Premier League: Festive season unlikely to solve Title puzzle

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Frankel: Lockinge run "very unlikely"

News / Timeform / 13 April 2012 / Leave a Comment

Frankel is unlikely to run in the Lockinge at Newbury

"The initial scan showed no damage and no hole..."

Teddy Grimthorpe has described Frankel as a "very unlikely" participant in the JLT Lockinge Stakes at Newbury next month following the injury he sustained when working in Newmarket on Wednesday morning...

Winner of all nine of his starts to date, including the 2000 Guineas, St James's Palace Stakes and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes last year, Frankel was due to make his seasonal reappearance in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury on May 19.

However, Sir Henry Cecil's colt looks set to miss Newbury and any future plan hinges on a second scan on his injured off-fore, which will not take place until next week.

Grimthorpe, racing manager to owner Khalid Abdullah, told At The Races: "He suffered this injury on Wednesday morning working on Racecourse Side and he was found to be a bit sore and there was some filling in his leg.

"Henry thought originally that he might have struck into himself on the gallop. He's a very exuberant and extravagant worker.

"The initial scan showed no damage and no hole, which is positive, which led us to believe and hope it was superficial or just a minor injury.

"But obviously, with a horse of this nature, or any horse actually, we have to be incredibly careful, especially with injuries of this type in this area.

"He's getting the best care he can get at the moment and he'll go into the Equine Hospital in Newmarket and have a scan on a big machine which will tell us definitely if there is any damage.

"There is no point in doing it earlier as there is still some haemorrhaging, which has caused the filling in the leg and that needs to dissipate.

"That will probably take about a week to clear and after the scan will give us good pictures and tell us if there is any damage at all.

"Our initial reaction was that it was superficial and at the moment, we are still in the unknown.

"We are all very hopeful for a positive outcome and we'll have to see how that pans out.

"There will be nothing definitive until the end of the (next) week.

"I think it would be too early to rule him out of Royal Ascot. I would say Newbury would be very unlikely whatever.

"The horse will tell us, but he's going to miss a week and if he was right and recovered, I don't think Henry would want to rush him into Newbury, or even Royal Ascot if needs be.

"If he were right and we were happy with him, he would get into his normal programme and we would run him when the best time came."

Grimthorpe insists Abdullah will make the right decision for the horse when the full extent of his injury is discovered.

"Prince Khalid has been a racehorse owner for 40 years now, so he has experienced all the very highs and all the very lows," Grimthorpe continued.

"His mantra has always been that he wants to do the best for his horses.

"They are home-breds, Frankel is a third generation home-bred - it's like your own grandchildren really.

"It has never been a case of what is the cleverest thing to do or what is the most commercial thing to do, it has always been what is the best thing to do.

"The second scan will probably take place on Friday I would think.

"I haven't fully discussed it with the vets or Henry yet, but it will probably be Friday just to give the horse the best opportunity of it all dying down a bit and most importantly to get a clear picture."

Peter Bowen's Always Waining achieved an amazing feat at Aintree on Friday, winning his third Topham Chase in succession......

Timeform preview a weekend that is most certainly headed by the Grand National, but Aintree's undercard is full of quality and there are classic trials at Leopardstown on Sunday......

There is another busy weekend in the offing Stateside, with several graded races, including a couple with million-dollar price tags. Timeform assess the key contenders......

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Robin van Persie's form makes him increasingly unlikely to stay

Premier League / Hannah Duncan / 07 March 2012 / Leave a Comment

A brave performance but yet another exit. Robin van Persies' Arsenal couldn't quite get past Milan.

"But the rumour mill it is a-turning. And it’s not good news for Arsenal. As with any outstanding player at any underachieving club, the vultures are circling. Van Persie’s Emirates contract expires in 2013 and the Dutchman has already stalled on talks of a new deal."

He can't stop scoring and has admitted his own form is 'insane' and whilst that has helped Arsenal out of many a sticky situation, it has also led to the vultures from Barcelona, Madrid and Manchester circling the Emirates...

This year's Arsenal season review DVD won't necessarily be one for the Emirates faithful to watch back at regular intervals over forthcoming years. We've only just entered March and the Gunners are already out of the FA Cup, out of the running for the Premier League and, despite a gallant showing against AC Milan last night, out of the Champions League. But one member of the Arsenal ranks in particular will have a lot to savour on a personal level when the season is out. It doesn't take a genius to work out I'm talking about Robin van Persie.

With 32 goals in 38 appearances for the Gunners so far this campaign, the Dutchman is not just on fire, he's a blazing inferno - incinerating all who come before him. He has single-handedly earned Arsene Wenger's side 15 points over the course of the Premier League season, without which Arsenal would be languishing between Sunderland and Norwich in 12th place.

As it is, the Gunners are at [1.56] on Betfair for a top four finish and are at [2.82] to pip Chelsea and Tottenham to third place.

It will come as little surprise that van Persie is currently favourite on Betfair to take the Premier League Golden Boot crown this season, at [1.16].

He's already netted 22 times in the league this season, including hat-tricks in Arsenal's 7-1 drubbing of relegation favourites Blackburn and 5-3 win over top four rivals Chelsea. That's an astonishing contribution from the man who struggled to get into double figures in each of his first four seasons in English football.

And his form is good news for Holland too, who will be looking to avenge their 2010 World Cup final disappointment at the European Championships this summer. Already, van Persie is the [10.5] favourite to top the goalscoring charts in Poland and Ukraine, just ahead of Bayern Munich's German hitman Mario Gomez at [11.5], who himself has 26 goals to his name in just 31 appearances this season.

