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Latest Profit & Loss Figures
A good week ending Sunday, 23 November, with five successive winning days, Wed-Sunday inclusive, producing a profit of +£9.38 to a £1 level stake.
For some reason, it felt like a more successful week than the final figure suggests, and recommending Hartington (7/1) and Horace's Pearl (8/1) win-only – both placed – was a mistake.
However, I do feel Hartington should have won, making a couple of significant errors at a crucial time.
Two points lost instead of a small profit had I recommended each-way support.
Latest Profit & Loss for the week ending Sunday, 23 November
- Cumulative profit since August 1, 2022: +£1340.66
- Week ending Sunday, 23 November: +£9.38
- November 2025 to date: +£57.65
- Year 2025 to date: +£263.18
- 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, 29 November
There are doubts about how much rain the tracks will get on Saturday, with Newbury seemingly most likely to get a good soaking.
As a result, I have bypassed the other meetings in Britain, including a fascinating Fighting Fifth at Newcastle, which sees the reappearance of both Constitution Hill and The New Lion - a race to savour.
12:30pm Newbury - Wiseguy & Hunter Legend
There is a band of rain due to hit Newbury overnight and throughout the day, with the possibility of up to 20mm of rain "if the front stays to the south."
Leader In The Park is a personal favourite but didn't get home over 2m5f+ at Kelso back in March and is overlooked despite the excellent form of the Ben Pauling yard. He would not want conditions to deteriorate.
Booster Bob looked like being tailed off in the 2m4f+ Greatwood Gold Cup here back in March, but Sean Bowen galvanised him going to two out, and he went from last to first to win going away. The form has been franked in the interim, and a 6lb rise is fair. He promises to be well served by the additional couple of furlongs and is a must for the shortlist, as is Eyed, but my two against the field are WISEGUY and HUNTER LEGEND, and I have backed both.
Wiseguy won the corresponding race first time out last season and is only 2lbs higher this afternoon. He has an excellent record fresh, although it is a bit disconcerting that James Bowen – who was in the plate twelve months ago – rides Bhaloo for the yard, allowing Feddie Gordon – Nico de Boinville at Newcastle for Constitution Hill, of course - to take the ride. Wiseguy clearly goes well fresh, and I thought he was going to be a top-class handicapper after scoring at Exeter on his chase debut.
Hunter Legend was doing all his best work late on when sixth in the Paddy Power, and the additional quarter of a mile will suit. The Venetia Williams yard had a welcome winner at Uttoxeter earlier in the week. However, they haven't taken off as you might have imagined they would, although the ground has not been as soft as many of her string appear to relish.
Recommendations: Hunter Legend - 5/1 with bet365 & Wiseguy - 11/1 with SpreadEx
2:15pm Newbury - Indeevar Bleu (Nap)
INDEEVAR BLEU (Nap) has a good record fresh and put behind a poor run at Haydock over Christmas to score easily at Ffos Las – following a wind operation - when last seen back in April from a 6lbs lower mark. He looks every inch a chaser, but connections must feel they have unfinished business over hurdles. This is reported to have been the target for a long time.
If the rain arrives, that could compromise the chances of market rivals Viyanni and Indemnity, and the chief threat may come from the four-year-olds Give It To Me OJ and Live Conti, although both will do well to give a stone and more to the seven-year-old selection.
Recommendation: Indeevar Bleu (Nap) - 4/1 with bet365
2:55pm Newbury - Myretown (Each-Way)
Many of the Cheltenham handicaps at the Festival in March were decided at the start, with those lining up on the outside of the field having little or no chance after half a furlong. MYRETOWN (Each-Way) was flattered by the margin of his win – 11 lengths – in the Ultima, and early in the week I was keen to take him on in the Coral Cup. He won't get an uncontested lead today, that's for sure.
As the week has gone on, however, I have looked more closely at today's opposition, and how much he had in hand at the line at the Festival, and I have - somewhat reluctantly - concluded that he is the most likely winner in a race with few potentially well-treated or progressive rivals.
The selection does not have the class for top-class chases, but you could see him make up into a National horse come the spring. He only carried 10st 2lbs in a sub-standard Ultima and is 15lbs higher in the handicap today, but he was going away at the line under Patrick Wadge. I would have preferred Wadge to keep the mount, but Derek Fox takes over in the plate.
Kandoo Kid did us a favour by winning the race first time out last season, although having a recent run is the norm for Coral Cup winners. The shortlist comprised Bet365 winner Resplendent Grey - Lowry's Bar – but he gives 6lbs to a Festival winner – Katate Dori – is he better going right-handed? - and last year's third Victorrino – but 4lbs higher today.
The Mullins challenge strikes me as a B Team affair, and I don't think De Bromhead's Gorgeous Tom will stay, especially given the forecast. The Hennessy is one of my favourite races of the year, but this renewal leaves me lukewarm in relation to other years. There is no Strong Flow in the race in 2025.
Recommendation: Myretown (Each-Way) - 5/1 with William Hill (5 places)
3:35pm Newbury - Javert Allen
I was disappointed with JAVERT ALLEN's finishing effort at Aintree and wondered if he would step up in trip, but he is kept to the minimum trip, and that race may have been better than it appeared at first glance. Note winner Mambonumberfive was due to run at Newbury on Friday.
The six-year-old has been eased 1lb for his reappearance, and his sound jumping will always be an asset. He has won on soft ground over hurdles – and beaten a short head over fences – so any deterioration in the ground should not be an inconvenience, and the hope is that he takes a step forward from Aintree.
Rath Gaul Hill goes well fresh, but the form of the Sam Drinkwater yard tempers confidence and a bigger threat may come from Doyen Du Bar, who has his first start for Nicky Richards, having won three of his last four over fences for Pauline Robson last term. The horse he finished second to in that sequence was the subsequent winner, Vicenzo, of Sam Thomas.
Recommendation: Javert Allen - 9/2 with bet365
11:36am Fairyhouse - The Big Westerner
I was disappointed that Henry De Bromhead did not allow THE BIG WESTERNER to take her chance in the Mares' Beginners Chase at Cork on Sunday when he took her out before the first race on account of ground described as yielding, although the rain arrived during racing.
She is down to take on the boys today, including the Coral Cup winner Jimmy Du Seuil, and the hope is that the conditions, described as yielding to soft on Friday, allow the mare to take her chance. This 2m5f+ trip looks her bare minimum, but she is a mare I think can go to the very top over fences, and she receives 7lbs from the geldings.
Note that, with Darragh O'Keefe at Newbury and Paul Townend at Newcastle, the two main protagonists will be ridden by deputies - Mike O'Connor on board the selection and Patrick Mullins on Jimmy Du Seuil.
Recommendation: The Big Westerner - 15/8 with BetGoodwin
*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.
You can follow Charlie McCann on Twitter for more racing insight.
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