Only four days to Cheltenham but there is still plenty of racing on. Sandown holds the Paddy Power Imperial Cup and Tony McCoy and Qaspal are fancied to get a pre-Cheltenham boost. Other meetings go ahead at Ayr, Chepstow, Limerick and a flat card takes place at Wolverhampton.

In the opener at Sandown, Ranjobaie could take a lot of beating. He got the better of Bygones Of Brid on his last run. That form has since been franked as Bygones Of Brid went on to win a grade two hurdle at Kelso. With a decent seven pound claimer on board, in David Bass, he should take a lot of beating.

Up at Ayr, Si Bien should go well for promising jockey Harry Haynes. He finished a good third to last Saturday’s winner, Tail Of The Bank, giving him quite a bit of weight. With the better ground likely to suit, he should give a good account of himself.

In the 14:15 at Lingfield I fancy the Eddie Ahearn ridden Mia’s Boy to go well. He has a hundred and twenty-three day absence to overcome, but has gone well fresh in the past. He was set some stiff assignments last year, running behind the likes of Rip Van Winkle, but this is much more his grade. He has won over course and distance and should go well.

In the 14:50 at Wolverhampton a horse called Edinburgh Knight runs. He impressed me with the way he quickened up the last day. That was a slowly run affair and should get a decent pace to put his best foot forward. I think he could be well ahead of the handicapper and should run well.

Horse Racing Betting

Saturday’s big meeting takes place at Sandown with the Imperial Cup being the big race on the card. A maximum field of twenty-four go to post with the J.P McManus owned Qaspal holding favouritism. He was a very impressive winner of his latest start where he romped to an easy two and three quarter length victory. He got into the race by the skin of his teeth and Philip Hobbs will be hoping to now land the big prize. The Pipe team have won five of the last ten runnings and were very disappointed when one of their leading chances didn’t make the line-up. If Hunterview were to get in at a late stage, he’d be one to keep an eye on.

It generally pays to stick with horses that are mid/low in the handicap. From looking at the form, there are two horses standing out; Qaspal and Press The Button.

Qaspal looks to be improving at a rate of knots. He has won his last two starts with any amount in hand. The last day he won at Sandown, he pulled for the whole race, not settling at all and still managing to win very cosily. I’m not sure the form amounts to much, but he couldn’t have won any better especially after pulling so hard for so long. With twenty-four horses lining up the race will most certainly be run to suit. He should settle much better in today’s race and he could still be very well treated, racing off a lenient mark of 124. A big chance with the champ on board.

My other fancy is the Jim Boyle trained Press The Button. He was very decent on the flat, having a lofty rating of 94, but is still unexposed over hurdles. He’s only had the three runs over hurdles, winning two and filling the runner-up berth on his third start. The form isn’t bad and has been franked to a certain degree. A couple of the horses he beat now have higher ratings then him. To me, that indicates he’s ahead of the handicapper and looks to have been laid out for this race. He has also come in for support in recent days, being backed from fourteens to tens. My one concern is his lack of a recent run but he should still go well.

I fancy both horses so my advice is to have a win bet on Qaspal and an each-way bet on Press The Button. Paddy Power are paying the first five home so that’s an added incentive for the each-way bet.

Paddy Power Imperial Cup Betting

The Golden Shoe – the prize awarded to the top goal scorer at a World Cup Finals – is often the most prestigious award outside actually winning the tournament. Such great players as Gary Lineker, Ronaldo, Davor Suker, Hristo Stoichkov, Garrincha, Eusebio and Gerd Muller have been previous recipients of the award and with dozens of high quality strikers heading to South Africa in 2010, this summer’s Golden Shoe market is wide open.

Here are five strikers to follow in South Africa.

David Villa (9/1)

He might be the favourite to add the Golden Shoe to the top goal scorer award he won at Euro 2008, but with his nation as World Cup favourites it is impossible to look past the claims of David Villa.

Statisticians have worked out that the Valencia forward was the most prolific striker in world football between 2005 and 2009 and he has an impressive 36 goals in just 54 international appearances.

With Spain expected to go far in the competition, Villa can provide the goals that might, finally, bring the World Cup to Spain.

Miroslav Klose (25/1)

As the experienced German striker approaches his 100th international cap, it is worth considering whether Klose is the most underrated forward in international football. The Bayern Munich striker averages a goal every other game in international matches and has proved himself at the very highest level.

Klose scored five goals in Japan and South Korea in 2002 before netting another five to win the Golden Shoe in Germany in 2006. With Germany expected to do well in South Africa, another five goal haul would see Klose join Ronaldo as the World Cup Finals’ all time leading goalscorer.

