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Latest Profit & Loss Figures
Two outstanding days, Friday and Sunday, enabled the week ending Sunday, 22 March, to produce an excellent profit of +£18.18 to a £1 level stake.
Latest Profit & Loss for the week ending Sunday, 22 March, 2026
- Cumulative profit since August 1, 2022: +£1,536.05
- Week ending Sunday, 22 March: +£18.18
- March 2026 to date: +£39.70
- Year 2026 to date: +£145.84
- Year 2025 ended: +£312.73
- Year 2024 ended: +£364.90
- Year 2023 ended: +£469.27
- Period 1/8/22-31/12/22 ended: +£243.31
(All figures to a £1 level stake)
Charlie McCann’s Tips - Saturday, 28 March
I had my first antepost flat bet of the year midweek, when I heard Aidan O'Brien was running his Guineas favourite, Albert Einstein, in today's 7f Gladness Stakes at the Curragh.
I appreciate that he has not seen the course since May, and he has only had two career starts, and connections believe he needs more experience before the first classic of the season. It is also possible, however, that they are unconvinced that his unbeaten son of Wootton Bassett will get a mile.
The first foal of a mare who was a 5f juvenile winner, O'Brien described the juvenile thus in the aftermath of his 6f Group 3 Marble Stakes success last term:
"As fast a horse as we have ever seen work."
None of O'Brien's 10 previous 2000 Guineas winners have had a prep race at Newmarket, so why now? It was only ten days ago that O'Brien said of his classic contender:
"We won't know if he's going to get the mile until we do it. The stride people, the heart people, the pedigree people, everyone says that he will get a mile, but he's a very quick thinker."
"He's rapid to do anything, he's quick to leave the stalls and very quick into his stride. We're not going to know, and we're not going to search to find out because we don't want to wake him up too much."
I have interpreted his running today as a sign that connections have had a rethink and now consider him more a sprinter than a miler.
I have backed Albert Einstein for the Commonwealth Cup at 14/1, although it is not a recommendation at this stage. It could be on Monday.
12:55pm Meydan - Al Riffa (Nap)
Dubai was hit with thunderstorms and heavy rain on Thursday night into Friday morning, although conditions were still described as good to firm on the track's website on Friday morning.
Regular readers will know that I am a huge fan of AL RIFFA (Nap) and this three-time Group 1 winner from 7f to 1m6f can land the Dubai Gold Cup for Joseph O'Brien, although he has never won at this 2m trip. His stablemate Sons And Lovers is likely to lead and may get a soft one given there is no other guaranteed pace in the race with Burdett Road held up in his most recent starts.
Al Riffa has run over 2m once previously, running a cracker in the Melbourne Cup from a dreadful draw in a race where you needed to be ridden up with the pace. A six-year-old entire, he has the class and stamina to win this race; he just needs luck in running from another moderate draw in stall nine of ten.
As I am writing, jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle has been replaced by Declan McDonagh on the Racing Post website, which is a concern, although there is no confirmation from Meydan. As good as McDonagh is, this is a negative, as McMonagle is as good as anyone riding, in my opinion, and knows the horse well, having been in the plate for his five career wins.
McMonagle has been riding successfully in Hong Kong, and I can only presume he has been unable to get a suitable flight due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The 6/4 available on Friday morning might get slightly bigger if the change of jockey is correct.
Recommendation: Al Riffa (Nap) - 6/4 with William Hill
3:32pm Doncaster - Shout & Tribal Chief
This year's Lincoln looks like a quality renewal, although the excellent Paul Kealy in the Racing Post highlighted the paucity of runners in the field (6) rated 100 or more midweek in comparison to a decade ago; perhaps competitive is the right adjective rather than quality or vintage.
Market leader La Botte has had a Skelton-like preparation for the race as he was slowly away, taken to the rear and switched to the wide outside in the Trial at Wolverhampton under Jamie Spencer at the beginning of the month. It really was an eye-catching run, and trainer Harry Eustace has suggested that he expects this to be his last handicap!
He is a best price of 4/1 (Hills & Unibet) and, as with Skelton's Madara and Supremely West, I will look for an each-way alternative. Note there has only been one winning favourite in the last decade – Addeybb didn't go of fav in 2018!
I fear the ground may have gone against Classic Encounter in the Spring Mile (consolation race), but my two against the field are SHOUT and TRIBAL CHIEF, and I will back both in the hope that a high draw is a positive. Do note that the winner has come out of a low stall 3-2-12-4 in three of the last four years, and there is more pace in the low stalls. I hope the Spring Mile (2:25pm) suggests a high stall is not a disadvantage.
