The amount of racing at the moment is a hot topic in the UK horse racing media, with many trainers, punters and officials believing there is simply too much of it! This has been backed up in recent weeks with small fields and the latest nail in the coffin to this argument was Saturday’s William Hill Silver Trophy Handicap – the Consolation Race For The Great St Wilfrid Stakes – getting binned off due to the lack of runners.
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Ripon’s Saturday Card Down To Just Six Races
Fresh from the news that the intended 1.40 at Ripon this Saturday – William Hill Silver Trophy Handicap (the consolation race for the Great St Wilfrid Stakes) – will NOT be run, the track are understandably disappointed.
This is the first time that the normally well-attended Silver Trophy, which was set to be the opening race on Ripon’s Saturday card, will not be staged.
The 6f handicap was also an intended race for the ITV horse racing cameras, but after only 15 were declared for the main event – the Great St Wilfrid (2.50) – the consolation event was kicked into touch.
The likes of Embour and Mark’s Choice had been intended runners in the lesser race, but with the lack of entries for the Great St Wilfrid have been catapulted in the the main event.
The consolation rcontest was always seen a race to give those horses that didn’t make it into the Great St Wilfrid a chance of some glory – a bit like the Silver Cup is to the Ayr Gold Cup, which is run in September each year. 12 months ago the race, which was won by the already mentioned Mark’s Choice, saw 16 runners.
Ripon clerk of the course James Hutchinson told the Racing Post: “It’s a shame because 34 were entered for the Great St Wilfrid and only 15 have been declared for that race. The Great St Wilfrid takes all of them and some of them might be running out of the handicap in that race by quite a few pounds. As a result, there’s nothing left and the consolation race didn’t get the entries it needed in the first place to achieve what it needed to do.”
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Ripon ITV Races Reshuffled
As a result of the cancelled 1.40, Ripon also confirmed that the Ripon Hornblower Conditions Stakes (1.40) will now be moved to open the card at and also be handed an ITV racing slot, while the Great St Wilfrid has been moved to an earlier positon at 2.50 (from 3.45)
Great St Wilfrid Tips For Saturday’s Ripon Race
Blackrod has been popular in the betting and the favourites in this race actually don’t have a bad record. Draw 1, however, doesn’t look ideal based on the trends, while he’s probably not the best value in a race with 14 others in.
So, the three that stand out here are FORTAMOUR (e/w) @ 23/2 with BetUK , last year’s winner JUSTANOTHERBOTTLE (e/w) @ 15/2 with BetUK and at a big price MARK’S CHOICE (e/w) @ 16/1 with BetUK.
Fortamour is a CD winner that is drawn 11. This 6 year-old was a close 6th (of 15) last time at York and with that coming off a 2 month break should have improved for it. He’s dropped a pound too and has won 2 of his last 3 races here at the Yorkshire track.
Justanotherbottle simply loves Ripon. He took this race 12 months ago and despite being 13lbs higher this time has improved since. Yes, he’s no spring chicken at 8, but it’s hard to ignore his record at Ripon, he’s 3-from-3 and yet to lose here. He also won off just a 3lb lower mark here in June, so returning to his beloved Ripon.
Mark’s Choice is having his first run for the Keatley yard and is also back from having a wind op. He’s out of form at the moment but won the Silver Trophy at this meeting last season off 10lbs lower. He’s another horse that seems to love the track and could easily outrun his odds.
Note: Odds are subject to change
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Great St Wilfrid Handicap Trends and Stats
- 17/20 – Previous winners over 6f
- 15/20 – Aged between 4-6 years-old
- 15/20 – Didn’t win last time out
- 14/20 – Carried 8-12 or more
- 13/20 – Returned a double-figure price in the betting
- 12/20 – Finished unplaced last time out
- 11/20 – Had run at Ripon before (4 won)
- 11/20 – Unplaced favourites
- 11/20 – Had 5 or more previous runs already that season
- 8/20 – Ran at either Goodwood (5) or Newmarket (3) last time out
- 6/20 – Aged 4 years-old
- 6/20 – Winning favourites (5 in the last 9)
- 3/20 – Trained by David O’Meara (3 of last 11)
- 3/20 – Ridden by Daniel Tudhope
- 2/20 – Trained by Tim Easterby (2 of the last 5)
- 1/20 – Aged 3 years-old
- Justanotherbottle won the race in 2021
- No winner from stall 1 in the last 16 runnings
- 8 of the last 16 winners came from stalls 8-13 (inc)
- Since 1986 ALL bar one winner returned 20/1 or less
Ripon Race Times and Names | Saturday 13th August 2022
- 1:40 – William Hill Ripon Hornblower Conditions Stakes (GBB Race) Cl2 (2yo) 5f ITV
- 2:15 – William Hill Play Responsibly EBF Restricted Novice Stakes (Bands B/C/D) (EBF Race Qual’) (GBB) Cl4 (2yo) 1m SKY
- 2:50 – William Hill Great St Wilfrid Handicap Cl2 (3yo+) 6f ITV
- 3:25 – Visit attheraces.com Handicap Cl3 (3yo+ 0-95) 1m SKY
- 4:00 – William Hill Pick Your Places Handicap Cl6 (3yo+ 0-60) 1m2f SKY
- 4:33 – Happy 70th Birthday Duchess Dotty Cleevely Handicap Cl6 (3yo 0-52) 1m4f SKY
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