Nicklas Bendtner (100/1)

The Arsenal forward might seem like an unlikely choice here, particularly as he isn’t the most prolific striker for his club side. However, Bendtner is a vital part of an excellent Denmark team that generally perform well at World Cup Finals.

Bendtner helped his country qualify for South Africa ahead of both Portugal and Sweden. The Danes have never failed to get past the first round of a World Cup they have appeared in, and with Holland, Cameroon and Japan to face in Group E they can progress this time also. Bendtner is the focus of most of Denmark’s attacking play and so can provide the goals to carry the Scandinavian side to the knockout stages.

Alberto Gilardino (33/1)

Italy don’t boast an out and out world class goal scorer in 2010, although the Fiorentina forward Alberto Gilardino can provide the firepower they need to retain the World Cup.

With vital goals in qualifying against the Republic of Ireland and a late hat-trick against Cyprus, Gilardino has plenty of international experience. In a group including Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand, goals should be relatively easy to come by for Italy and so Gilardino could bag a hatful before the knockout stages begin.

Frank Lampard (66/1)

Whilst all the focus might be on the form of Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, it’s easy to ignore the impact that Frank Lampard has made on the England side since the arrival of Fabio Capello. In 2009, Lampard was joint top scorer for England (with Rooney) with six goals. The selection of Gareth Barry has allowed the Chelsea midfielder to revert to the attacking role he plays for his club side and he has produced some of his best international form in recent months.

Lampard is also England’s nominated penalty taker, and so whilst he and Rooney will battle it out to top score for England, I prefer the 66/1 on Lampard to the 10/1 on Rooney.

WC 2010 Top Goalscorer Betting

World Cup Betting

The most recent set of international fixtures will have been the last chance for players to impress their coaches ahead of 23 man squads being named for the 2010 World Cup. With less than a hundred days until kick off in South Africa, it is timely to have a look at the form of some of 2010’s leading contenders.

Spain – 4/1 favourites

Spain cemented their position as worthy World Cup favourites by recording their ninth consecutive win with their comfortable 2-0 triumph over France in Paris. Goals from David Villa (9/1 favourite to be top goalscorer in South Africa) and Sergio Ramos gave Spain an astonishing 42nd win in 45 international matches.

Spain once again looked simply superb, and FIFA’s number One ranked nation look like they might finally go all the way in the World Cup.

France – 12/1

The defeat to Vicente del Bosque’s side was met with significant disgust by a partisan France crowd with the form of captain Thierry Henry attracting the brunt of the criticism. Henry’s lack of match fitness after rarely featuring for Barcelona in recent weeks was apparent, leading coach Raymond Domenech to comment, “[His situation] raises some questions but we’ve not reached the point yet when it has become alarming.”

France look a shadow of their former international teams and, if all goes to form, will be England’s opponents in the 2010 quarter finals. On this showing, Fabio Capello’s side will have little to concern them.

England – 11/2

After a shaky start in which England fell behind to the African Cup of Nations champions Egypt, the Three Lions continued their excellent record under coach Fabio Capello by recording a comfortable 3-1 victory.

Goals from Peter Crouch and Shaun Wright-Phillips completed a second half turnaround for England who are still reshaping their defence after the injury problems to Glen Johnson, Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand and the controversial absence of Wayne Bridge.

Crouch has now scored a stunning 20 goals in 37 England appearances, and has found the net more times for his country than Dixie Dean, Johnny Haynes, Paul Scholes and Roger Hunt. He almost certainly booked his place in the England squad with his performance, although England will have to improve to progress far in South Africa.

Brazil – 5/1

Brazil weren’t at their best in the first half of their match against the Republic of Ireland in London but their second half showing and the substitutions coach Dunga was able to make demonstrated that they will be a force to be reckoned with in South Africa.

Robinho netted the second goal on his return to England and there were also impressive performances from fringe players including Michel Bastos, Ramires and Grafite. Coach Dunga has hinted that the likes of Ronaldinho, Pato and Diego may not feature this summer as he continues to build a side which reflects the more functional approach he displayed as a player.

Brazil have an excellent mixture of strength, European experience and flair and look set to go all the way in 2010.

Argentina – 9/1

One of the more surprising of the recent friendly results was Argentina’s 1-0 win over Germany in Munich. A goal from Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain settled the tie and, in truth, the 1978 and 1986 champions were by far the better side.

