Jamie Clark was Sports Editor of Coral bookmakers between 2014 and 2017 during their merger with Labrokes and a key period for the British betting industry. Working as a bookie’s runner on the point to point circuit in the Midlands and at Market Rasen Racecourse where his late godfather had a trackside pitch growing up, he has had ties to horse racing all of his life. A regular visitor to Cheltenham during the National Hunt season and York over the summer, he has been involved in Horsebetting.com since its inception. Jamie now brings you his take on major news stories from the racing world and those all-important betting tips.
Fabre and Godolphin have leading fancy for Group 1 glory
Persian King has leading claims of giving trainer Andre Fabre a record ninth winner of the 1m 1f Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan at Chantilly on Sunday (15:25).
The four-year-old Kingman colt is owned by Godolphin and has never been out of the first two in nine starts. Persian King has won six career outings, including last year’s French 2000 Guineas.
As a juvenile, he won two minor events at this venue over a mile. Persian King then stepped up into Group 3 company and landed the Autumn Stakes at Newmarket with a neck victory over Magna Grecia.
The runner-up went on to land the English 2000 Guineas last season. As Persian King did likewise at Longchamp after a five-length success in a Classic trial, the form is solid.
In the French 2000 Guineas he lengthened nicely when shaken up and ran on, accounting for Shaman by a length. Persian King has since confirmed form with the runner-up.
He only found subsequent Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe third Sottsass two lengths too good in the Prix du Jockey Club at this venue. The winner has since landed the Group 1 Prix Ganay this season.
Persian King wasn’t seen out again in 2019, so shaped as if needing the run after 374 days off the track on reappearance. That came in a Listed contest here where he could never quite get to owner-stable companion Magny Cours.
The winner has since scored another success at that level on Eclipse day at Sandown. There was only a short-neck between Magny Cours and Persian King, who went one better in the Group 2 Prix du Muguet at Saint-Cloud.
As he asserted close home, he clearly retains plenty of ability. The form of Persian King’s races set a clear and obvious standard for the Prix d’Ispahan.
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If the favourite cannot be opposed, then last year’s Prix du Jockey third Motamarris is feared most.
This four-year-old is trained by Freddy Head who, if you include his riding career, has been involved with seven previous successes in the race.
Motamarris is lightly-raced for his age and won his other four career starts. The Le Harve colt is an all-weather course winner over the Prix d’Ispahan trip and has also won over further.
What he has beaten away from last year’s Classic is open to question, but Motamarris has made easy work of his victories. That makes him well worth another crack at Group 1 level.
There is only two lengths to find with Persian King on the Prix du Jockey Club form, so Motamarris commands respect.
This demands more than the Listed contest at Compiegne that he won on reappearance. A softer surface shows Motamarris to best effect, so he gets those conditions here.
It make him the obvious danger to Persian King, while connections of last year’s winner Zabeel Prince have Roseman engaged.
Trained by Roger Varian for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, this other four-year-old Kingman colt is two from six. A Listed winner by four lengths over a mile at Newmarket on his final start of last season, Roseman may have needed his return to action.
That came in an ultra-competitive renewal of the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot. Roseman was waiting for room approaching two out and the gaps didn’t appear until too late.
He kept on, but was always held by the front two of Circus Maximus and Terebellum. As Roseman came on for his first run last season, he may do so again.
Shaman each-way value for Prix d’Ispahan
As there are eight runners declared for this renewal, the obvious each-way bet is Shaman now dropping back in trip.
Trained by Carlos Laffon-Parais for the Wertheimer brothers, those owners have won the Prix d’Ispahan three times since 2010.
In Shaman, they have a four-year-old a colt by the late Shamardal for whom this trip may be optimum. He won the Group 3 Prix La Force over this distance at Longchamp on his second start last season.
Shaman was only beaten a length by Persian King in the French 2000 Guineas. He then was fifth in last year’s Queen Anne and went down fighting by 1 3/4 lengths to Romanised over the straight mile in the Group 1 Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville.
His third to mudlark The Revenant in the Group 2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein isn’t too shabby. Shaman landed the Prix d’Harcourt also at Longchamp on reappearance, holding subsequent Group 1 winners Way To Paris and Sottsass.
If turning up in the same form, then he can have a hand in the finish. However, Shaman may have caught the latter needing the run first time out as Sottsass reversed form in the Prix Ganay.
The drop back in trip by a furlong or so favours Shaman here, though. It was only at the business end of that race where he couldn’t continue his front-running style.
Shaman is thus an obvious each-way bet in the Prix d’Ispahan which is open to three-year-olds just for this year. Only one youngster takes up the offer, and Clive Cox’s Positive has stamina doubts.
He has no form on soft ground; so, despite generous generous 9lb weight-for-age terms, he is discounted.
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