The ground was officially described as soft when Shout won at Ascot over their straight mile in September, but conditions were nearer good – winning time just two seconds over standard – but he does handle a bit of cut and he was given a poor ride by Oisin Murphy in the Balmoral Handicap on Champions Day – slowly away and Murphy panicked and rushed him into midfield. In the circumstances, he ran a terrific race in fourth. Murphy is in Dubai, so Rab Havlin takes over in the plate.
David Menuisier did us a favour when Migration won the race three years ago and his Tribal Chief has always threatened to win a big race. He can compromise his chance with a slow start, but Sean Levey has ridden him in his last three starts, and the hope is that he breaks on terms. The five-year-old has been well backed during the week on the back of some bullish noises from the trainer, although that is the norm.
Recommendations: Shout - 10/1 with Coral & Tribal Chief - 14/1 with Ladbrokes
3:13pm Kempton - Pina Sonata
In the listed Snowdrop Stakes, the market leaders Survie and Cathedral would be giving plenty of weight away if this were a handicap, but both were campaigned over further towards the end of last season.
First time out might be the time to catch PINA SONATA, who looked exciting when winning her first two starts for James Fanshawe as a three-year-old – including on the all-weather on her seasonal debut – before disappointing in her last couple of starts. She has obviously been kept in training to get some black type, and I was impressed with her at both Wolverhampton and Leicester.
Her draw in stall nine is less than ideal, but the hope is that there is enough pace to allow the filly to settle as she can be keen in her races. After just five career starts, she is open to further improvement, and 12/1 looked a fair price.
Recommendation: Pina Sonata - 12/1 with bet365
2:35pm Uttoxeter - Crazierthandaisy
Conditions were described as good to soft at Uttoxeter on Friday morning for their terrific seven-race card.
CRAZIERTHANDAISY is just 4lbs higher than when scoring at Warwick (2m5f) on good to soft ground back in the autumn, and she has not been getting home over three miles in her last couple of starts. This better ground and step back down in trip will suit, and the Nicky Henderson stable's amateur Dan Williams takes off a valuable 7lbs.
Williams rides many of the yard's stars, including Constitution Hill, on the home gallops, and I know he is highly regarded at Seven Barrows. James Bowen is at the track, but Henderson obviously wants to claim from the top-weight.
Recommendation: Crazierthandaisy
3:45pm Uttoxeter - Bank On Frank
Bowen rides Jo Lescribaa for Venetia Williams – her sole runner on the day – in the 3m handicap chase, and he is much respected from the foot of the weights, although Charlie Deutsch has decided to take the day off.
Four of the ten runners are last time out winners, but BANK ON FRANK went into my tracker after his impressive Southwell win on just his second chase start. The handicapper was also impressed, and a 10lbs rise looks harsh enough, but I loved the way he jumped, and this better ground will suit. Note the second - Mixedwave – was due to run at Wetherby on Friday. A good run would boost the form.
At a much bigger price, keep an eye on Inflexible, who I always thought was potentially smart for Tom George, but showed next to nothing on his first start for his new yard following a 500-day absence.
The chief threat, however, is likely to come from the mare Largy Force, who steps up to 3m for the first time. She has won two of her four starts since moving to Olly Murphy and looks well worth a try at the trip. She will have to improve again to beat the selection, but she is clearly going the right way and is in good hands to continue to progress.
Recommendation: Bank On Frank
*Betting odds correct at the time of publication. All odds are subject to changes.
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Charlie McCann’s Horses to Follow
Last updated, Monday 30 June
Blue Bolt (Three-year-old filly trained by Andrew Balding)
Blue Bolt was beaten more than 5L on her racecourse debut over 7f at Southwell on debut but she has looked a different proposition on turf, with that experience under her belt, winning both starts over a mile at Windsor and Newbury.
Her latest success in a valuable Novice under Colin Keane suggested she was ready for a step up in grade and she holds an entry in the listed Coral Distaff on Eclipse Day at Sandown.
Her Group 1 entry Matron Stakes at Leopardstown in September suggests connections are taking it slowly slowly with this daughter of Blue Point - no entry in next week’s Falmouth Stakes - but I am convinced she is at least up to listed level.
Keane was jockey up on the filly as soon as the entries were announced and both turf wins have been gained on good or faster ground. There is a possibility of a shower on Wednesday morning, but the forecast is set fair for the rest of the week.
Gunship (Three-year-old trained by James Ferguson)
Gunship was not guaranteed on breeding to appreciate the step up to a mile-and-a-half at Royal Ascot and so it proved with the dual tapeta winner fading from two out in the King George V Stakes.
It is possible that the Sea The Stars colt will always be a better horse on the all-weather, but he travelled as well as anything save winner Merchant at the Royal meeting. We will know more about his long-term prospects after his next start which is likely to be at Newmarket on the Friday of their July Cup meeting.