Diego Maradona was naturally bullish in his assessment of his side’s performance and of that of his striking talisman. “I thank God that Messi is Argentinian,” commented Maradona. “And I will thank God if he can make us world champions again. That is what we will go to South Africa to do – become world champions.”

Germany 14/1

I had high hopes for Germany this summer, but Joachim Löw’s side looked far from world beaters in their defeat to Maradona’s Argentina. Coming after the German’s 2-2 draw with a less than excellent Ivory Coast side last time out, the form of the three time champions leaves a little bit to be desired.

I still expect Germany to progress in South Africa, but they will have to play better than they have done of late.

Holland 14/1

Holland continue to register good results and their most recent friendly victory was their 2-1 home win over England’s Group C rivals the USA.

Dirk Kuyt and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar were on target for the Dutch, who also gave caps to the promising trio of Eljero Elia, Gregory van der Wiel and Ibrahim Afellay. Coach Bert van Maarwijk’s side are in good form and remain dark horses to perform well in South Africa.

New Zealand – 750/1

At the other end of the betting list, minnows New Zealand took many positives from their most recent match, even though they were beaten 2-0 by fellow qualifiers Mexico.

Ricki Herbert’s side were missing crucial players and experimented with a 5-3-2 formation in the fixture at the Rose Bowl. Goals from Javier Hernandez and Carlos Vela gave the Mexicans a win but it was a very handy run out for the All Whites.

World Cup Betting

Even Sam Allardyce admits that Blackburn Rovers just aren’t the same team away from Ewood Park. A meagre return of just nine goals and six points from 14 games on the road is relegation form and, if it wasn’t for the fact that they’ve been racking up the wins at home since the turn of the year, they would have been looking anxiously over their shoulders in the weeks ahead. As it is, Rovers are comparatively safe and probably lacking a little incentive to improve that dismal away record. It’s unlikely, therefore, that they’ll show much fight against Spurs at White Hart Lane. Tottenham sit in that prized fourth spot in the Premier League at present and will be going all out to consolidate their position. Roman Pavlyuchenko, Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe are all regularly contributing to the goals-for tally, and having won 2-0 at Ewood Park in December, the 4/9 for a home win looks a coupon banker this week.

Tottenham v Blackburn Rovers

Goal-happy Arsenal (2/5) are another team impossible to oppose at present and they should easily outgun Hull City, who conceded five at Everton last week, at the KC Stadium.

Hull City v Arsenal

Fulham’s players will probably be looking forward to a rest on Sunday night after an exhausting few days. Less than 72 hours after facing Juventus in Turin, they go to Old Trafford to face a Manchester United on the crest of a wave following their Champions League win over AC Milan. The 2/9 for a home win won’t land you a fortune but United must surely be the first name in all accumulators.

Man Utd v Fulham

Fans would never forgive Liverpool (1/4) if they didn’t beat doomed Portsmouth at Anfield on Monday night and, likewise, it’s difficult to see how West Ham are going to pick themselves up from a potentially costly defeat by fellow strugglers Bolton last week to prevent Chelsea (1/5) maintaining their place at the top of the table. Burnley (5/4) have only won once under Brian Laws so far but might edge the relegation six-pointer against out-of-sorts Wolves at Turf Moor, whereas the games between form teams Birmingham City and Everton, Lancashire neighbours Bolton and Wigan, and Sunderland and Manchester City are too close to call, and it would be no surprise if all three ended all-square.

Premier League Matches

Sunderland’s midweek thrashing of Bolton, their first win since knocking non-league Barrow out of the FA Cup early in January, will have done wonders for their confidence and that of hat-trick hero Darren Bent, and they may be good enough to steal a point from Manchester City at the Stadium of Light this weekend.

Steve Bruce’s men still don’t have much breathing space between them and the relegation places but have always been doing just enough to stay above the dogfight at the bottom and they have been difficult to beat on Wearside this season, only Aston Villa and Chelsea returning home with three points so far. It’s not as if they were made to work particularly hard for their win against 10-man Bolton either, who were already two goals down by the time Sam Ricketts received his marching orders.

Sunderland’s main problem this season has been scoring goals and they badly need last season’s leading light Kenwyne Jones to regain some kind of form. But, thanks in no small part to the form of Michael Turner, they have been fairly miserly at the back in front of their own fans, as shut-outs against Arsenal and Liverpool testify, so City’s forwards will have to be at their best to steal the honours.

