dunlaying

Il Est Francais 0
Pic D'orhy +3
Master Chewy +8
Jango Baie +10
Gidleigh Park +14

Do not forget that the Ditcheat horse has had a run and loves Ascot .
?...........?.
Martator 0
Gabriel's Getaway +1
Teddy Blue +2
Boothill +3
JPR One +4
Kotmask +5
...........
Largy Poet 0
Rock My Way +1
My Silver Lining +2
Rapper +2
Our Power +4
Snipe +5
Aspurofthemoment +6

Grey Dawning 0
Stellar Story +1
Royal Pagaille +4
Handstands +5
Haiti Couleurs +10+

This might be more open than the market suggests . The figure for Grey Dawning comes from Aintree in the Spring and must be eyed with suspicion . I am not a fan of the horse but gave him every ounce possible .
Hitman could be interesting . A run under his belt might give him the edge . It seems that his trainer is finished , no longer a force etc .
Paul Nicholls , " gone at the game " , 20% strike rate
Dan Skelton , " unstoppable form " , 24% strike rate

No need for a GoFundMe page just yet .

Royal Pagaille is easy to crab . In 2023 he beat Bravemansgame who has done nothing since . I know that the Ditcheat horse ran up in The King George but that race can be forgotten . You will remember that Il Est Francais was 12 lengths faster than Hewick according to the clock watchers , They were correct but instead of downgrading Hewick they put the French horse up . A look at the replay will confirm that Shark's hero did not run a race and still won . I too got the King George wrong .
Last year Royal Pagaille beat Grey Dawning who is already under the lens .
Marsh Wren , on paper , looks progressive but has not run for a year .
Handstands gets his figure from Sandown in the Spring ,

Haiti Couleurs will be fit .
Looks like the value could be to oppose Grey Dawning and Royal Pagaille . To get matched you are likely to offer 6/4 and 7/1 which gives you 21/19 for your money . If it goes wrong you are not exposed to any real danger .

Tiffany 0
Ami De Vega 0
Junko +1
Convergent +1
Alleno +1
Bay City Roller +3
Lazio +3
Cold Heart +3
Rashford +4


Every horse has his price and I could not resist Platoon at 300+ in The Manchester November . It seems unlikely but if he ran to his best form he would have his chance .

She Feels Pretty 0
Dancing Rain 0
Cinderellas Dream +1
Atsila +5
See The Fire +6
Gezora +7
Cathedral +7
Mission Of Joy +8
Bedtime Story +8
Be Your Best +9
Village Voice +12
Belleza +13

5th May The Curragh . If Atsila is in that form she could go close at a big price .

True Love 0
Havana Anna +1
Brussels +5
Mission Central +5
Aspect Island +7
Military Code +8
Lennilu +11
Rogue Legend +15
Later Than Planned +23

No figure for the others . 3lb per length here .
........?.....
Precise 0
Balantina +6
Queen Of Hawaii +9
Pacific Mission +11
No figures for the rest .
.....?.......
Gstaad 0
North Coast +3?
Outfielder +5+
Ardisia +5
Argos +6
North Coast is a youngster that I can not get a grip on . If you put a line through his latest run one could give him a chance . 20/1 does not excite but should he drift to 33/1 I might take a chance .
..............
Tawny Port 0
Goliath 0
Silawi 0
Rebels Romance +1
Minnie Hauk +1
Ethical Diamond +2
El Cordobes +3
Rashabar +4
Wimbledon Hawkeye +5
Rebel Red +5
Amiloc +5
Redistricting +7
Gold Phoenix +7
Hill Road +11
The lay trio is obvious Minnie Hauk , Rebels Romance and Amiloc .
The first two are too short and Amiloc has a fair bit to do .

Daytona -3?
Zavateri 0
Gewan 0
Gstaad +1
Benvenuto Cellini +1??
Wise Approach +2
Power Blue +2
Talk Of New York +3+
Bow Echo +3
Distant Storm +3
Morris Dancer +3
Constitution River +3
Flushing Meadows +4
Alparslan +4?
Mission Central +5
Puerto Rico +5
Hawk Mountain +5
Publish +5
Humidity +5
Charles Darwin +5
Song Of The Clyde +5
Brussels +5
Words Of Truth +5
Pierre Bonnard +6
Action +6
Piazza San Marco +6
Italy +6
Ardisia +6+
North Coast +7
Oxagon +7
Into The Sky +7
Dorset +7+
Daytona +7++
Poatan +7
Montreal +8
Shayem +8
Campacite +8
Cape Orator +9
A Boy Named Susie +10

There are a few to come but I need to work through the weft to find them .
NB  For their grade sprinters generally have higher ratings than the milers who , in turn , are higher than middle distance types .
Two figures for Daytona for the time being . He has to be better than the lower of the two but it is far from certain that he is as good as the higher figure which is not much lower than my original figure . Time will tell . These are 3 y o now so we will start The Guineas .

