Entries are out for two of the most prestigious handicaps in the racing calendar, the Wokingham stakes and the Royal Hunt Cup.

The Wokingham, established in 1813 is the oldest race at the renowned Ascot meeting write William Hill’s Joe Goldring.

Originally, the race was divided into three separate divisions and it wasn’t until 1874 that it became a single handicap.

The entry for the 6f handicap renewal this year is long and competitive, and the same trainers who have enjoyed success seem to be targeting the race once again.

William Haggas bids to retain the race having been victorious with the smart High Standing last year and relies on just the one entry, Bonnie Charlie. High Standing went on to prove his credentials in group company, notably finishing runner up to the likes of Regal Parade in the Group 1 Sprint Cup at Haydock, whilst Haggas was third in 2008 with King’s Apostle who went on to win the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville.

With Haggas’s previous entries going on to bigger and better things, it is no surprise that Hills have taken few chances with Bonnie Charlie and have installed the 104 rated colt at 20/1 in their initial lists.

Another trainer to have enjoyed success in the event is Richard Hannon, who in both 1990 and 1994 won the race with Venture Capitalist and Knight of Mercy respectively and has an entry for Listed winner Edge Closer, who is featuring prominently in the betting at 20/1 as well.

Year after year, the veteran handicappers, come back to woo the public in these valuable sprints and such a horse is Knot in Wood for Richard Fahey. Having run in the last three Wokingham’s and placed in the William Hill Ayr Gold Cup, is a respectable 25/1 chance this year.

Other notable entries include the last year’s third Rock of Rochelle (25/1), Kevin Ryan’s sprint campaigner Advanced, and the Godolphin trained Ancien Regime, winner of a Group 3 and bidding to go one better than last year’s runner up Asset.

The Royal Hunt Cup over Ascots straight mile is similar to the Wokingham in its quality and quantity.

Another big field handicap, it was first run in 1843 and interestingly is one of only three trophies at the meeting, along with the Gold Cup and the Queen Vase, which are presented by the Queen.

The Hunt Cup is always highly sought after, with the likes of Jeremy Noseda, Sir Michael Stoute and John Gosden providing recent winners.

Jeremy Noseda conquered the showpiece last year with Forgotten Voice, who went on to compete in Group 1 races most notably the Sussex stakes at Goodwood, and the Champion Stakes at Newmarket. Noseda holds three entries this year, Stoic and Himalya were both installed as 25-1 chances with Hills, whilst last year’s winners Forgotten Voice is a 16-1 shot.

Another trainer not to be ignored in handicaps is Luca Cumani, although, unusually, the Hunt Cup seems to have eluded the master of Bedford House.

This year Cumani bids to alter this with a handful of entries in Acrostic (16/1 – Hills), Axiom (25/1) Fortei Dei Marmi (16/1) and Mabait the current 10/1 favourite for the race in front of recent Victoria Cup winner Dandy Boy at 12/1.

Huzzah is also worthy of note, having finished a close second in last years race and having been out of form this season returns off a 10lb lower mark. He has been installed as a 33/1 shot while popular campaigner taking his chances once again is the Jamie Osborne trained Doc of the Bay (second to Mr Aviator back in 2008), and a 16/1 with Hills to go one better.

Joe Goldring, spokesman for William Hill, said: “Bookies love and hate the Wokingham never. Annually it turns into one of the biggest betting handicaps, of the season, but all too often a potential group horse is unleashed which punishes the layers. We currently make Enact and Ingleby Lady joint 12/1 favourites for the race, and entries for Enact looks like he could move on to bigger and better things after the Wokingham. Ingleby Lady looks relatively unexposed and open to improvement, whilst the Hunt Cup looks like a wide open contest. But, Luca Cumani catches the eye this year, looking for that elusive first win of the race and the likes of Mabait could easily be half that price if punters latch on to him. currently 10/1 favourite.”

Thanks to Joe Goldring for providing this piece.