But the rumour mill it is a-turning. And it's not good news for Arsenal. As with any outstanding player at any underachieving club, the vultures are circling. Van Persie's Emirates contract expires in 2013 and the Dutchman has already stalled on talks of a new deal - postponing them until the summer.

This season's hot property is thought to have caught the eye of both AC Milan and Juventus, not to mention Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, as well as moneybags Manchester City. To put it simply, there's unlikely to be a shortage of offers flooding in to the Emirates come the opening of the transfer window.

And while Arsenal can break the bank to keep Robin van Persie in North London, what they can't guarantee is trophies. The last club honour the Dutchman won was back in 2005; meanwhile former Arsenal team-mates Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas and even Emmanuel Adebayor are all in the hunt for silverware this campaign.

Most Arsenal fans would agree the squad that has been assembled, disassembled and reassembled time and again by Arsene Wenger is not strong enough to mount a serious assault on the FA Cup, let alone the Premier League or European honours. Whilst the likes of Per Mertesacker and Gervinho are solid enough, they are little match for the Vincent Kompany and Ashley Youngs of this world.

If the Frenchman is to persuade the 28-year-old that the Emirates is the place to be, he first needs to persuade the Arsenal board that they need to splash the cash on more than just a renewed contract for van Persie.

Like most Premier League fans Andrew Atherley has been impressed by Pavel Pogrebnyak whose goals are making Fulham an end-of-season danger to all and sundry...

Assuming Roberto Di Matteo doesn't keep the job on a permament basis, Roman Abramovich will have to find someone to fill the Chelsea hotseat. The two main men in Spain would be his preferred choices, says Lee Dixon....

Eight managers in eight years since Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea tells its own story. Ralph Ellis looks at the situation at Chelsea and other examples of Chairmen getting involved in first team affairs....

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Derby Betting: Frankel unlikely, but Cecil still has favourite in World Domination

Events / Timeform / 03 May 2011 / Leave a Comment

Newbury winner World Domination is favourite for the Derby

"Frankel is, however, an intended runner in the St James’s Palace."

The Henry Cecil-trained World Domination has emerged as the new favourite for the Derby on June 4 after it was announced that the 2000 Guineas winner Frankel would not run in the Epsom Classic...

The 2000 Guineas winner, Frankel, rated 142 by Timeform after his blistering Newmarket success, is out to [27.0] in Betfair's Epsom Derby market, while his stable-companion World Domination (who reportedly suffered a very minor setback) heads the betting at [5.8].

There are severe doubts about Frankel's stamina for a mile and a half on the back of his Newmarket win, prompting a rethink, but World Domination, a most impressive winner of an eleven furlong Newbury maiden on his sole start last month, for which he earned a Timeform rating of 100P, seems sure to relish the longer trip, with both his pedigree and manner of victory pointing in that direction.

Frankel is, however, an intended runner in the St James's Palace at Royal Ascot next month, and currently trades as short as [1.3].

Read the thoughts of Michael Bell on the chances of his horses at Newmarket, Goodwood, Thirsk and Sha Tin....

In his first-ever column on betting.betfair Brian talks us through the merits of his weekend runners at Newmarket and Salisbury....

Timeform go through the runners for the first classic of the season......

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Follow The Money: Nicholls is unlikely to jump for joy with American Trilogy

Follow the Money / Follow The Money / 11 February 2011 / Leave a Comment

"Pere Blanc has been backed from [9.0] in to [5.5]."

Today's Follow The Money movers all come from the day's main meeting at Kempton...

Today's negative comes in the shape of American Trilogy in the rather aptly named "betfair.com/paulnicholls Beginners chase" at 14:05. Trading at just over the [3.0] mark early on, Nicholls' charge has been allowed to drift to [3.75] which, for a horse rated at least 19lbs higher than his rivals over hurdles, tells us all we need to know about his experience over the larger obstacles to date. A faller at both Plumpton and Wincanton, American Trilogy will need to brush up his jumping given that the Kempton fences are no less forgiving and it is not, in the circumstances, surprising to see the layers taking him on.

In the 15:10, Pere Blanc, beaten a total of 147 lengths in his last three novice hurdles, has been backed from [9.0] in to [5.5]. Given the fact that David Arbuthnot's gelding landed a bumper at the track over two miles, today's money for his step up in trip for his handicap debut is surely significant. That and the benefit of his previous hurdle runs must mean that an improved performance can be expected from Pere Blanc today.

Our final mover comes in the 16:20 where Soixante has been supported from [10.0] in to [5.8]. Whenever the name " A P McCoy" appears for an outside stable it should make punters look closely at the booking, no more so than for Henrietta Knight where the combination enjoys a record at Kempton of four wins and two seconds from just seven runners. One of those wins was Soixante's victory last February off this mark of 123, albeit over a trip almost half-a-mile shorter than today's and with no going issues to contend with we should see this son of Old Vic go close today.

Recommended bets:
Lay American Trilogy @ [3.75] Kempton 14.05
Back Pere Blanc @ [5.5] Kempton 13.10
Back Soixante @ [5.8] Kempton 14.20

Timeform look ahead to the weekend's best racing......

Timeform go through the field for the season's most valuable handicap hurdle......

All the betting moves ahead of the evening racing at Wolverhampton...

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