Controlled
Blue Jewel
Lunar Approach , this could  be one of the best Burke 2 y o . A late withdrawal from a good race , presumably because of bad ground , he is entered in the Irish Guineas .
Nation's Hope
.............
Benvenuto Cellini*
Pierre Bonnard *
Christmas Day **
Raaheeb ***
Joulany **
Bay Of Brilliance **
Bay Royale **X
Port Ferdinand **
Handshake ***X
Bay Of Stars ***X
Knowing nothing of breeding science I have been through the entries for The Irish Sweep Derby . The 10 horses named above are the only entries that look as if they will definitely get the Epsom 12 . A strictly personal view . Only seven of these are entered at Epsom and The Curragh . I have not left the country but have been in a hospital many miles from home with no computer , phone or papers so I am in the process of catching up as I escaped today .
To clarify they are the only colts entered at Epsom and The Curragh but there are others entered at Epsom that should get home eg Maltese Cross .
Why did I start this ? It was a wet , wintry morning and seemed like a good idea at the time .
Listening to the Maestro giving his rundown of the Ballydoyle prospects for 2026 I get the impression that he does not fancy Wootton Bassetts will get more than 10f .
And , for my money , there is an air of fragility about the faster Wootton Bassetts .

Time To Turn 0
Stella Sunrise +2
Arabian Desert +4
Wechaad +5
Pandemonium +8+
Boiling Over +10
May Angel +10
.........An awful race .
Grand Stars 0
Higher Leaves 0
Zia Agnese 0
Safia +3
Ginalyah +3
Skellet +4
Whataboutism +5
Light The Ghost +5
Dare To Dream +6
Ashariba +6
Saxons Girl +6
..?,,.,,..
I do not think much of The Observer form . If any one of those wins at Epsom I will give up racing . Tomorrow we could get more but indirect information re the flashy chestnut that finished third .

Quisisana 0
One Look +1
Kalpana +1
Ballet Slippers +1?
Wemightakedelongway +3
Bedtime Story +3
Latakia +4
Estrange +4
Waardah +8+
Danielle +9
........,
Words Of Truth 0
Egoli +3
Super Soldier +4
Mission Central +4
Kansas +4
Division +4
Ardisia +5

Egoli might be well over priced . He looked pretty good early on but lost his way , His last run was promising . The key race was Newbury July 19 , By my reckoning all that finished behind him that day have improved .

Benvenuto Cellini 0
Action +5
Oxagon +6
Hawk Mountain +8+
Rochfortbridge +8
Item +13+

The only interest for me is the running of Rochfortbridge . The horse that beat him at Pontefract has been forgotten , mainly because of the fuss made of Bow Echo . If the form is taken at face value Shayem would be right up there with Gewan .
Harking back to Champion's Day , for which the post has disappeared , I note that some people are stating that Rosallion is not the horse he was or even that he never was good . The Hannon yard has had a terrible season . Off the top of my head I could only think of two from that stable that have made an impact ; King Of Cities and Rosallion . Orions Belt is their only entry in the Irish Guineas and I can not think of one 2 y o of Hannon's that is any good . A return to form could see some of those babies particularly well handicapped .


A word of explanation about Dorset . I have two perfectly valid figures for him , +6+ would be ideal but as I back the top horse I have left him on top . Benvenuto Cellini is odds on and looks to be lay material . His latest form looks good on paper but it has taken knocks already . What did he beat ?


There are plenty entered that fall into the " could be anything " category e g Item and Hawk Mountain .
We need a Champion . At present I have Gewan just ahead of Zavateri and then Gstaad and the rest . I find it hard to believe that they are future Classic winners .
We might have a Champion in yesterday's Kempton winner . I can find two figures for the race and they are 1lb apart . I have taken the lower figure . Barring accidents he should improve by at least 7 lb . So , if I am correct , we have a potential star .

Ombudsman 0
Calandagan +2
Delacroix +3
Almeric +3
Almaqam +3
Fox Legacy +4
First Look +5
Economics +5
Prague +6
Mount Kilimanjaro +8
Devil's Advocate +11

Delacroix is not a certain runner . EDIT , oh yes it is ,
John Gosden will know the pacemaker is two classes below Ombudsman but given a big enough start he could come into the reckoning .

......?.......
Fallen Angel 0
Rosallion 0
Field Of Gold 0
January 0??
Exactly +1
Tamfana +3?
Quddwah +4
Marvelman +4
Alakazi +4
The Lion In Winter +5
Never So Brave +5
Docklands +5
Dancing Gemini +5
Facteur Cheval +6
Carl Spackler +7
Ciceros Gift +8

Field Of Gold looks to be worth laying here . Take a careful look at his form and you should see that he is a very good horse but probably not a great one . At The Curragh he beat a complete hound in Cosmic Year and Hotazhell who was on his seasonal debut . At Ascot he beat Henri Matisse and others that can be ignored . It might have been the poor Henri Matisse that turned up that day . Then there was Goodwood and his " lameness " . After a lay off he has to take on top class opposition . The shortest he should be is 9/4 and the last time I looked he was 6/4 .
..........
Lazzat 0
No Half Measures +2
Rosy Affair +2 NR
Witness Stand +3
Big Mojo +3
King Cuan +4
Spy Chief +5
Rayevka +5
Kind Of Blue +5
Inisherin +5
Art Power +5
Run To Freedom +6
Montassib +6
James's Delight +6
Flora Of Bermuda +6
Ten Bob Tony +8
Kings Gamble +8
Iberian +8
Powerful Glory +9
Quinault +10

2lb per length and wide open . Rosy Affair looks too high but the figure is there .
Good luck .