Author: Russ

The four words ‘Not Totally Straight Forward’ suggest minor caution when backing horses with this caveat however, recent experience indicates to me that when applied to a possible betting opportunity it is of major concern. It is far more significant than any concerns over the conditions, ie Ground, Trip and Draw. No matter what conditions…

Another week of warm, dry weather is forecast in Paris, which will be welcome news for Maltese Cross and his Arc bid. Should those conditions persist through to October 4, they would provide what looks like an ideal surface for his attempt to give William Haggas a first victory in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.…

The drift on Binhareer close to the off indicated that confidence was not as high as anticipated in the Ayr Gold Cup. He seemed to get trapped on the rail but more significantly once extracted did not accelerate as expected. Maybe the runs on fast ground have caused him to hold back when asked to…

The weekend at Ayr got off to a very good start for the yard when Diplomata defied a huge drift to win at 5/2. Had I thought for a moment that would be her price she would have been a recommended as a bet. As I anticipated the return to quick ground at Newbury did…

The busy week has taken Williams Haggas followers on a roller coaster journey that began with a 4 timer on Monday followed by 14 consecutive losers on Tuesday and Wednesday and then 2 winners on Thursday. It was great that Venetian Lion won as easily as I predicted today after I had made several mistakes…

After 10 Blanks on Wednesday. !! A woeful Wednesday when the 3yo fillies couldn’t cope with tacky drying ground facing stiff up hill finishes. It was an error on my part as it was perfectly predictable and although we had small stakes on 3 of the runners it doesn’t make it less of an error.…

I distinctly remember at the end of September 2016 commenting that Somerville Lodge would never better the total of 36 winners in the month. They certainly haven’t come close yet with the total for September last year of 26 the closest since. Due to the training methods used by Haggas the Autumn months are likely…

The next seven days will almost certainly see Somerville Lodge dispatch their highest volume of runners in a single week this season. Following six entries on Monday, William Haggas’ yard saddles four on Tuesday and a further ten on Wednesday. The week began with a couple of potential 100 + rated horses both enhancing their…

By Frankel out of the dam of Waldgeist the Arc winner Crown of Crowns must be one of the most valuable fillies to be in training at Somerville Lodge. That pedigree suggests that she is going to need cut in the ground, which may partly explain why she is only making her debut on Monday…

With up to 50mm of rain forecast for the Ayrshire coast next week there is a high expectation of a Soft or possibly Heavy ground Ayr Gold Cup meeting which will be the focus of attention for Somerville Lodge over the next 7 days. I took advantage of a wet weather forecast for Haydock over…