Today's Maiden Madness

I absolutely love maiden races and find them an intriguing puzzle to try and solve. There looks to be some nice ones today at York, Newmarket and Salisbury and I would be intrigued to know if anyone has any fancies?

My selections are as follows;

1:40 Salisbury - RED HALO - Obviously the Hannon horse looks to have strong claims but the form of Red Halo's juvenile race should work out nicely and this 200,000 euros purchase should hold her own this season. She will be suited by a slight step up in trip and Dobb's has a very good record when riding for the yard. Looks like a reasonable alternative to the Fav.

2:40 Salisbury - This doesn't look like a great maiden and with Hannon holding a strong hand it will probably be one of his three horses that cross the line first, but definitely isn't a race I would want to be involved in financially.

3:45 Salisbury - KEENE DANCER - There was a lot to like about this horses debut last season and the form of the race looks pretty good now as Fugue looks like a very smart type. KD raced over 7f that day and that would definitely have been a minimum trip for this filly. With strong stamina ties in her pedigree she should improve today.

4:10 York - FUNK SOUL BROTHER - This horse feature on my 2yo bloodstock list for this year and is highly thought of in the Hill's yard. He has been putting in some good work at home and definitely has the ability to win first time out and his owners and breeder is apparently hopeful that this Cockney Rebel will prove to be the jewel in his crown. Obviously the race is very competitive but this horse has bundles of speed and should go close. Biggest danger without doubt will be DUST WHIRL who has solid form in the book and his sire has done well so far this year.

5:20 Newmarket - BECKY LOU - This doesn't look like a great maiden and those horse's with previous form don't look to be anything that special and with that in mind I've sided with a newcomer. Now the Noseda yard is very quiet at the moment which is strange because they usually get off to a quick start. Becky Lou is Jeremy's first Juvenile runner of the campaign and from a pedigree point of view she should have a place claim at least. Her Sire is currently operating at a 21% strike rate with his 3yo progeny in the last year, and hopefully Becky Lou can add to his tally, although the wide draw will make life difficult.

7:00 Newmarket - This is probably the most competitive race of the day and its incredibly difficult to solve. From a pedigree point of view 3 horse's look to stand out; ANOMALY, CONTINUUM and AL QATARI.

Anomaly has the advantage of race experience which should hold him in good stead and he is also very well breed (related to Advice and Iguazu Falls).

Continuum is out of one of racings leading dams and is related to Timepiece, Passage of Time and Father Time all of whom ran very well on their debuts but also made appearances as 2yo's. The horse holds some high profile entries and is apparently well thought of, but with the current price looking a bit slim from an e/w perspective, I would probably leave him alone this time.

Al Qatari (22/1) may prove to be a value e/w bet in this field and the main reason for my interest is because of the owner (Sheikh Mishal Al-Thani). Anyone that follows racing in the UAE will recognise the horse's colours and this man knows all about racing. As of yet he has only had 2 runners in the UK but there is no doubt that he is looking to invest in British racing in a big way. With that in mind, I am sure that Haggas is keen to ensure that his horses start winning some races and on the basis of Al Qatari's pedigree I would say he has a great chance of making an impression in this race.

7:35 Newmarket - BAYAN - This horse is my strongest bet of the day and if you want to find out why read my post from yesterday. I would be horrified if this one didn't at least place and it has come in for significant support in the market in the last few hours.

So there you have it, my canter through today's maidens. Although I actually only have money riding on 2 of the selections detailed above, I will be watching all of the races with my notebook at the ready, because I strongly believe that a few of the races today will churn up some classy performers.