Despite the fact that they are still currently favourites to engineer a top four finish, Manchester City’s away form is hardly spectacular for a team chasing a Champions League spot, however. The visitors have only managed four wins on the road so far in the league and only edged the reverse fixture 4-3 at Eastlands in December. One certainly can’t criticise the Sky Blues’ surprise victory at Chelsea last month, when Carlos Tevez and Craig Bellamy were on fire, but that result, and the fact that the Premier League leaders ended the game with nine men, glossed over the fact that they needed a late goal to scrape a draw at Stoke earlier and were beaten at struggling Hull the time before. The 5/1 odds for a 1-1 scoreline look tempting, therefore, as does the draw at 12/5.

Sunderland v Man City Betting

This years Cheltenham Bumper is shaping up to be one of the most competitive renewals ever. The first six in the market are separated by three points with favouritism lying with the Dermot Weld trained Elegant Concorde. Weld is double handed in the race, having co second favourite Hidden Universe too. The Irish dominate the market, holding five of the first six in the market, and if history is anything to go by, an Irish trained horse will be lead into the winners enclosure. The last English trained winner came in 2003 via the Martin Pipe yard and the U.K trainers look to have their work cut out again. The leading ‘English’ contender is headed by the Paul Nicholls’ trained Al Ferof. He was an impressive winner of a Newbury bumper, just after he was bought from Liz Doyle’s Irish yard. If he wins, I think many will try and claim an Irish victory.

Current favourite is Dermot Weld’s Elegant Concorde. The son of Definite Article has only seen a race track twice, winning once and filling the runner-up berth on the other occasion. Both runs were very encouraging and both have been superbly franked. He looks a high class animal, who travels strongly in his races and also stays well. With the forecast better ground reported to bring out further improvement, Robbie McNamara’s mount should go very close, and looks decent value at 11-2.

Of the Willie Mullins trained horses, I fancy Bishopsfurze but the market states otherwise, as he is still a 14-1 shot. I was blown away by his performance on debut. The amount of ground the son of Broadway Flyer made up was unbelievable. He must have made up twenty lengths in the final two and a half furlongs, maybe even more, to get up and win by a cosy five in the end. The form doesn’t amount to much but the performance was breath taking. The horse he beat into second, Foildubh, is not high class but is no slouch either. Strictly, and I mean strictly, on the form book Elegant Concorde is five lengths ahead of Bishopsfurze, that’s with an extra run under his belt though. This reads very encouragingly for the Willie Mullins trained horse, as I expect him to improve hugely from his debut run. Another huge plus is his sire. He’s by Broadway Flyer, who will give an injection of speed into his pedigree. Like the favourite, he too will enjoy the better ground. A massive chance for me and a huge price at 14-1.

Get on now with non runner no bet with the majority of firms.

Of the rest, nothing else has really taken my eye, compared to the above two. I was impressed with Dermot Weld’s other horse, Hidden Universe, on his debut after he quickened away very smartly for a seven length win. However, that was on very soft ground. He is more then likely to encounter quicker conditions at Cheltenham, which won’t be ideal, but with such speed in his pedigree, if he handles the ground, he could shake up the above two.

Drumbaloo, quite simply, isn’t for me.

Day Of A Life Time looks smart but I prefer the other Mullins horse.

Shoot From The Hip also looks smart and his flat sire could hold the key, as his last performance was impressive.

All in all I can’t get away from Elegant Concorde and Bishopsfurze. I wouldn’t put you off backing any of them but at the prices, Bishopsfurze looks great value. 14-1 is huge especially after his last performance. I’ll probably back both but make sure you’re on the Mullins horse at that price.

Champion Bumper Betting

The grade two David Nicholson Hurdle gives centre stage to the girls on the Tuesday of the festival. The inaugural running took place in 2008 and went to the classy mare Whiteoak. Unfortunately, Donald McCain’s flag bearer has recently been retired and will see out the rest of her days at paddock. The 2009 race was won in emphatic style by the Willie Mullin’s trained Quevega. She is bidding to win back to back races but has had a nightmare preparation. She has yet to see the track this season after she picked up an injury in France and looks very short at 5-4.

There is no doubting Quevega’s ability but her preparation has been less then ideal. She first incurred a serious hock injury, then an infection and on top of all this, not seeing a racecourse since the 24th of May 2009. A fully fit and on form Quevega would dismantle this field. The daughter of Robin Des Champs romped to a fourteen length victory in this race last year before finishing a very creditable third behind Solwhit. She was only beaten three lengths, finishing in front of horses like Sizing Europe, Muirhead and Won In The Dark over an inadequate trip. This is top class form and if her season went according to plan, she could have been a genuine contender for the Champion Hurdle. A top class race mare but too short at 5-4.

