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Punter's Diary by Malcolm Heyhoe

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punter's diary
Updated: 1st May 2012 - GG.com

May's Blooms

May is always the month when the Flat turf season steps up a gear and really gets into full swing. These days last month's Craven meeting at Newmarket serves only an appetiser for the main course and the first real action takes place at Newmarket for the Guineas meeting on the first weekend of the month.

Camelot
© Caroline Norris

Camelot

So far this season I can't recall a duller start to a Flat turf season and here's hoping that Newmarket's terrific Guineas meeting really puts the show on the road and provides the first proper to clues to how the forthcoming season might unfold once the proper action gets under way at Headquarters.

The Qipco 2,000 Guineas is the feature race on May 5, the meeting's opening day and once again the first colts' Classic is currently dominated by the Aidan O'Brien-trained Camelot, a juvenile of rare promise after his demolition of a good field in last autumn's Racing Post Trophy. With credible rivals from the trial races thin on the ground, O'Brien holds a strong hand and along with Abtaal and Top Offer, Camelot looks the one focus upon at Newmarket.

Maybe
© Caroline Norris

Maybe
May 6 brings the Qipco 1,000 Guineas into focus and once again O'Brien holds a strong ace courtesy of Maybe, his top two-year-old from 2011 and a most brilliant winner of all her races last term. Throw into the pot a pair of cracking Goldolphin-trained fillies in Lyric Of Light and Discourse and the scene is set for a pulsating fillies' Classic and it will be a major surprise if the winners does not hail from the aforementioned trio.

May's racing caravan moves onto Chester for three knuckle-whitening days of racing on the Roodee and on May 9, the meeting's opening day, the staying handicappers will be action in the Chester Cup while on May 10 the Chester Vase and Huxley Stakes take centre stage, and on May 11, the final day, the Dee and Ormonde Stakes hold everyone's attention.

At the end of Chester week Haydock holds its mixed jumps and Flat card on May 12 with the valuable Swinton Hurdle taking pride of place on an innovative programme. Nicky Henderson has won the last two runnings of this ultra-competitive handicap hurdle with Eradicate and may well land a third consecutive success courtesy of Gibb River, who looks an ideal type for the 2m race.

Over at Ascot they stage the Victoria Cup over the tricky 7f trip and perhaps the James Fanshawe-trained Primaeval might be the one to land the spoils while over at Lingfield it is the time for Classic clues courtesy of the Lingfield Derby Trial Stakes and the Oaks Trial. It is far too early to say which colts and fillies are likely to contest these two key races but they seem sure to be well-subscribed.

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York's tremendous three-day Dante meeting opens on May 16 with the Musidora and Duke of York Stakes, and in the latter contest over 6f Richard Fahey will be hoping to win the race for a second time. Fahey landed this good prize with Utmost Respect a few years back and the Malton-based handler has another strong candidate in Mayson.

Thimaar
© Racehorse Photos

Thimaar
On May 17 it's the turn of the Classic colts to strut their stuff in the Dante Stakes and all eyes will be upon Godolphin's Mandaean in the 1m 2f contest while on May 18, the meeting's closing day, the stayers take centre stage in the Yorkshire Cup and this 1m 6f race looks the perfect medium for the John Gosden-trained Thimaar to step up in class.

The month's fine action continues with Newbury's Lockinge Stakes on May 19 which should be a tap-in for a race-fit Frankel and the following weekend it is the turn of the sprinters to go like the wind in Haydock's Temple Stakes on May 26 while over in Ireland on that same day the Irish 2,000 Guineas takes place at the Curragh and the John Oxx-trained Akeed Mofeed looks a leading contender.

Malcolm Heyhoe writes weekly horse racing articles for GG.COM-Horse racing betting, information, news, results and free daily tips

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