That bet365 sponsored contest is one of the hottest three-year-old 10f handicaps of the season and he needs ten to come out to be guaranteed a run, but he remains a colt with plenty more to come, and his next start should tell us whether his best days lie solely on an artificial surface.
The form of his previous three quarters of a length defeat of War Hawk at Newmarket has been franked by the runner up who has since won at Chester and Epsom. He would meet Gunship on 6lbs worse terms if they both faced the starter on the July course.
Midnight Tango (Two-year-old trained by Ed Walker)
Midnight Tango really ought to have won the listed Empress Stakes at Newmarket (July) at the end of June when Kieran Shoemark tried to come from last to first on the wrong side of the track. She passed six of her seven rivals in the last couple of furlongs, and I wonder if the jockey will consider it one that got away.
She has only got a modest Hamilton success to her name, but she is held in some regard by Ed Walker, and she is up to at least listed class. It would be no surprise if she landed a Group race between now and the end of the season with something like the Lowther at York’s Ebor meeting under consideration.
Charles Darwin (Two-year-old trained by Aidan O’Brien)
The “lads” at Ballydoyle nominated Albert Einstein as their Coventry horse over 6f at Royal Ascot after making it two out of two in the Marble Stakes at the Curragh. That left Charles Darwin as their Norfolk representative after his fluent Naas win at the minimum trip.
When Albert Einstein was a late defector ahead of the Coventry, connections gave Gstaad the green light to run on the opening day and left Charles Darwin in the Norfolk rather than “upgrade” him to the Coventry which is widely considered the premier juvenile race of the meeting.
Gstaad duly bolted up by 3l in the Coventry while Charles Darwin landed Thursday’s Norfolk by more than 2l hitting the line hard and giving every impression he would relish another furlong. Aidan O’Brien, it would appear, already has the three best juvenile colts in Europe and it will be fascinating to see how connections keep them apart.
If there is a batting order at present, you feel the yard consider 1) Albert Einstein 2) Charles Darwin and 3) Gstaad. Charles Darwin has the physique of a four-year-old let alone a two-year-old and a crack at the Group 1 Nunthorpe over 5f at York in August was muted given the weight-for-age allowance juveniles receive against their elders.
I would prefer the son of No Nay Never to step back up to six furlongs next time, but you get the impression that Albert Einstein will dictate and be campaigned as the yard’s number one until results say otherwise.
As a half-brother to the yard’s dual Group1 winning juvenile Blackbeard, Charles Darwin is not guaranteed to train on next term, but I am convinced he will win at the top table between now and the end of the season.
Aeronautic (Four-year-old trained by Joseph O’Brien)
The lightly- raced Aeronautic finished fifth in the 1m6f Copper Horse Stakes on the opening day of Royal Ascot for Joseph O’Brien who endured such a frustrating week.
The stable had four winners in Ireland on Saturday, and most of their Ascot team ran terrific races in defeat with six finishing in the first four of their respective races.
Aeronautic was no match for French Master at Ascot but ran a cracking race on the quickest ground he has encountered to date. He was beaten less than 4l in the Copper Horse over that mile-and-three-quarter trip and I wonder if connections will consider dropping him back in distance at some time given how well he travelled on that occasion.
After just six career starts the son of Gleneagles has a big race in him between now and the end of the season. The Ebor and Melbourne Cup were races connections may have had in mind for the gelding had he won at Ascot, but I am still convinced there is a big pot to be had with the gelding this term and he won’t go up the weights for finishing fifth.
Classic Encounter (Three-year-old trained by George Boughey)
Classic Encounter was weak in the market, then backed near the off at Newcastle on his first start for George Boughey and belated seasonal reappearance.
He was squeezed out at the start of that hot Novice contest before making good late headway into a never nearer fifth over a mile.
That should have blown the cobwebs away, and I expect him to be more forcefully ridden next time. He will get further than a mile and looks the type to win a maiden/novice on turf in the short turn while he may be eased a couple of pounds from his mark of 82.
He is very much one to keep onside in the months ahead.
Charming Whisper (Three-year-old trained by Charlie McBride)
I appreciate you can go skint backing horses who have been unlucky, but I feel Charming Whisper should have won his last four races for Newmarket handler Charlie McBride.
A winner of two-mile handicaps from marks of 72 and 74 in June, the gelding has met trouble in-running from his last couple of starts over the Bunbury Mile and at Brighton - not convinced he was in love with the track - and I feel he is more than capable of defying his current rating of 80.
A stiff mile on good or faster ground are his optimum conditions, and he is one to keep on the right side of in the short term.
Ride The Thunder (Two-year-old trained by Roger Varian)
He cost 400,000 gns as a yearling and went into my tracker when recovering £1700 of his purchase price when finishing second in a Doncaster Novice to God Of War - had previous experience - on debut over seven furlongs.