Second favourite is the Paul Nolan trained Voler La Vedette. The six year old daughter of King’s Theatre is unbeaten this season, racking up three in a row. Her first victory came at the expense of Give It Time, who was easily beaten by four and a half lengths. She really cemented herself as a Cheltenham contender when she dished out a thirteen length beat down to Champion Hurdle favourite, Go Native. Yes it was Go Native’s first run of the year on bad ground but he was comprehensively beaten. She has now won seven of her nine starts and has an official rating of 152. At 9-4 I don’t think she is great value either but looks the likeliest to turn over the Mullins hotpot.

Of the rest it’s very hard to weigh up the opposition. Many have multiple entries and might be put off by the presence of Quevega and Voler Le Vedette. However, one horse that won’t lack a touch of class is the Jonjo O’Neil trained Sway. The four year old was a prolific winner in the French provinces before being bought by J.P McManus. It will be very tough for such a young horse to win but she will be the recipient of eight pounds from the top two in the market. Her jumping will also have to brush up but at 16-1, I feel she is over priced for such a classy individual.

One at a huge price that could feature prominently is the Warren Kittow trained Arctic Magic. This mare has run some creditable races at Cheltenham and with very little strength and depth in the line up, she could go well at around 50-1.

Not a race I have a big opinion on. The two market leaders are some way ahead of the rest of the field. Realistically I could only see myself backing Quevega, Voler La Vedette or Sway. Sway is quite a big price considering her connections and her French form so I advise backing her each-way at 16-1. Of the other two, I couldn’t back Quevega with such a poor preparation behind her. So I’d advise a bet on Paul Nolan’s mare at around 5-2. Keep stakes small though, as I wouldn’t be surprised to see Quevega win by half the track.

David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle Betting

• All of the last ten winners were aged five or six
• Nine out of the last ten winners have started in the first six in the betting.
• Nine out of the last ten winners had finished first or second last time out
• Nine out of the last ten winners had already won over at least 2m 4f over hurdles
• 10 of the last 11 Irish winners had previously won at Leopardstown

For this race it is usually worth pointing out that the last 12 Challow hurdle winners who have run here have lost therefore will discount Reve De Sivola just like I discounted Diamond Harry last year.

The Irish have a very strong hand in this race and I would be surprised if they did not put up a bold show to win this race.
I like the trend for Irish Leopardstown winners this would be positive for the likes of Quel Esprit and Rite of Passage here.
I also like to take ex bumper horses for this race as they outperform the ex flat horses 8 to 2 in the last 11 years (Last year we had an exceptional horse called Mikael D’haquenet who started off his career in French hurdle)
Quel Esprit for Willie Mullins has won 2 of his 3 hurdle races, just beaten last time out behind Coole River who I rate very highly.
He is an ex bumper horse who won at Leopardstown over 2m4f (won by 13 lengths).
He was 4th in last year’s Champion bumper so has a previous run at the festival and should know what to expect from it.
Quel Esprit stays further (won a decent stayers novice hurdle at Cork in December over 3 miles) so will not lack in stamina.
Willie Mullins has won the race the last 2 years and I predict he will win it again this year.

Rite Of Passage is a danger and to some people, the one to beat.
This horse was 2nd in last year’s Champion bumper and is very good indeed.He has won his last 2 hurdle races in good style and is clearly an exciting horse.
He has winning form at Leopardstown and is the favorite for this race.
Good, good to soft going won’t hinder either horse as both will go just fine.

Others who may have a say in the result would be Finian’s Rainbow who won’t have a problem stepping up in trip, and has good winning form at Ascot coming into this race.
Fionnegas is useful just found out on the last 2 occasions on Class 1 hurdle form but has the experience now and has been running in decent races. He can make the frame here (also entered in the Albert Bartlett race on Friday and would be very interesting stepped up in trip).
Peddler’s Cross is entered in this race and the Supreme, and whatever race he does turn up in he is worth backing each-way.
I am sure he will be seen to better effect on better ground and if trained by Mullins or Nicholls this would be half the price it is now.
He has won a grade 2 novice hurdle by 16 lengths and is very useful, jumps very swiftly and is unbeaten.
Quel Espirit can make a bold bid to win this race but Peddler’s Cross could be the one to trouble him.

Recommended Bets:

Quel Espirit 2 pts win @ 13/2
Peddler’s Cross 1 pt each-way @ 8/1

Neptune Investment Novices Hurdle Betting