Back a consistent sprinter to lift the Group 2 Temple Stakes on Saturday
Flat season 2022: bet 4
The Group 2 Temple Stakes, over five furlongs at Haydock Park on Saturday, is a fascinating contest and will take only a minute.
As with any sprint, run on either four legs or two, the start is all important. If the favourite, Winter Power, gets away quickly, she will be hard to peg back. Tim Easterby’s talented four-year-old filly put up a hugely impressive performance when landing the Group 2 Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes at York last August.
A repeat of that effort will almost certainly be good enough to win on Saturday. But Winter Power may prove to be a horse who excels at York, where she won three times last year, but is not as effective on other tracks.
Odds of around 6/4 look skinny given this is her first run for 230 days. Although she may well win this weekend, I prefer to look for better value elsewhere.
The Queen’s horse, King’s Lynn, trained by Andrew Balding, definitely has a good each way shout but he would prefer softer ground and is probably best at Ascot, where he will hopefully contest the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes next month.
Lambourn handler Ed Walker has long had a high opinion of Came From the Dark and I expect the six-year-old grey gelding to put up a much improved performance on his moderate seasonal debut at the end of last month. Then he was only 10th of 12 runners in the Group 3 Betfair Palace House Stakes at Newmarket.
The recommended bet, however, is on MOSS GILL, who ran several cracking races in decent sprints last year without getting his head in front where it matters.
Moss Gill is now six years old but, as with fine wine, he seems to improve with age. He will be at home on the likely “good to soft” or “good” ground and can hopefully run a career best as he runs well fresh.
The horse is trained in North Yorkshire by Ed Bethell, while Kevin Stott has been booked for the ride. If the horse was trained in a more fashionable yard, it is likely that Moss Gill would be shorter than 12-1 given his decent form last year, when second four times in decent sprints.
Back him each way at 12-1 with most bookmakers even though, if all or most of the fancied runners stand their ground, he might even be at a bigger price come the off on Saturday.
It is less than a month until Royal Ascot and I will be taking a close look at the ante post races next week. I love the challenge of trying to unpick the big-field handicaps on the straight course.
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One for the horse tracker
Andrew Balding’s three year colt After Eight was desperately unlucky not to make a winning seasonal and handicap debut at Salisbury last Friday. Repeatedly denied a clear run when trying to make progress from the back of the field, he eventually finished third behind Udaberri. After Eight showed plenty of promise as a two-year-old in his three runs on the all weather. He can land a handicap sooner rather than later over 1 mile 4 furlongs or even further. I would be surprised if he wasn’t better than his current mark of 75. Apprentice jockey Callum Hutchinson seems to get on well with the horse, and his 5 lbs allowance will come in handy if he keeps the ride.
Bets record for the 2022 Flat season
Pending:
1 point each way Moss Gill at 12-1 in the Temple Stakes at 12-1, 1/5 odds, 3 places.
Settled:
1 point each way Arcadian Sunrise in the Chester Cup at 16-1, ¼ odds, 4 places. 4th. + 3 points.
1 point each way Morph Speed at 25-1 in the Chester Cup, ¼ odds, 4 places. Unplaced. – 2 points.
1 point each way Auditor for the TRU7 Handicap at 16-1, 1/4 odds, 3 places. Unplaced. – 2 points.
2022 Flat season running total – 1 point.
2021-2 jumps season + 77.95 points.
My gambling record for the seven years: I have made a profit in 12 of the past 13 seasons. To a 1 point level stake over this period, I have made a profit of 460 points. All bets are either 1 point each way or 2 points win (a "point" is your chosen regular stake).