HAYLEY TURNER JOINS BETDAQ: First, I’m really delighted to be part of the BETDAQ team now and I hope that you enjoy reading this column every Friday.
I’ll hopefully be able to fill you on everything going on at all the Race meetings each week along with a few winners (fingers crossed).
ON AND OFF THE TRACK
Off the track, I’m really enjoying riding out at the moment. It’s always great when the weather is as good as it is right now and all the horses are in full swing in the yards I ride in.
I ride out quite a lot for Conor Dore, Brian Meehan, Michael Bell and James Fanshawe and it’s always very interesting to see the different ways that the guys all train.
Conor, doesn’t actually have a gallop at home but he does as much as work as he can and then usually brings them to Southwell to gallop. Those days are as close to a race as you’d get. Conor always looks to jump off as quick as you can and then get them to finish strong so they get a really good blow out.
Then the likes of James Fanshawe, you’d always be trying to keep on the bridle, keep them steady and it’s so different but it’s great to be able to see so many different ways of training. I think James will begin to takeover once we get close to Glorious Goodwood and we’ll see him getting in lots more winners then.
I’ll fill you in a little more next week on some of the horses of note from the different yards.
SMOOTHTALKINRASCAL AT SANDOWN
Although this is a slightly quieter week for me in terms of quantity of rides, I have some really nice horses coming up for some really good trainers over the next few days.
I ride Smoothtalkrascal in the first today in Sandown for Peter Crate and I’m really looking forward to this guy. I rode him two runs back at Epsom in the Dash on Derby Day and he was very unlucky in running but he ran really well to finish sixth. He’s well drawn today though, coming from Stall 1 but I’m hoping we’ll get some luck in running and he’ll go very close.
Being drawn 1 over 5 furlongs in Sandown is quite a big deal but you always need a bit of luck from there so I’m hoping for the best.
Tomorrow I ride one for Michael Bell at Leicester called Tarando. I actually haven’t sat on this horse but I watched it run last time at Lingfield over the straight track there. I just thought that she was a little unlucky that day because it was a big enough field with 14 runners so it can get quite tight and she looked as if she just got worried out of it a little.
I’m hopeful that the she can pick back up again because she’s quite consistent usually and with the small field tomorrow in Leicester, I really hope she can run a much better race. The guys are saying that she’s going well at home as well so I think we can put a line through her last race.
On Monday, I’ve got a couple of rides for Brian Meehan at Windsor. I ride out on Thursday’s for Brian Meehan and his horses are in really good form at the moment. They look great and feel great and I’m looking to riding these two on Monday.
There’s a filly I ride on Tuesday in Wolverhampton that I think is quite nice called Tihana. She ran a really nice race first time out at Newbury and you generally come up against some of the big guns in Newbury Maiden’s so I hope she runs another good race. I think she’ll like Wolverhampton, she’s a little nippy horse.
GOLDEN HORN CAN PROVE HIS CLASS AGAIN
Looking at the other racing tomorrow, I can’t wait to see the Eclipse and I’m fully expecting Golden Horn to win this. He’s been really impressive so far this season and it’s going to be a very tough task for the older horses to concede weight away.
The one that I think will get placed and maybe chase him home is Aidan O’Brien’s Cougar Mountain. He ran a great race at Royal Ascot and even though he’d probably prefer a bit more give in the ground, Sandown generally water quite a lot so that should take the sting out of it.
I know The Grey Gatsby was unlucky at Ascot, but I think the winner won fair and square. If he had been travelling a little better down the straight, I’d say Jamie would have forced his way through a little harder and made some room for himself.
The winner that day, Free Eagle looked really good in my opinion. For a horse with so little experience and on his seasonal debut to win a race like the Prince of Wales was a great performance. The race wasn’t really run to suit either as they went slow early-on and if they had gone a better gallop in the early stages, I think he’d have won a bit easier. He’s definitely an exciting horse to follow this year.
Haydock has a really good card tomorrow and the Lancashire Oaks looks a really competitive race.
Criteria, who runs in the first colours of the Cheveley Park Stud, I think will benefit from having blinkers on for the first time. She’s very consistent usually also but I think the blinkers should do the trick and she has a great chance of getting placed.
My idea of the winner is Shane Kelly’s mount, Miss Marjurie. She’s won her last two runs and she won at Haydock last time which is usually a good trial race for the Lancashire Oaks tomorrow. Generally the winner of that race in May go on to run well in this one.
Miss Marjurie is in great form this year, she’s two from two and I think a lot of her opposition tomorrow have looked slow in previous races. I think she’s going to be hard to beat.
WEIGH ROOM BANTER
Myself and Cathy Gannon always have a little bit of a feud going on, we’re both always trying to pull one over on each other. Cathy is a great character and we’re great friends but I’m expecting a bit of a backlash after I robbed her bra from her bag on Wednesday and she had to go home in a white shirt!
She did trip me up in the paddock after all but I’m fully expecting Cathy to get me back very soon!
That’s all for this but you can keep up with me on Twitter (@hayleyturner123) and check back here next week for more and hopefully I’ll have a few winners to fill you in on.
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