Wokingham Handicap: 12-1 Enact, Ingleby Lady, 14-1 Johannes, Kaldoun Kingdom, 16/1 Al Khaleej, Bagamoyo, Genki, Jimmy Styles, Masamah, Redford, 20/1 Bonnie Charlie, Brae Hill, Edge Closer, Hawkeyethenoo, Hitchens, Laddies Poker Two, Medicean Man, Palace Moon, Rain Delayed, Wildcat Wizard, 25-1 BAR (1/4 ODDS A PLACE E/W 1,2,3,4)

Royal Hunt Cup: 10-1 Mabait, 12-1 Dandy Boy, 14-1 Fareer, Riggins, 16-1 Acrostic, Al Khaleej, Balcarce Nov, Bangalore Gold, Docofthebay, Forgotten Voice, Fortei Dei Marmi, Last Three Minutes, 20/1 BAR (1/4 odds a place)

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing

WILLIAM HILL say that the two losers David Cameron tipped listeners to the BBC Radio 4 Today programme have given the industry a million pound-plus fillip.

‘Had both of Mr Cameron’s horses won, bookies would have paid out over £1million to winning punters who followed his tips’ said Hill’s spokesman Graham Sharpe.

Mr Cameron selected Midnight Fantasy at Wolverhampton; and Daring Dream at Ayr. The former finished unplaced and the latter was runner-up.

‘Punters were keen to back the PM’s tips to the extent that we had to create a special section on our website enabling them to place bets on both horses.

We can only sympathise, and advise him not to give up the day job – any plans to gamble the country out of recession are prsumably now on hold – maybe he should let Mr Clegg have a go next!’ added Sharpe.

WILLIAM HILL HAD PLACED A £600 CHARITY BET ON THE TWO HORSES AND WILL NOW DONATE THE £600 STAKE MONEY TO MR CAMERON’S NOMINATED CHARITY.

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing

After the new Prime Minister, David Cameron turned into a racing tipster on the BBC ‘Today’ programme, bookmakers William Hill say they have been inundated by punters wanting to back the PM’s tips.

His selections were 4/1 chance Daring Dream running in the 3.50 at Ayr and Midnight Fantasy in the 3pm at Wolverhampton.

“The PM said he had picked the horses as both names were relevant to the new coalition,” said Hill’s spokesman Graham Sharpe.

“We can only hope that the PM is a better politician than tipster or this could cost us hundreds of thousands.”

Hills have placed a charity bet of £100 each-way on each horse and £100 each-way double on the two which could net almost £9000 for the relevant worthy cause.

Follow @Politics_Bets on twitter for the latest politics betting news

Follow @williamhillNews on twitter for all our betting news updates

Follow @sharpeangle for regular odds updates from Graham Sharpe

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing

A busy Tuesday afternoon with a delicious mix of flat and jumps action. Andy Holding, Jon Babb and Gareth Topham are the terrible trio in the studio.

On the podcast, Ross Brierley and Dave Kelner have a one sided glance at the flat action on Tuesday, whilst Aidan O’Brien and Jonny Murtagh chat about their Derby prospects.

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing

In our first Free Bets For Everyone offer of the weekend, we’re giving you the chance to get a free £10 first goalscorer bet on Saturday’s Spanish La Liga match, Villarreal v Barcelona match if you stake at least £20 on the Race Winner market in Saturday’s 2000 Guineas.

The first Classic of the 2010 Flat season gets underway on Saturday as the 19 strong field, the largest line-up for three years head to Newmarket for the 2,000 Guineas.

Ante-post favourite St Nicholas Abbey is one of three Aiden O’Brien runners, with Fencing Master and Viscount Nelson also set to run.

With Johnny Murtagh onboard, Racing Post Trophy winner St Nicholas Abbey will start from stall 12, while main market rival Elusive Pimpernel will come out of stall one, a point to note as this is the very stall which contained 2009 winner Sea The Stars.

It’s sure to be a thrilling race and if you stake £20 or more (£10 each-way) on the race winner market in Saturday’s 2000 Guineas (15:05 live on Channel 4), you’ll then be rewarded with a free £10 bet – with which you must select who you think will score the first goal in the Villarreal v Barcelona afternoon match which will be televised from 16:00 on Sky Sports 1. Your free bet will be awarded once your qualifying bet has been settled.

This offer is applicable from 17:30 BST Friday 30th April.

You cannot use this free bet offer in conjunction with any other.

Your free bet will be available once your qualifying bet has been settled.

Normal William Hill football rules apply.

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing

Waka, Waka, Eh, Eh….

Hello one and all, hope everyone has had a better week than our fantastic PM! This is The Fuzz – my weekly betting based blog.

I’m on the train heading north to Edinburgh for the annual engage Super League Magic weekend. I include the sponsor’s name because they are paying me to be there and ‘wow’ the crowds in the engage Fan Zone at Murrayfield.

