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The 2025 Epsom Downs Spring meeting on Tuesday....

Ian_Davies

Ian_Davies

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This is a day's racing which has begun close to my heart for many years and I've attended it a fair few times, even though sadly it's changed a lot.

The City & Suburban used to be one of the major Handicaps on the Racing Calendar, a real household name which even rated a predication in "Old Moore's Almanac."

Ditto the Great Metropolitan which, until 1985, was 2m2f, across The Downs.

And the Blue Riband Trial was 1m110yds and in 1978 Roland Gardens won it and then won the 2,000 Guineas.

Sad to see the opening 5f Handicap no longer carrying Indigenous's name either.

But it's still a decent day's racing, even if the Great Metropolitan no longer looks like this:
 

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Non-triers' convention.

Unless you have knowledge that a horse is trying it's a waste of time, which makes it little different from most midweek meetings.
 
Even though there were only seven declarations I found the City & Suburban tricky when I took a look, so tricky, in fact, that I think the "rag" (Sean) might represent a bit of value with Hills who have already priced it up.

I had a look at this veteran for the Lincoln, where maybe the straight mile on easy ground wasn't ideal.

Sean has Soft-ground form, but he has also clocked times over 1m2f at San Siro which suggest to me that, unless they race down a ski slope there, the ground must have been pretty resilient (that or it's actually short of ten furlongs!)

Anyway, old Sean will be fit (this will be his seventh race since December) and in a race like this I'd have him closer to 8s than 18s, but of course that still means I only think he has an 11% chance of actually winning it! 😂
 
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Didn’t Derby winners sometimes run in it a long time ago it was so valuable . Sea Chimes won it I recall before coming back to win the Coronation Cup.
 
Karabas won in 1969 en route to the Washington International.

It’s a meeting that is a shadow of its former self . Was 3 days when I was a kid all on ITV with the Princess Elizabeth Stakes and the Warren Stakes too.
 
Ian_Davies said:
Even though there were only seven declarations I found the City & Suburban tricky when I took a look, so tricky, in fact, that I think the "rag" (Sean) might represent a bit of value with Hills who have already priced it up.

I had a look at this veteran for the Lincoln, where maybe the straight mile on easy ground wasn't ideal.

Sean has Soft-ground form, but he has also clocked times over 1m2f at San Siro which suggest to me that, unless they race down a ski slope there, the ground must have been pretty resilient (that or it's actually short of ten furlongs!)

Anyway, old Sean will be fit (this will be his seventh race since December) and in a race like this I'd have him closer to 8s than 18s, but of course that still means I only think he has an 11% chance of actually winning it! 😂
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The price hasn't exactly collapsed, but Sean is 16/1 best now.
 
You’d be hard pressed to sort out the top four in the betting after their race at Doncaster. Stressfree had the door slammed in his face when making his challenge and would have arguably got there, Magico lost momentum being straightened when it matters and would have arguably held on and City Of Light pounced where it matters and can arguably improve again. Not to forget Rathgar who was also short of racing room and could arguably have done better. On top of that, these four muster only one previous run over the course between them.

Good luck sorting that out.
 


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