DB - whats the story with the new star rating system? Is it out of 5 stars in relation to your confidence of the horse winning/performing well in the race concerned, or overall rating for the season?

Going to Haydock on Saturday so if anybody has anything worth a look, I would greatly appreciate it. My luck is poxed at the moment, couldn't pick my nose

Yes DB, im on at 40s, and I was all over the 7/4 last night, man for man they are different class from Madrid bar Ronaldo and they should have been evens same as Bayern the night before. I fancy them to do Bayern in the final, one of game suits them perfect, the semis was always going to be the hardest for them and I wanted Madrid because they had already shown them up twice, home and away in the Group stages, and I didnt fancy Bayern or Barca over two legs.

Quevega was free money today

Good run from Continuum. Another 20 yards and he would have passed Unmoothaj.

I had a feeling you were on at a big price Joe. If you have turned your profit already using the exchanges, congratulations, but if you are seeing it out, I hope it comes in for you and either way, cracking bet!! I'd agree, while Bayern have reclaimed the league, I also would give Dortmund the edge in a winner takes all, one-off encounter.

The rating thing was a request and it reflects my expectations for that race only.

Market Town got into a right mess in the preliminaries for the second time in succession and this time paid the price for wasting so much energy. Covered in sweat, he again was keen in the early stages, but at least this time around he showed glimpses of why he is deemed such an exciting prospect down at Faringdon Place; he just couldn't finish his race as well as liked, having made what appeared a winning move, which in itself was impressive given all that had gone before. Part of that I suspect is still down to physicality and as the season goes on, that will improve, but his temperament is becoming a concern and I suspect he may not be allowed too many pre-race performances like that before the removal men get called in.
Continuum also had to settle for second place, despite being, like Market Town, comfortably the best horse in the race. Greenness was however, the key leveller and having travelled into contention nicely, Continuum was clueless under pressure, wandering around and taking an age to figure out what he was being asked of him. Even when the penny did drop, he held fire when he got to the winner, unsure of what would happen next. However, today was a good education and it is nice to see him finally getting the opportunity to race; hopefully the big, scopey son of Dansili can keep sound from now on in. I actually think not winning today will probably be of more benefit to the horse in the long run!!
He wasn't the only representative in action today though, as Shamahan slipped under the radar. He contested the race after Continuum and fared pretty well for a horse that was basically there to blow away the cobwebs. Mission accomplished and his moment will come
Libertarian is obviously not on the list, but having mentioned him prior to his winning debut, I feel obliged to review his performance also in the Classic trial, which I liked a lot. It was only his second start and he is still a big raw individual who will stay plenty further than ten furlongs in time. He has tracked the wrong horse yesterday and had to give plenty ground, but while he has ended up well behind the principles, I liked the way he went about finishing the race and I think the performance needs marking up. The Dante has always been the plan, not this race, so it'll be intriguing to see how he progresses from here.

Monday sees four in action and it is about time some of these creditable performances got turned into wins!!

17:55 - Lingfield - Maiden - 6f

On a recovery mission after failing badly to dispose of a bunch of yaks at Kempton last season and the only excuse they could find for her capitulation, was that they had turned her out too quickly. This field is only marginally better than that one, so I'll say the same thing I said back in October; if she repeats the level of her debut run, she won't need to come off the bridle.
Rating - *****

18:10 - Windsor - Maiden - 8f

Back in the groove starting this season and did a nice piece of work to prepare for this, though the performance of Circus Turn last week was slightly disconcerting in conjunction. He'll improve for the outing, that is a given, but he is there to run a race and I would it will be a good race that he runs. Having seen Ryan Moore get owned by David Probert twice in a few days, it is nice to see Sir Michael Stoute adopt the 'if you can't beat them....' approach
Rating - ***

18:10 - Windsor - Maiden - 8f

Yet another clash, though entirely understandably as there are just so few maidens in the racing calender these days
Pembroke has done well over the winter and is another finding his feet on the gallops. It's actually quite hard to split the two, but I suspect Pembroke may know a little more than Defendant right now, and of the two, I'd have to shade it with him as having the better claims of making a winning start. Certainly not an easy assignment however, as I think Yeager may have more to offer than he was able to show at Kempton, while Caramack, although becoming somewhat exposed, was reported to have come to hand and worked well.
Rating - ****

19:10 - Windsor - Handicap (C4) - 10f

While the end to the above is certainly a concern, Hanseatic has been dropped in a desperately ordinary race and has so much in hand over this field, even his inexperience doesn't seem enough of a hindrance to prevent him following up his maiden win. While I'm adamant that Caravan Rolls On is a Group horse handicapper, he's clearly not easy to train and on that basis, Hanseatic would get my vote as handicapper to keep on side. I'm hoping he'll back that up come Monday, because Vita Nova and Gatewood set the standard well enough.
Rating - *****

Nice one with Reqaaba, Hopefully Pembroke goes in here too but Hanseatic better not win! My Dad has 20% in Takeitfromalady and if that wins it means it would take considerable pressure off my life without having to listen to him yelp on haha! Good stuff as ever nonetheless DB, Top Man.

