Saturday’s Racing Tips – Fraise Des Boi can do the business for the French

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Friday was a disaster from start to finish for both myself and Rizzel. The Karl Burke filly blew out very quickly after breaking well from the stalls and running prominently in the front pack. Classic was even more disappointing as he too went out like a light when the pace quickened.

Turns out that Queen Of Soldiers isn't that good. She was well-supported again, and James Doyle got to the front from Stall 1. She travelled well again throughout, but as soon as she came under pressure she went out like a light. Adrestia on the other hand is a lot better than what she showed at Newbury. She came out of the stalls on her back legs, which saw her lose a few lengths at the start and not making it an ideal beginning of the race. She went through the race nicely but didn't quite pick up when the jockey got serious about her. The winner came on the other side of the track, where most of the action unfolded. The winner was easily beaten by Rizzel's selection last time out, which makes it even more frustrating.

I am off to Liverpool in the morning to watch my beloved Everton play Brighton. Rizzel will still be around for tips on Sunday, while Attacanter Racing will have the Lucky 15 bet for you all on the other thread. 

Cairnzy's Tips

Kikkuli 9/4 – Newbury 3.35

There are a few familiar faces in this lineup that have been tipped up on the thread previously, but I've sided with Harry Charlton's Kikkuli, who has done me some favours on a couple of occasions in the last 5/6 months.

Being a half-brother to the almighty Frankel, Kikkuli has a bit of expectation to live up to, and although it's clear he'll never be of the same calibre of horse, he still has time on his side to prove he can operate at the highest levels of this sport and this looks like an ideal opportunity to kick start his season.

Kikkuli was impressive on debut at Newmarket despite not winning. He finished second, running green and showing signs of inexperience. Regardless, when the penny dropped, he showed clear signs of ability and did well to finish as close as he did in the end. I tipped Kikkuli up on the thread when he reappeared at the same track during the Craven meeting, he again showed signs of greenness but took a step forward from his debut run to beat Charlie Appleby's Creative Story on the line. He then went to Sandown and contested in Listed company which saw him finish second, just under 4L behind the winner Almaaqam. I think the soft ground conditions were against Kikkuli that day as all his previous form to date has come on ground good/good to firm. I tipped up Kikkuli again on the thread on his next outing in the Jersey Stakes, he opened up around 20/1, I may be wrong on that but I know he was massively over priced. I put him up each way and he, unfortunately, was denied by a short head on the line by Haatem. Nonetheless, that was still a cracking effort given Haatem arrived in top form on the back of a head-length defeat to Rosallion and a third placed effort in a Group 3. Kikkuli was last seen when contesting in the Group 1 Haras d'Etreham Prix Jean Prat at Deauville. He was disappointing that day, finishing back in sixth place. The ground was forecast as good to soft that day however looked more on the soft side which i'll use as an excuse for another below-par effort.

Oisin Murphy is booked to take the ride on Kikkuli tomorrow and dropped back to 7f from the mile should hopefully see him in a better light. He tends to run quite freely in his races so settling him during running will be an important factor for this horses chances but if Oisin can settle him then he has every chance back on his favoured ground.

Mehmar 4/1 – Curragh 2.15

I tipped Mehmar up at the start of this month on the thread and he repaid me when following up on his return to racing in a maiden race on the back of a long layoff from the track.

At four years old, Mehmar is a lightly raced horse, having competed in just six career starts. Four of those six starts were as a two-year-old, and despite not winning as a juvenile, Mehmar showed clear signs of ability in each of his outings, finishing runner-up in two races and placing third in the other, before ending his two-year-old campaign with a run in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot. It was actually his run on debut that stood out to me as a solid piece of form, finishing three-quarters of a length behind Aidan O'Brien's The Antarctic. This form looks particularly strong, as The Antarctic went on to achieve multiple Group 3 victories.

Mehmar was absent from racing for over two years and gelded within that time before making his reappearance in a maiden at Navan which saw him win comfortably in the end under jockey Colin Keane. I tipped Mehmar up on his following outing which saw him win again of a mark of 87 under jockey Colin Keane. It was a workman like performance that day but he got the job done under top weight which will always make life a whole lot harder. Mehmar is up 5lb for that recent success which looks more than manageable, and with more progress a possibility he can follow up and continue his good run of form. The main and obvious danger is Greek Flower who brings good form to the table with good efforts in the Rockingham and the Scurry.

Rizzel's Tips

Fraise Des Boi 5/2 – Deauville 2.50

I'm fairly certain that the betting in the UK will be positive for Simmering, but I get the impression that the French will be keen on their horse, Fraise Des Boi and it wouldn't surprise me if she was the favourite in the French betting markets.

Simmering has some strong form and should appreciate the extra furlong today, but I thought that Fraise Des Boi's recent run over 6f was very good on the eye and looked like she'd also relish the step up to 7f. Simmering was second at Royal Ascot, finishing behind the Aidan O'Brien filly, Fairy Godmother. That form looks reasonably strong with some of the horses in behind have run well since, including a few winners. Her form from her debut effort at York has been franked by the winner who was won a couple of Class 1 races in France, so she has to be highly respected in today's race.

Fraise Des Boi has been beating some okay-looking French runners in her career so far which has seen her rack up four wins in succession. Last time out she was stepped up to a Class 1 race and she managed to put in her best performance to date by an absolute mile. She came under pressure a few furlongs from home, but she just kept rolling and when she hit the front she powered clear and wasn't stopping at the line, which was so visually impressive. The fact she has been winning over the shorter trips shows the level of ability she has, as based on her pedigree she should only start to come into her own when attempting the likes of today's trip and maybe slightly further in the future. This is an obvious step up in class against some decent UK horses and even the French horses look good, but with Cristian Demuro on her, and with a low draw, I think she could be a very good filly for the French this year.

Saratoga Special – Curragh 1.45

Treasure Isle is the current favourite for this race, but based on what he has done so far, I think you've got to take him on.

Saratoga Special is my selection for this race and she was second to Treasure Isle when she made her debut. That day, she ran extremely well and came alongside the eventual winner, but the winner had the racecourse experience edge over her and she didn't seem to fully understand her job that day, so with that experience under her belt, she should be a lot wiser to what the crack is today. That was still a very impressive debut to run to an RPR of 83, and given her pedigree, she is surely going to improve with every run this year. She is a full sibling to Turn On The Jets who is a decent sprinter who is now based in the US and has been placed in a Group 2 over 6f, showing there is plenty of speed in the pedigree. She is by Mehmas, who was a very smart juvenile and the Dam was a 100-rated 5f sprinter in her prime, which backs up my statement suggesting she is built for today's trip when quite a few of the others will be better next year over longer trips.

The favourite hasn't backed up his win over Saratoga Special and was fancied to run well at Royal Ascot. He seems to be a horse who go from the front, as he can be quite a keen goer and will try and pull himself to the front. That should make it into a good stamina test and potentially set it up for the closers. The others in the race look decent, with the Jack W Davison horse being highly tried at this level, but I just felt that the most unexposed horse in the race could have more to come.

Shane Foley isn't on board as he's on one of Jessie Harrington's horses in France, so it's nothing to look into, but Nathan Crosse gets on board who rides a lot for the stable.

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