TONY CALVIN: WEDNESDAY’s stats/info and course details

MONDAY MORNING

I am not sure I will do any copy on Wednesday’s ITV action, as Chester is just a bit of a punting kip, isn’t it?

Lovely place and all that, but the underpriced well-drawn runners versus the overpriced badly-drawn runners dilemma is a bit of a tired punting stick/shtick.

And I am not sure the seven-runner 2m5f handicap chase at Newton Abbot appeals either.

Plus I am busy with personal stuff this week.

Good final fields, though – in the end

But we will see. The final fields do look very decent, to be fair.

Very good, in fact.

I bet Chester were sweating though, as Aidan O’Brien only confirmed his four runners very late on.

By the way, I’ll end this on another rare positive – superb information from both tracks, Chester and Newton Abbot, below.

Thirsk, they ain’t.

First for Aidan O’Brien?

I am currently trying to find out if Aidan O’Brien has ever done the following:

The answer is yes

Thanks to Andy Richmond and his Proform stats, and Paul Kealy with his Raceform Interactive info, I can confirm the answer to both questions is no.

Always best to double check, I find.

So since O’Brien has been training at Ballydoyle since 1996, this is the first time he has run a horse in both blinkers and a hood.

First-time headgear stats, and for the sad disciples of this niche discipline, don’t get sexier than this….

However….

Amelia Earhart’s dam, Venus De Milo, wore a hood once – and finished a 57-length last of 7 in the 2014 Yorkshire Oaks….

WEDNESDAY’S DETAILS

CHESTER

GOING: Good to soft, good in places

GOING STICK: 7.2, Monday 7.30am

Rails: Rail will be out 7 yards from 6f – 1.5f

Stalls: 1m2f – Outside Remainder – Inside

Monday course update: Further 2mm through the course of yesterday taking the 50 hour total to 10.8mm Dry and overcast forecast for today with highs of 14’C and a light North Westerly breeze. Tomorrow, there is a 30% chance of rain between 5pm and 7pm but otherwise a bright day forecast with highs of 13’C and a 12mph North Westerly breeze. Currently, Wednesday is forecast 20% chance of light showers through the morning before brightening up through the afternoon with highs of 13’C and a 10mph South Easterly breeze.

Watering: Full course vertidrained. 4mm applied on the 28th April evening. 3mm applied overnight 29th April. 3mm applied overnight on the 30th April from the 1.5f – 6f .

Yr.no latest (8.30am Monday):  Light showers all week (good job the 26mm on Saturday is coming after the meeting has finished…)

NEWTON ABBOT

GOING: Good to soft, good in places

GOING STICK: 5.0, Monday 7am

Whole track has been verti-drained since the last meeting.

Rails: Chase bends: innermost line; distances as published Hurdle bends: 6yds – 10yds from innermost

Monday course update: Partly Cloudy. Wednesday (29th): Bright with a drying wind. Max temp. 20ºc Thursday (30th): Partly cloudy, again with a strong breeze. Outside chance of a shower but rainfall amounts look negligible. Max temp. 17ºc Friday (1st): Strong winds of the week have passed. Dry, partly cloudy. Max temp. 17ºc Saturday (2nd): 12mm. Max temp. 14ºc Sunday (3rd): Showers did not materialise. Dry day. Max temp. 17ºc Monday (4th): Fine day. Max temp. 17ºc Tuesday (5th) & Wednesday (6th): Both days look overcast, but dry for the most part with the outside chance of a light shower on Wednesday. Max temp. 17ºc

Watering: Monday (27th): 12mm – 15mm selectively on whole track Wednesday (29th): 8mm – 15mm selectively on whole track Thursday (30th): 10mm on whole track Friday (1st): with wet weekend now forecast (up to 15mm), no watering Friday. After 12mm of rain on Saturday we would envisage not watering again leading up to racing. The situation will be continuously monitored.

Yr.no latest (8.30am Monday):  Light showers Mon-Wed

BALLOTED OUT (get your money back)

2.05pm Chester: Hot Cash, Son, Moon Beginnings, Echalar

3.40pm Chester:  Reciprocated, Proof, Marcellinus, The Resdev Scholar, Cotai Belle, One And Gone, Moonlight Mirage, Trust Amy, Wyle Cop, Lily Pearl, Flash Rascal, Daizen

FIRST-TIME HEADGEAR STATS

Aidan O’Brien hood; Amelia Earhart; 2.35pm Chester; 14-70 (since 2013)

Aidan O’Brien blinkers; Amelia Earhart, 2.35pm Chester; 60-358 (2009)

Aidan O’Brien cheekpieces; Proposition, 3.05pm, Chester; 13-109 (2016)

Adrian Keatley visor; Star Material, 3.40pm Chester 0-35 (2015)

PACE MAPS (manually assessed) – horses can change their run-styles here depending where drawn

1.30pm Chester (very limited evidence): Adonius, Hickory Lad, Wait Georgie, Cailin Aine, Final Appeal

1.45pm Newton Abbot: Etalon, Centara, Western General, Ventura Highway

2.05pm Chester: Al Shabab Storm, Snow Master, Partisan Hero, God Of War, Bellarchi, Percy’s Lad

2.35pm Chester (limited evidence): Sugar Island, Amelia Earhart

3.05pm Chester: Mr Colonel, Royal Standard, Benvenuto Cellini

3.40pm Chester: Silent Strike, Watcha Snoop, Angel Love, Saffron Dandy , Ruby’s Angel, Cherry Baker, Star Material, Go Vince Go, Tricky Tel

TRAINERFORM (manually assessed) – form going into Monday

Good: Dan Skelton (very good), Paul Nicholls, Mick Appleby, Andrew Balding (big sample), Grant Tuer (small sample), John and Thady Gosden, James Owen (very good), Aidan O’Brien, Karl Burke

Fair:  Neil Mulholland, Micky Bowen, Joe Tizzard, Hobbs and White, Rebecca Menzies, Phillip Makin, Hugo Palmer, Tom Dascombe (one winner; five recent runners), Ian Williams, David Loughnane, Daniel and Claire Kubler, Ralph Beckett, Richard and Peter Fahey, Jessie Harrington, Kevin Ryan (fair/good), Kevin Phillipart De Foy (fair/good), Richard Hannon, Clive Cox (fair/good), Ollie Sangster, Tim Easterby, Adrian Keatley, Adrian McGuinness, Julie Camacho

Moderate: Gary and Josh Moore, Coyle and Wood, Tom Clover, Brian Ellison, Craig Lidster (smallish sample), Charles Hills, Charlie Appleby