Did we just see an even better filly at Lingfield?

Yeah, Dream Wild did good and she had been threatening to do that since the Spring, with the promise shown. I hope she can build on that, because some may recall the yard had a really nice colt by Wince, Ultimate Authority, two seasons ago but he got very sick last winter and sadly had to be put to sleep.
Reqaaba made hard work of it, but she won all the same and I think she was always going to do so from the top of the straight. Defendant ran well for a long way on debut and a combination of fitness, and keenness early, took its toll in the closing stages. He'll win races, but whether Pembroke will is far more questionable. He showed absolutely nothing and looked totally ungainly throughout, which is of considerable concern, but you can always forgive a horse a poor debut and so we will see what his next start brings forth. As for Hanseatic, I thought he could overcome inexperience given the level of opposition he was against, but i was wrong. He was far more clueless second time around, than first, which was a bit disappointing, but he still really should have won despite all that. Hopefully, he'll have learned plenty in defeat, because learning is what is needed for him to fulfil his potential and start climbing the grades, but for now he goes down as yet another horse unable to defy the Windsor on a Monday jinx.

I know the Wood Ditton isn't always a race that works out, and the form for this year remains untested, but String Theory was a huge eye-catcher in it and ran with massive promise. I cannot believe on the back of that he is a 2/1 shot for tonight, in a race where he is quite frankly nearer 1/2. I'll be very surprised if he doesn't take that field apart given what he showed at HQ!!

Thursday
15:20 - Lingfield - Maiden - 10f

Determined to win a maiden with the horse apparently, John Gosden fires out Punditry for the fifth attempt. It remains surprising that he is being kept to ten furlongs and more so, to see him switched to a speed track, but maybe they were hoping to stumble across an easier contest than this may prove to be. While the blinkers clearly helped, I suspect he was possibly flattered at Windsor by the failings of others, combined with a soft lead, and my gut feeling remains that he will continue to find something with better gears at this kind of trip. Of the opposition, Optical is nothing out of the ordinary and Arbaah will be a false favourite; that Newbury run not worthy of the odds she will be. Other bigger dangers could be Velvetina and especially Playbill, both who shaped promisingly over trips far shorter than ideal and are likely to be more value; I suspect one of the above will probably get their act together sufficiently to frustrate the son of Medicean yet again, who I can't help but feel has been very poorly placed.
Rating - **

16:50 - Lingfield - Handicap C4 - 7f

Slightly surprised to see Homage not just upped in trip, but done so straight away!! That said, he has found an interesting little race to contest and this will test the theory that he has been let in lightly by an opening mark of seventy-eight. He is drawn well and I suppose seven furlongs around a track like this, it's not the biggest reach. He has experience on Khobaraa, while Labienus, who is better than he showed in nursery company, comes from a stable out of form, making Mission Approved the likely toughest foe despite his wide draw. He has wintered well and has shown plenty zest in his homework this season, impressing that he too is a well handicap animal, but with this trip potentially sharp enough for the Juddmonte runner, the Noseda charge is probably still the one to beat.
Rating - ****

17:25 - Lingfield - Handicap C5 - 12f

Bitter disappointment at Windsor and hard to know what to expect on the back of that performance, with yard still struggling away. Over this trip, from this mark, he has the ability to turn this into a procession, but it is a big concern that he still isn't able to finish his races and I'm just not sure how much fitness played a part in that a fortnight ago. His potential still far exceeds that of those that oppose him tomorrow, but he's got questions to answer and for all that to some degree he is over-priced at 7/2, in many ways he is short enough.
Rating - ***

Friday
15:20 - Chepstow - Maiden - 10f

A fatter, more unfit horse, you will not see all season compared to what this son of Dansili turned up looking like at Newmarket, and no surprise to see him blow up late on; did amazingly well to finish where he did quite frankly. His sights have been massively lowered here and he is head and shoulders the best potential in the field, of those with experience. Should improve drastically for having that early season run under his belt and while the yard remain woefully out of form, it will be a major disappointment if he doesn't dispatch this ordinary collection of opponents, head in chest; the only plausible opponent being the Derby-entered newcomer, Sleeping Giant.
Rating - *****

good confidence mate
won as it liked
fancy out else tonight?

Not really; I think Knight Owl is one to watch going forward, as he shaped with latent ability in a couple of his maiden runs, and looks the type capable of progressing from such a lowly opening mark, but the Fanshawe yard know the time of day, so the fact he is 10/1 in a race like this, suggests his time is not now. Obviously if late money comes, that theory could change, but I suspect he'll be of more interest when stepped up in trip down the line.

