Race Favourites and Odds Ahead of the 2021 Champagne Stakes

An exciting day of horse racing takes place at Doncaster on Saturday September 11. It’s not all about the St Leger though, there’s also the Group 2 Champagne Stakes. Due off at 2.20 UK time, this is a race for two-year-olds over a distance of seven furlongs and six yards with a first prize of £71,336. The forecast ground for this race is Good to Firm.

This race goes all the way back to 1823 and for the past two years, the winner has been trained by Richard Hannon. Last year it was Chindit who was the winner and in 2021, Hannon has a good chance of making it a hat-trick of Champagne Stakes victories.

Hannon doesn’t have the favourite for this race though. Currently at odds of 4/6 is the hat-trick chasing Reach For The Moon, trained by John and Thady Gosden and ridden by Frankie Dettori. This is likely to be the third race in a row that Reach For The Moon has gone off odds-on, reports horsesandcourses.net

This runner came second in Class 5 on debut but was then moved up to a Listed race at Royal Ascot. Reach For The Moon finished second behind by Point Lonsdale who has never been beaten and since that race won in Group 2 and Group 3.

At Newbury in mid-July, this runner got off the mark at the third attempt, easily winning a Class 4 race. A big step up was then taken but it paid off. Reach For The Moon won the Group 3 Solario Stakes at Sandown on August 21. The winning margin was four lengths but could have been more as the winner was eased down in the final furlong. With a performance like that, it’s no surprise that the Daily Mail believes another win is on the cards at Doncaster this weekend.

One contender looking to stop that happening is Lusail. This is the runner that Richard Hannon hopes will give him a third successive Champagne Stakes win. Lusail is bidding to win a fourth successive race after two victories at Newmarket and a recent one at York.

July saw Lusail win the Group 2 Tattersalls July Stakes at Newmarket. That was followed another Group 2 win at York last month. Both those wins were over six furlongs, but Lusail has won over seven and also on Good to Firm ground. Current odds by William Hill for this runner are 4/1. The horse racing platform is also offering some bonuses to all new accounts.

Another leading horse contender is Native Trail. This runner is trained by Charlie Appelby and is unbeaten after two races. Native Trail made his debut in June and won going away at Sandown in a Class 4 race. That was followed by success in the Group 2 Superlative Stakes at racecourse Newmarket in July, getting up to beat Masekela by a short head over seven furlongs. More improvement is likely, but will it be enough to beat Reach For The Moon?

Masakela has won a Listed race at Newmarket since being beaten by Native Trail. It may well be close again with the Charlie Appelby runner in this race. At odds of 13/2, an each-way bet on this runner may produce a good return in what should be an entertaining renewal of the Champagne Stakes.

 

The Excitement of the Melbourne Cup

It’s been a tough couple of years for most of us, and that of course extends to most areas of life. One area we might have imagined would remain untouched is sports, but across the board showpiece events associated with sporting excellence were cancelled. Here I’m thinking of the Grand National, the postponement of the Olympics (until 2021) and more besides. Of course conditions in individual countries differed and so thankfully due to the relatively advantageous pandemic situation in Australia at the time, the Melbourne Cup 2020, did go ahead. Unfortunately though a little of the atmosphere was lost due to the fact that neither members of the public nor owners were allowed to be on course for the event. Still, the race set off on 3rd November, with a total prize money of A$8 million. It was won by Twlight Payment trained by Joseph O’Brien and ridden by Jye McNeil.

With 2020 now behind us and the world situation still unclear, it’s a real positive at least that the 2021 Melbourne Cup still looks to also be going ahead (this time on Tuesday 2nd November). It may well be useful to check the Melbourne Cup betting offers even at this early stage, as many bookmakers will be looking to draw punters in early. Competition will be fierce on account that this is certainly a race that gets punters talking.

The race will of course again take place at Flemington Racecourse and at time of writing whether there will be crowds or not this year is an unknown. A consensus is possibly building around the idea that there might not be, but even if that is the case let’s not let that take away from what will no doubt be an unmissable spectacle of amazing thoroughbred racing action in this its 161st running (the first being in 1875). Run over 3200m and with once again top prize money on offer, expect the best of the racing world to go head to head. It’s not known as ‘the race that stops a nation’ for nothing.

Taking place at 3pm at the day in question and broadcast on Channel 10 in Australia, plenty of horses are inevitably nominated to take part in the race, but ultimately only 24 will be able to do so. So who is in the running to take top prize in this showpiece handicapped race this year? Well, while it could be argued that it’s very early in the day to start making predictions. Current favourite at 12-1 with bookmakers is Spanish Mission, and others seen as being in the running at this stage are Prince of Arran (3rd last year), Realm of Flowers, Tiger Moth (who finished 2nd last year), Incentivise and Tarnawa. It should be an exciting affair!

Horse Racing in South Africa

In the last post we touched on the love that they have for horse racing in Australia, and namely the racing excitement that can routinely be witnessed on racecourses such as Flemington. In a parallel made before, there are some that enjoy the best online casinos au, and there others who want a real world gambling or sporting experience. The same applies to all nations; and I’d say that one nation that doesn’t get enough love as far as its passion for horse racing goes, is South Africa.

There are in fact several race course in South Africa, which surely speaks to the popularity of the sport of horse racing in the country. Racing has a history in the country going back 200+ years and there are several tracks that are known to draw in the crowds. It’s not a country I’ve visited, the closet I’ve been is in playing the best online slots south africa, but it’s certainly a country I’d love to go. If I can watch top quality horse racing action while I’m there, all the better.

There’s the 2600m Turffontein, a right handed track with a straight. It’s home of multiple group one races including the prestigious Champion’s Challenge in April, which has impressive prize money of £170,000. There’s also Kenilworth, a  left handed track where stamina often plays a deciding role in victory. The  5,000,000 Rand Sun Met takes place it each year, bringing with it crowds of 50,000+. It’s the richest race in South African racing and attracts the cream of the crop of racing talent.

Another track, which some will have heard of is Greyville. It’s pear shaped and so often the case that if a horse gets to the front of the pack, the other have their work cut out to take the lead. The big money Group race ‘The Durban’ takes place here. The race is steeped in over 100 years of history and so is a much sough after win for jockeys, trainer and owners alike.