It's never ideal when a big stake placed on a horse doesn't win, and that was the case with True Love.
Ryan Moore did me no favours at Deauville. He waited for far too long, and I cannot understand why. He is arguably the best jockey, or second to James MacDonald, so he should not be messing that up. It was a small field, and he still managed to make a mess of it.
It goes to show how weak the race was when the winner was a shock winner at Royal Ascot in the Jersey. Fair play to Soumillon, he got the lead and dictated the race.
Wasdell Dundalk looks in need of retirement. That was his opportunity to bounce back to form off a good handicap mark at his favourite track. He was pulled up, and I don't see how he could ever win another race.
Bintsaleh 5/2 (1pt) – Windsor 8.50
We're going to have to wait till the final race of Windsor to see our only runner on Monday.
Like most Mondays, the racing is dire, even though there is a good amount of racing on. On form, my selection shouldn't be the favourite, but she is there on the basis that it's her handicap debut and she is trained by William Haggas.
The yard form isn't at its best, with just six winners in the last fortnight. That sounds alright, but Haggas is much better than a 12% strike rate, so we might see a drift on the back of that.
On pedigrees, my fancy has to be the best in this race. In flat racing, it pays to have a good pedigree, especially more than the jumps. She is by Dubawi and out of a Group 2 winning mare from France. The Dam has produced two good horses from the four she has had. Equitize in America is a class 1 placed horse, and Cape Flora excelled in handicaps last year for the Gosden yard.
Based on how well Cape Flora did, I'd be fairly confident that Bintsaleh will be better than her opening handicap mark of 73, despite not looking the best on her handicap qualifying efforts. Thankfully, this is only a five-runner field, so we should get a clear run through, and there should be no excuses if she doesn't win, which is all you can ask for.
GambleAware