Dave Massey is back from a successful Royal Ascot with weekend tips for Saturday’s Eclipse card at Sandown. Read this weekend’s best bets in his kwiff column here
Dave Massey Weekend Tips: Eclipse Day at Sandown
Let’s not mess about here, if we’re looking for one horse to back on Saturday that looks sure to win, then it’s Ombudsman in the Coral Eclipse. I was keen on him before Royal Ascot, as regular readers of these missives will know, Rab Havlin having shown no hesitation in putting him up as the horse he’d most like to ride that week when having a microphone shoved in his face at Yarmouth the week before, having ridden a winner for Godolphin that day.
Dave Massey Weekend Tips: Ombudsman (3:35) NAP
(I do sit up and take notice whenever a jockey is very positive about one, rather than giving the usual blah-blah platitudes about horses in an interview, by the way.) And Rab was spot on, Ombudsman running out an easy winner of the Prince Of Wales Stakes, and that despite Will Buick finding plenty of traffic from the two-furlong to the one-furlong pole. He was value for more than his two-length winning margin.
His main rival in the market, Sosie, will surely want slower ground, and on a line through Map Of Stars, Ombudsman would look to have his measure here. Delacroix is now on a recovery mission after disappointing in the Derby, likewise Ruling Court, to an extent, and there’s an argument to say Ombudsman ought to be even shorter than the general 10-11 he currently is.
Dave Massey Weekend Tips Midnight Lion (3:15) EW
If there’s more rain around than the forecast gives then I could be tempted in by Minstrel Knight here, but the forecast is saying it’s more showery than persistent at present, and I don’t think what rain is likely to fall is going to affect the ground too much. Unless they’ve overwatered, obviously, and that’s always a possibility, but we’ll not know that until we get going and so it’s Midnight Lion (3.15) that’s of some interest to me at present.
Bar a blowout in the All-Weather Marathon on Good Friday, he’s been most consistent this spring and summer and although it would be easy to blame the trip for that disappointment, the fact he was a very close fourth in the Northumberland Vase Consolation race at Newcastle last week shows he stays this trip (and clearly further) well.
For all he races mainly on the all-weather these days, he’s perfectly capable of showing his form on turf too, and he might actually find racing back on the grass a pleasant change from the norm. Lauren Young clearly gets on well with him, and it’s not hard to see him running through plenty of the beaten ones into the places here. At 20-1 and bigger, worth a crack with the extra places on offer.
Dave Massey Weekend Tips: Principality (2:25) EW
Based on his last two outings, Principality is worth a go at a mile, having run on well over 7f both times, and this step up in trip might unlock a bit more improvement out of him yet. It was the oh-so-common hard luck story at Goodwood two starts ago, Principality locked up at the rear with nowhere to go from the two-pole, but once Kaiya Fraser got him out into daylight, he ran on well to be a never-nearer fourth.
Here at Sandown last time, a slow pace didn’t help his cause, and whilst that suited the winner Dance In The Storm, who had the turn of foot to quicken off a slow pace, it didn’t Principality, who found himself totally outpaced before plugging on up the hill for third. Mirsky should at least ensure a solid pace here, and with the Harry Eustace form in decent nick, Principality looks a fair price to run himself into the frame here.
By Dave Massey
Please note that the information provided in this article about Eclipse Day Weekend Tips is for entertainment purposes only. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information provided. Any action you take upon the information on this article is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any losses and damages in connection with the use of our article. We do not encourage gambling and remind you to gamble responsibly.
18+ | BeGambleAware.org
Supercharge your bets with kwiff
