I'm prepared to chance it.
 
Possibly Bar - might he be another Cyfor Malta?

Gone with two in the race myself, the obligatory good bet on Frankie Figg over these fences as he clearly loves the course and if anything just jumps a bit too well if that's possible at the track. Also backed Ballyholland who travelled and jumped with great fluency in the National itself last year for 3m of the race before dropping out and being pulled up, the drop back in trip should help him and he's already a big race handicap winner in the 2009 Galway Plate.

Looking forward to seeing Back In Focus again as he looked a machine at Haydock and is a big brute of a horse, will definitely be better over fences but exciting to see him entered tomorrow and also the Lucy Wadham mare Baby Shine in the Bumper who impressed me in her first two starts having and travelled best of all at Sandown before finding the stiff finish too much, she looked like she'd appreciate the flatter track here.

Martin
 
I really like Somersby at 5s. Hes been crying out for this trip for some time I feel. Im surprised hes not shorter
 
clivex said:
I really like Somersby at 5s. Hes been crying out for this trip for some time I feel. Im surprised hes not shorter
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The more I look at this race the less certain I get about any of them. Excellent days racing tomorrow - dangerous, almost treacherous - may just tinker around with a few big priced ew horses like Iolith and Westmeath and wait for the serious betting action of Dundalk later...:ninja:
Like the look of that Mon Parrain - price none too shabby either. Will listen to whatever IS says re bumper. Can Baby Shine turn it around with the King Mare IS?? Looks to me to be between the two of them.
 
Drip feeding a few quid into Betfair to place lay Quito de la Roque at prices under 1.7.I can't believe he won't get badly outpaced at some stage of the race.
 
On The Bridle said:
. Can Baby Shine turn it around with the King Mare IS?? Looks to me to be between the two of them.
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Yes she can, and will IMO OTB think the flatter track will be more in her favour this time and providing that she settles better than she has been (seems to take a strong hold in her races) then she'll be very tough to beat.

Martin
 
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