If you’re not a Rugby League fan, you probably don’t know much about this. It’s a kind of League festival with all fourteen teams playing over two days. It started in Cardiff at the Millennium Stadium in 2007 and here I am heading to my fourth engage Magic weekend.

Sky make the engage (I’ll stop now) Super League what it is and they are screening all seven matches on Saturday and Sunday, have a look at one of them if you’re not a fan – it’s fun just watching the hits! From a betting point of view I can only advise you to go overs on the points. Hills have over 350 total points across all seven games at 5/6. Every Magic weekend so far has featured more than that and if it’s dry with that expansive Murrayfield pitch, it will happen again.

To hear former Super League forwards Barrie McDermott and Terry O’Connor’s bets on every match listen to our Rugby League podcast.

Have you noticed the World Cup tat is in the shops already? Union jack car flags, whistles, mugs, hats with straws, sunglasses, souvenir signed Beckham snapped Achilles tendons, Stevie Me’s fave DJ mix, Ashley Cole’s mobile price plan (free sexts for everyone), Wayne Bridge’s guide to the best televisions, I’ll stop before I completely kill the ‘joke’.

My mate Nick sent me a great link this week – the Italia 90 Panini sticker album. I was a bit old to be doing scrambles in the playground and shouting NEED! GOT! I did it in 1986 – that was my year. I actually thought about doing a 2010 one, but realised I would get frustrated, go into a shop and buy a tenner’s worth – it would kind of defeat the object.

One other World Cup related thing before I move on … Shakira is doing the official song and here it is: Waka Waka.

What did you reckon to poor old Gordon? He looks like a man who works his you-know-whats off, gets home only to have a list of questions about jobs he’s not done or done badly AND a list of jobs waiting for him to do that night before tea. The man is tired. He needs to find his personal ‘cave’ as soon as this election is over and stay there for a while.

I felt sorry for him this week, we all say things we shouldn’t (obviously not on mic). I just wish he had continued with his honesty. If that was what he genuinely thought of that woman, then he should have stood up in front of the baying media and Press pack and said ‘Look I meant what I said. Maybe I should have said it to the lady in question’s face, but I didn’t think about it until I had got back in the car.”

Instead he went through that whole embarrassing afternoon, including visiting the poor woman’s house, and in turn, forcing her to live with a throng of journos and photographers outside her Rochdale home.

It was all a bit weird – I’m still not sure why Gordon brought her breasts into it?!

William Hill are taking plenty on the election and everything that goes with it. The latest odds on which party will win the most seats are: Tories 1/7, Labour 5/1 and LibDems are 12/1.

As the poll of polls stands at the minute the Cons have a 6% lead over Labour. If that happens on May 6^th, Labour will win most seats by 12 for reasons explained in an earlier Fuzz.

Labour at 5s is too big by a mile.

Last bit of politics, have a look at this brilliant game where you can give each of the party leaders a black eye or two.

Speaking of such violence Carl Froch let himself down a bit in the Super Six fight with Mikkel Kessler. It was a superb scrap, but the Nottingham champion didn’t seem to be able to press home his advantage whenever he hurt the Dane.

This weekend it’s Prizefighter: The Cruiserweights, with Herbie Hide (a former heavyweight world champ) taking on seven others with nowhere near his experience or class. If you can get a bet on him winning by stopping all three of his opponents take it.

In the early hours of Sunday morning ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley fights Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather in one of those Vegas razzamatazz events. It should be great and it’s free on Sky Sports 1, Sky+ it and watch it at a reasonable hour, it could be a classic.

Steve Bunce’s views on it on the podcast and if you have time read of Dave Amos’ preview – I think he has it spot on.

Right I’m done, I have whiskey to taste at the engage Super League media party (why did they think it wash a good idea to have all the media drinking whishkey until the wee hoursh … yesh mish moneypenny)

Before I go Dinky’s tip for the weekend is Elusive Pimpernel in the Guineas OR just walk to your nearest drain and stuff a tenner down there instead.

Bet well and good luck.

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing

Tomorrow the eyes of the racing world will be transfixed on the 2010 2000 Guineas. It is a Group One flat horse race and the first of five British races during the year that are declared ‘Classics’.

The race is restricted to three year olds and is open to both colts and fillies. It is the day when the flat season really gets into gear.