I appreciate that the Varian yard lacks consistency, but I will be disappointed if this inmate does not go one better next time. The step up to a mile is likely to suit going forward, although 7f looks his trip in the short term.
Jagwar (Five-year-old trained by Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero)
Jagwar ran with the choke out at Uttoxeter in their competitive 2m 4f handicap hurdle last weekend and a blunder two out put paid to his chance. He was beaten 10L at the line, but he travelled like a well-handicapped horse for much of the race and the hope is that he will eventually cut out the jumping issues that have blunted his progression to this point. He was dropped 1lb to a mark of 118 by the handicapper after Uttoxeter.
Better ground should suit this spring and I wonder if he might be worth a try back at the minimum trip. The conditional jockeys’ event at Aintree might enter calculations at next month’s National meeting.
Merry Monty (Seven-year-old trained by Chris Down)
Merry Monty looked the type to improve for the switch to fences, and he shaped with considerable promise on his chase debut at Exeter over 2m 3f on New Year’s Day, giving every indication that he would improve again when stepped up in trip.
The gelding showed his first form when runner up - also at Exeter - on his penultimate start over timber when he jumped his hurdles as if he had been previously schooled over fences. He is likely to be nudged up the weights from his mark of eighty, but he would have won at Exeter granted another twenty yards, and I will be disappointed if he isn’t bordering on three figures by the end of the season.
Frederick Daly (7lb Claimer)
It is rare to be as impressed with a jockey, especially one who arguably won by too far, having his first ride under rules. Still, I was blown away by the quiet style of amateur Daly, who rode Golden Shot to win the amateur riders’ event at Ffos Las on Monday for Sir Mark Prescott. As Ian Bishop might have said: “Frederick Daly - remember the name”.
The 16-year-old was as polished in his postrace interview with Sky Sports Racing as he was in the saddle, and he suggested that he would spend little time as an amateur and would soon be turning professional.
His 7lb claim is likely to prove very popular when that happens. However, you get the impression that his father, who I remember as a former assistant trainer in Newmarket, and Sir Mark Prescott will manage his progression diligently as he works through his claim.
It might be daft to draw such conclusions after just the one ride, and he never had to get serious on the 29L winner, but there was just something about his style that suggested he was no ordinary amateur jockey. I, for one, will be monitoring his progress and will take note to see if other trainers book the jockey for similar contests in the short term.
Royal Rhyme (Three-year-old trained by Karl Burke)
Goodwood was largely a disappointment, with the rain putting a dampener on proceedings on and off the track. The week was summed up when the last three races were abandoned on the Saturday as the rain returned in spades.
On the track, the highlights were the continued brilliance of Paddington in the Sussex Stakes on Wednesday, but he must play second fiddle to Royal Rhyme, who showed himself to be a Group horse when running away with what is invariably a competitive three-year-old handicap.
The handicapper has seen fit to raise him 13lbs to a mark of 108 for his six-and-a-half length romp, while his winning time was three seconds quicker than that clocked by Al Husn in the Group 1 Nassau Stakes later in the card. His record on soft ground reads played three won three, with those successes coming by an aggregate of 12 lengths.
He remains one to keep on side granted soft ground this autumn. His stablemate Triple Time, likely to reappear at Deauville on Sunday, did us a huge favour when landing the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot at 33/1. Royal Rhyme is currently the same price for the Champion Stakes with Ladbrokes and Coral at Newmarket in October. Granted soft ground, he certainly won’t be that price if he faces the starter.
Diamond Ri (Four-year-old trained by Joe Tizzard)
Diamond Ri tanked through a Warwick Bumper on his racecourse debut to score by a long-looking thirteen lengths. The winning time was five-and-a-half seconds than the first division half an hour later.
The Tizzard yard does not have too many Bumper winners, but the yard can dare to dream over the summer that they have something to go to war with as a novice hurdler next term. His win came on soft ground, and his action and breeding suggest plenty of cut will suit going forward. Not one for the short term, but one for next season.
About Charlie McCann
Seven years as talkSPORT racing correspondent/tipster who recently spent over a decade as Director Of PR/Communications for a couple of leading igaming operators.
Failed cricketer - I regularly bore people, myself included, with the story about how I caught Imran Khan when 12th Man for Lancashire v Sussex as a youth - former National League Basketball player - once scored 72 points in a game - and lifelong and long-suffering Everton supporter.
Many of my old friends - and I mean old - would tell you I was a better footballer than a cricketer - but cricket was my first love.
Horse racing has long been my passion - ironic as I’ll never pass the vet again as my sports injuries have come back to bite - with my specialism handicap chases over jumps and 1m+ handicaps on the level.
I have met many of the great and good in the game and consider myself to have been very fortunate. Please always bet within your means and never chase your losses.
Be Lucky.
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