Homage has bruised a foot and will not be taking his chance tomorrow after all.

confidence justified with mission approved
thought portmonarch should have won tho
not as bad a ride as given to labenius
be watching that horse next time
anything for the weekend db?
been given a tip for garswood in that
they really think it can win not just place

He won the European Free Handicap for crying out loud; it's laughable that he has been assessed at 115 and more laughable that in some quarters, he is as short as 11/1. His form is absolute pants in comparison to the two market leaders and I would want the prices available now, for him simply to place, so much does he actually have to find. Good luck to those in the stable that backed him at 200/1, but that for me is a price that still sums up his chances. Mind you, his position in the market is no less pathetic than that of the two O'Brien charges ahead of him;
Cristoforo Colombo is from a sprinting family, yet to race beyond six furlongs and only has one piece of form that gives him a prayer of not being beaten out of sight, while Mars is a Dundalk maiden winner, unseen since and even passed over by the stable jockey. You can have 50/1 now on any of them and I'll even drive you to the mental institution afterwards, free of charge!!

No Homage yesterday and now no Tinghir today, as they have decided not to risk him on such firm ground. On one hand, given it was such a nothing maiden, I'm not sure it would have mattered too much, but at the same time, with the Derby trials around the corner and Classic hopes still harboured, if he came back jarred up from the run, it would mess with preparations. He has an option at Chester next week that he may now be diverted to, but it certainly won't be as easy an opening as this would have been.
That left just two to review and it that regard, I'm writing what I expected to write in terms of Punditry. I said after his performance at Yarmouth, I don't think this horse has a maiden in him and on the basis of yesterday, that theory is in no danger of being disproved. In fairness to the horse, he was very poorly placed here, ten furlongs around Lingfield never something that would suit, but the bottom line is he lacks scope, isn't progressing as had hoped and is ultimately a slow horse. He needs further and he needs switched to handicap company if a win is going to come at some point, but Gosden can be stubbornly persistent, often to no avail, with these exposed maidens, so I won't be shocked if yesterday isn't the last bad entry the horse is handed.
Where most hope is lost with the Strawbridge colt, some hope remains with Portmonarch, who at least showed a bit more resolution under pressure. The disappointment is that in doing so, he still failed to win an atrociously bad handicap, from a lowly rating, having travelled by far the best throughout. He wasn't given much assistance from the saddle, and he did lose key ground turning in as a result, but he still held every chance, if good enough on the day, which he proved not to be. He does strike as a horse still to put things together, both physically and mentally, and until that happens, he'll continue to frustrate, but hopefully as the season goes on, things will start to click and he'll be able to climb the ladder to a position more matching of the inherent potential he still possesses.

Two go to war on Saturday for the list, one somewhat surprisingly in search of Classic glory ....

15:50 - Newmarket - 2000 Guineas G1 - 8f

Connections were very surprised he was beaten at Newbury on his season return, but that was a strong maiden I fully believe, and he just simply saw too much daylight for his own good. He is rated very highly at Warren Place, but even if he had won at Newbury, I'd be of the opinion that this is asking far too much, too soon and I have to believe this is the owners decision, not that of the wise and much-experienced handler. That said, I wouldn't be surprised to see him shape well in the face of stiff opposition and it is entirely feasible that he can finish quite high up the field. Not that long ago this yard won the Guineas, initially anyway, with a 66/1 shot, and while history looks immensely unlikely to repeat here, we can but take encouragement from the fact that had he been trained at Ballydoyle, he'd probably be the 1/3 favourite
Rating - **

18:10 - Doncaster - Maiden - 6f

Have to presume, given a return a fortnight later, that his dismal effort at Newbury left no lasting effects and given the drop in trip here, was a result of stamina failings. If that performance can be best ignored, the son of Mizzen Mast has been found a very winnable race and if he is even remotely the horse they thought him to be approaching this season, he'll need to be winning this ordinary heat. Risky proposition from a betting point of view though and after life, best left watched would be my opinion, especially with assessment around the corner!!
Rating - ***

To answer your question SYT, nothing strongly. I liked Pearl Secret last season and given he was deemed a 6/1 shot for the Nunthorpe, having got totally worked up beforehand, having not endured the best of passages and having been drawn rather unfavourably, 8/1 seems a pretty generous price for the Palace House Stakes. I wouldn't be against keeping the faith at that type of price, all things considered, as I would mark him down as the second most talented horse in the race, with the scope to improve on that position as the season goes on.
Elsewhere on Saturday, I'm very excited to see Reckoning return having made such an impression when winning her maiden oh so long ago now. Hopefully she'll stay sound enough this season to have a campaign mapped out as she looks a potential Group horse and with only Coquet and Khione to beat, I would be looking for her to return with a bang. I also have a soft spot for a horse called Yair Hill, have done since his debut and while it is a tough race he contests at Thirsk, I do think first time out is a good time to catch him.
On Sunday, I'd be disappointed to see Silver Lime outside the money, given he is back on fast ground, over a stiff twelve. He should at worst be there or thereabouts, while in the maiden, keep an eye on Nathr as he is a nice colt who has settled in well and is rated down at Faringdon.
At Salisbury, Mysterious Man and Sun Central should have the big handicap between them, just not sure in what order.

will you give me 50/1 on Mars e/w

i will also take you up on the lift too DB

i see Dawn Approach is a big drifter Toronado support the reason

forgive me if you have posted this b4 but who are you 2 picks for the Guineas DB

You should put your money where your mouth is mate, i'll have €10 ew with you @ 50/1 on Cristoforo Colombo tomorrow no BS... How about that?