The question on everyone’s lips is ‘Can we this year have another superstar on our hands’?

It is a year since Sea The Stars dominated the flat season, starting with a victory in the 2000 Guineas. Now the Aidan O’Brien-trained favourite St Nicholas Abbey can attempt to replicate the legendary Sea The Star’s form.

St Nicholas Abbey’s domination of the Racing Post Trophy got many punters and racing enthusiasts excited. He was at ease throughout the race and his astonishing turn of foot towards the finish was mesmerising.

It will be of interest as to whether St Nicholas Abbey will be a cut above the rest tomorrow on his seasonal reappearance or is all the talk and bravado just a load of hot air?

The flat season has already kicked off in style, there was an immense performance by Elusive Pimpernel 11/2 in the Craven Stakes, a 2000 Guineas trial race, probably the highlight of the flat season so far.

The John Dunlop-trained colt has Eddie Ahern taking the ride tomorrow, he will be hoping to reverse the form over St Nicholas Abbey, where he finished second last season in the Racing Post Trophy.

I would consider taking on St Nicholas Abbey at 6/5, he may have been a different class last season but the price is incredibly short.

Did he use his turn of foot at Doncaster to beat a field of two-year-old middle-distance runners rather than the next generation of milers? He is running on a quicker ground tomorrow and may struggle to repel a top-class miler.

O’Brien has not made a significant impact yet this flat season. His two Guineas hot-shots last year, Mastercraftsman and Rip Van Winkle came on for their runs in the 2000 Guineas.

Trainer John Best has two horses entered into the race, Inler 14/1 and Elspeth’s Boy 100/1. Jockey Tony Culhane recently gave Inler a ‘proper workout’ at Newmarket to reintroduce him to racing.

Inler is a very fast horse who should stay a mile. The once-raced colt shouldn’t be ignored because trainer John Best has shown he is more than capable of readying a top class horse in the past and Inler is my each way tip.

Inler is owned by the Findlay family and they have sold a share in the colt to the Sangster family, giving punters a massive vote of confidence.

Mark Johnston’s horses should never be ignored, the stable is firing on all cylinders and the unbeaten Awzaan 9/1 could provide St Nicholas Abbey tough competition. Johnston does not see stamina as an issue but all his wins have come over six furlongs, so there is an element of doubt in my mind as to whether he will last the trip.

Canford Cliffs 7/1 disappointed in the Greenham Stakes earlier this year but Hannon’s horses are firing on all cylinders and hopefully for all punters, the race has shaken him up pre 2000 Guineas.

This race could prove to be one of the hottest juvenile race of the flat season, there may be a freak performance from St Nicholas Abbey but it is sure to be a strong contest.

Tomorrow we will know whether St Nicholas Abbey can be one of the greats or just a five minute wonder!

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing

Broken bones, broken promises and probably broken hearts…

Hello again, The Fuzz is back for another week of betting based blogging. I’ve had a few people asking where the previous scribblings are. Well there have only been two. The first is here and the second is there.

All the men reading this will know what it’s like when a woman everyone else is mad about is chasing you for months and, despite all your protestations and ignoring her every effort to snare you, finally you succumb to her charms. After all the doubting you then realise she is fantastic in both kitchen and bedroom, as well as being stunning.

Joining Twitter was pretty much the same experience for me this week.

My name is no longer Lee Phelps, but @leephelps from now on and although I am immersing myself in tweets, retweets and hashtags I will not be telling all and sundry about my every move, why anyone is interested that RayBoy is walking to a conference about uplighters is beyond me. Feel free to add me, I’ll stick links to podcasts etc on there.

This weekend the Steel City gets its annual fortnight in the sun as the great and good of the snooker world descend on the Crucible Theatre for the World Championships.

I have been to the Crucible once. Before I go on let me say that I am a Grimsby Town supporter (lapsed) so I know what the antithesis of glamour is, but as a kid I grew up watching epic matches being beamed into my mum and dad’s front room from that particular sporting church, so when I saw the reality I was a little underwhelmed to say the least. It’s a dive, but apparently not half as bad as when you could smoke while a game was going on!

Let’s concentrate on the quality of what happens on the baize and our man Ian McCulloch gives his thoughts on the betting ahead of the big one on the podcast. While we are talking snooker let me introduce (or remind you about) the greatest online game … Blast Billiards. Enjoy and don’t blame your addiction to it on me. If you know of any great online games post them on the comments sheet below.

