It’s British summertime, not that you could tell by the wet weather than has drenched the country. A number of major sporting events have been a washout with the ICC Cricket World Cup feeling the full force. Organisers were left red faced when the downpour highlighted the lack of a back-up plan and they are left with little more than hope that the rain stays off long enough to get results. Here are our top June 15 Horse Racing betting tips.
The UK and Irish horse racing schedule have also been affected and we saw meetings abandoned at Haydock and Uttoxeter. That’s something you’d expect to find in January, not June. We have a bumper weekend ahead and it has been a case of all hands on deck to make sure the biggest and best race cards get the go ahead.
If you are planning on placing a bet on the racing this week it would be wise to seek out horses that have proven their ability to run in difficult conditions with plenty of water in the soil.
The Modern Way to Watch Racing
Plenty to get through on Saturday, we have meetings scheduled at York, Sandown, Chester, Bath, Hexham, Leicester, Worcester, Downpatrick and Limerick. Which of those named actually runs is another matter, so it may be worth waiting until the day of the race to place your bets. You’ll likely get less of a price than those choosing to take a risk and get in early but keeping your powder dry will allow you a chance to see how the land lies, weather conditions and any non-runners.
You can then place your bet with any major bookmaker and watch the racing live on ITV and through one of the modern mobile betting apps, including the one offered by Ladbrokes. This allows punter to bet on the go and those placing a wager on the outcome can watch the race live through an HD quality stream on their handset at no extra cost.
There are many betting markets available too, each designed to capture your attention. Have your say on the race winner, each-way, without the favourite, against the field, match betting, winning lengths and favourite to win or not. You can bet as a single or shoot for a bigger price and throw a few fancies together in one of the popular multiples. These include accumulators, Lucky 15, Yankee and Heinz bets. The more winners you land the higher the return.
Grand Cup Stakes – 3.00pm York
York provides the back of the action with a seven-race card getting started at 1.50pm, taking us through to 5.15. What lies between the two is an afternoon of top-class flat racing with the standout of the card being the listed Race to the Ebor Grand Cup Stakes. This 1m 5f battle goes to post at 3.00pm and with the track getting its fair share of rain this week this could turn into a battle of wills on trying ground.
Open to horses aged four years old and above, the Grand Cup Stakes was first run in 2008 when Samuel scored for trainer John Dunlop under the ride of jockey Eddie Ahern. That was one of two four-year-olds to win this trophy in the first three years, Tactic being the other in 2010. We’ve had more of a mixed bag in recent times with two five-year-olds, two four-year-olds and a seven-year-old responsible for the five most recent champions.
Trainer Peter Niven has given us two of the last half dozen with Clever Cookie finishing in a dead heat with Ralston Road in 2014 and the same horse doing the business again in 2015, this time finishing unchallenged. Marmelo won the prize money 12 months ago for Ryan Moore and Hughie Morrison but the champion won’t be back to defend, meaning we’re set for a new king. Who will that be? Bookmakers have made their feelings clear in the antepost betting and seemed convinced they were on the right side of the 2019 champion.
Mekong Carries the Famous Frankel Bloodline
The runner to carry the support of the traders is Mekong with backers able to get their hands on no more than 888Sport’s 11/8 at the time of writing. That was a generous offer as many of their competitors were stuck around the 6/4 mark, unwilling to take any kind of risk with what they believe to be the best runner in the field.
Mekong fully deserves a place at the head of the betting too as his stats make for interesting reading. The jolly falls into the four-year-old age bracket which will appeal to followers of the form and he also boasts some supreme breeding, carrying the great Frankel’s bloodline. That alone will make him a hot pick with casual backers and they will be eager to get their money down and hope this runner can live up to the famous name.
The gelding hasn’t done too bad a job of achieving the latter so far in his career and goes into what will be the 11th run of his career with stats reading three wins and three seconds. His last victory came at Haydock when claiming a 1m 6f handicap but that was followed by a couple of silver medals when stopped up in class. He was beaten by 2/1 favourite Ghostwatch at Ascot last October in a listed stakes, going down by ½ a length.
Big Year Ahead
Early favourite for the Grand Cup impressed again in defeat when finding only one too good at Sandown in his only other previous race of the year, the Henry II Stakes over a couple of miles last month. He went to post a 7/2 shot in a market headed by 4/7 jolly Dee Ex Bee and it was the latter who did the business off short odds. Winning under the ride of De Sousa, he scored by 1 ¾ lengths.
With the benefit of that run under his belt we are expecting to see improvement from Mekong to kick-start what will be an important season for him. If he can get off the mark for the year on Saturday it’ll thrust him into contention for some big prizes in the months to come.