17th June 2015
Hi %%First Name%%,
The best race meeting in the World is under way at Royal Ascot and betting and finding winners is only part of the great spectacle. It's all about entertainment, fashion, fine dinning and beautiful horses plus add to this the excitement of betting and winning and you have the ingredients of the greatest sporting event on the planet.
Royal Ascot was an inovtation of Queen Anne and the first race was run in 1711 and rumour has it that The Gambling Don tipped the winner.
I wonder what Queen Anne would make of it now with the amazing new grandstand and statues of Frankie Dettori and Frankel to view.
Talking of Frankel did you see the Channel 4 documentary about Sir Henry Cecil and the great horse?
I thought it was a super bit of television capturing the bond between the two of them. The only thing that annoyed me was there was no mention during the program of jockey Tom Queally who rode the horse in every single race and never put a foot wrong. Surely he deserved some recognition.
Today's card at the Royal meeting again is very high class and for Howies Hottie I had a choice between the Queen Mary and the Hunt Cup and decided to go for the big handicap as the horse is a bigger price.
The tip is Spark Plug in the Ascot 5.0 from the Brian Meehan camp whose yard is on fire at the moment. The horse was gelded over the winter and is now bigger and stronger. I'm hoping they go a fast pace as he stays the trip well and has a very good burst of pace which could be put to good use in the final drive to the line.
EYE-CATCHERS
FLAT RACING
Opal Tiara trainer M.Channon - Noted running on strongly in the last at Ascot yesterday when the pace was on the other side of the track. I'm sure if she had been drawn lower she might well have won.
Tizlove Regardless trainer M.Johnston - Ran well last week finishing 2nd and could be suited by further than a mile.
George William trainer R.Hannon - A hot favourite when beaten at Haydock the race was not run to suit and he is better than that.
Top Notch Tonto trainer B.Ellison - A very nice winner at York last Saturday and he can win group races when the mud is flying.
So Beloved trainer D.O'Meara - Very disappointing at York but this fellow needs faster ground and when he gets it he is to be reckoned with.
Back next Wednesday have a good week and be lucky.
Howard Davis-Shaw.
Betting Opportunity
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This Weeks Golf News - US Open Could Produce Another Multiple Winner
In the last 30 years there have been several multiple winners of the US Open and Rory McIlroy has the profile to join that elite group in the second major of the season. As an alternative Sergio Garcia could finally move on from being known as El Nino and become a man in the context of major championship golf. Jim Furyk and Justin Rose are also former champions who can get in the mix this week. However, Phil Mickelson would be a very popular winner.
The US Open is usually the most mentally demanding of the four majors. The USGA philosophy states: “A US Open course should test all forms of shot making, mental tenacity, and physical endurance under conditions of extreme pressure found only at the highest level of championship golf”. So the courses selected to host the event have narrow fairways, severely penal rough and lightening fast greens. Par at any hole is usually a good score.
Chambers Bay on the shores of the Pacific in Washington is a links type layout so potentially winds could add to the degree of difficulty. It is the youngest course to have staged a major championship and is virtually unknown to most professionals. However, it will look familiar to some as it’s has been designed along the lines of a classic Scottish links. Uniquely some holes will switch par during the tournament.
The course only opened for play in 2007. The last new course to stage the US Open was Hazeltine in 1970 when the winner was Tony Jacklin which could be a good omen for the British players. USGA executives believe course knowledge will be a key factor which brings Tiger Woods in to the equation but he is unbackable these days. Jordan Spieth played in the 2010 US Amateur at Chambers Bay but shot 83 in the second qualifying round so his memories are more negative than positive.
The course has been set up to provide a varied challenge over the duration of the tournament. Length will vary from 7,390 to 7,906 yards depending on the weather, tee positions and pin placements. The first and 18th will be both par 4s and par 5s over the course of the four days. The finish will be a real test starting at the 15th, a par 3 can be anything from 120 to 240 yards in length. A huge bunker has been built on the approach to the last green so there will be plenty of late drama.
Spieth is now a totally different player to the inexperienced teenager who fared so badly at Chambers Bay in the US Amateur five years ago. Course knowledge will be vital and the Masters champion will have a caddie who has worked at the course in that role for several years. Woods prospects are another matter as the former world number appears to have a game beyond repair. He won the last of his 14 majors in the 2008 US Open but is now unlikely to add to his tally and overhaul Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 majors.
Rory McIlroy won the US Open in 2011 when be broke several scoring records including the winning score of 16 under. That win came in the next major after he lost a four shot lead in the final round of the US Masters. In winning the Open Championship at Hoylake last year McIlroy proved himself in links golf so will be able to handle the tough course and conditions which will replicate seaside golf. He is in the top ten for driving distance in the States and second for greens in regulation on the European Tour. These skills and scrambling will be critical at Chambers Bay.
Sergio Garcia was second in the US PGA Championship behind Tiger Woods as a teenager in 1999. At the time he looked certain to win several majors in his twenties but midway through his next decade he is still striving for that first major. He has had several near misses but seemed more accepting than in the past after chasing home McIlroy at Hoylake. The player formerly known as El Nino is in the top 20 for driving distance and greens hit in Europe and has made his last six cuts in the US Open which makes for a good profile in the context of this year’s championship.
Justin Rose won the US Open two years ago and comes to this year’s renewal as one of the hottest players in the game. In many other years he would have won the Masters but could not compete with Spieth who had the week of his golfing life in which everything went right. Rose has won and finished second in his last three starts and is now just about the complete golfer. If he has a good week on the greens he can contend at any level and is now proven in major championships. It’s hard to imagine him not featuring on Sunday and he could win again.
The same could be said of Jim Furyk whose only major title was the US Open in 2003.Over the latter stages of his career he has become known for wasting winning opportunities both in the Ryder Cup and stroke play tournaments. However, he won again this year and his best chance of a second major will be in the US Open. Furyk is a top 20 player for greens in regulation and scrambling. He is the type of competitor to grind out the pars while those around him are struggling to stay in contention. He could be the last man standing on Sunday.
Phil Mickelson just needs the US Open to complete a career Grand Slam. He has found his best form in time for the biggest tournament of his year and few would begrudge him a US Open. He has finished second six times in his national championships but his years as a potential winner are running out and this could be his last genuine chance. Distance more than accuracy is one of his weapons but he is relishing the prospect of playing a difficult course and it might just happen.
That’s valid reasons for five players to win the US Open. The beauty of major championship golf is that it brings together the best players on hard courses and that means the most likely winner this week is Rory McIlroy.
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