I haven’t gone on about Rugby League much in this blog so far, but I am a big fan of watching big men going at it (as Barrie Mac would say). This week it’s the Challenge Cup round where the Super League teams come in. Usually there’s very little chance of an upset because the top players have become machines, while the lower league lads still have jobs and don’t have the futuristic training and recovery methods the likes of Leeds, Saints and Wigan use.

However have a listen to the podcast if you fancy a bet, because Barrie McDermott and Terry O’Connor both sense some giant-killings. The weekend also pits Sheffield against Wigan, which is re-run of the 1998 final when John Kear (now coach of Wakefield) and Mark Aston (still at the South Yorkshire club) did the unthinkable and masterminded a 17-8 win over the best team of the day Wigan.

One serious issue in the world of Super League is the amount of injuries the players are suffering as the sport gets faster and the bodies get harder. This week alone there has been a broken leg and broken collarbone, while Salford prop Rob Parker went on a Stag do and to a gig with a fractured skull (he thought it was a bad headache).

Check out this picture to see all the injuries in 2009′s Super League season and to see how they happen this clip explains a lot. Big Hits! Oh and thanks to Julie Stott from the NotW for the article the picture came from.

Our top flight footy podcast The Punt features a few good arguments this week between Robbie ‘The Savage’ Savage and ‘Big’ Ron Atkinson mainly about Robbie’s mate Roberto Mancini and whether he should get the old Spanish archer if they don’t get fourth place. It’s a good listen and they also preview all ten Premier League matches as ever.

The first in a trilogy of unique toe-to-toe-to-toe battles is taking place as I type, with glory, fame and fortune awaiting the winner of the greatest show on earth … yes the leaders’ debate is on ITV, with two more planned for Sky and the Beeb. William Hill are betting on it in-play. I tipped up Nick Clegg at 2s and he’s doing ok. It strikes me Gordon Brown looks like the dad with his two lads at some weird debating society either that or an ITV version of The Weakest Link.

Finally for this week, I heard and then saw something remarkable last Saturday. My start to the weekend involves taking my daughter to dance class and sitting in the car listening to Danny Baker on 5Live (the man is a broadcasting genius).

Among his crazy topics for discussion were psychic pets. Last Saturday he asked people to call in so he could read out the Grand National horses and if they barked or chirped or whatever when a horse was mentioned that was a tip.

First a black cockerel cock-a-doodle-doooed when Black Apalachi was read out and then a fella called in to test the theory with his goldfish. It swam under its bridge twice when Black Apalachi was read out. I had a moment of thinking ‘maybe I should back that’ but quickly dismissed the idea as the ramblings of an addicted gambler.

So there I am sat watching the National and Black Apalachi, as you probably know, ran a storming race and finished second!!! Each way punters rejoice! Maybe, just maybe animals communicate on some psychic plain and betting on the gee-gees isn’t down to speed ratings and nods from the yard – I’m buying a parrot before the 2011 running of the race or taking a medium to Aintree.

I’m disappointed to report Dinky has no bets for us this weekend, but he has love on his mind so I’ll let him off.

Bet well and good luck.

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing

Friday sees the start of evening racing proper and we’ve got no less than six meetings to get our teeth into through the course of the day.

BBC Radio 5 Live correspondent Cornelius Lysaght looks at every race at Newbury, while Mick Naughton pays his own tribute to Greville Starkey as well as have a quick look at Saturday’s Scottish Grand National.

Join Nigel Aplin and Andy Holding live in the studio from 1.25pm

Ken Pitterson will be reporting live from the meeting at Newbury.

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing

Tony McCoy has finally done it. He can be considered one of the the greats, his legend is secured. He’s won the world’s most famous steeplechase. The 2010 Grand National is his to savour. Don’t Push It has been crowned.

The podcast has some big-race reaction, with interviews from Champion jockey Tony McCoy and trainer Evan Williams, who was responsible for the third horse home, State Of Play.

We also have the full Grand National commentary that was broadcast live to the listeners on WHR. Rising stars, Gareth Topham and Gary Capewell, provide us with the historic nine minutes.

Mick Naughton, ‘Lord’ John Budden and Niall Hannity will be live from 1.30pm ahead of the racing on Sunday.

Enjoy.

View full post on William Hill News | horse-racing