Chipotle, short-priced favourite for the prestigious class 2. twenty-two runner Weatherbys Sprint Trophy over five furlongs of ‘good to soft’ Newbury this afternoon, was 22/1 when storming home to register his third success from four outings last month, at Royal Ascot!
I ‘bottled it’ unceremoniously, due to conflicting reports about underfoot conditions from jockeys, press, clerk of the course and other ‘knoweldegables’ but I’ll regret it for the rest of this season, given such a result would have guaranteed yet another NINTH success in the Racing Post Naps Table Championship, always my ultimate objective. Under the ‘West Tip’ banner we won it two years ago, the last full flat season before the dreaded Covid-19 struck so savagely.
After Chipotle had landed the ‘Brocklesbury’ on the first day, way back in March, and supplemented it with victory at Ascot a few weeks later, I was convinced this Eve Johnson-Houghton-trained Havana Gold colt was by far the best two-year-old we’d seen but flopped badly on a very soft Sandown surface in May, finishing sixth (of 7!) beaten four lengths. The myth had exploded, or so we juvenile aficionados thought.
Fancy me going along with the ‘sheep’ and being sucked in with all the clap-trap which prevailed thirty-one days ago; usually my firm stance, backed up by genuine time-figures, bucks the trend and brings resounding results.
Conversely, Chipotle is much better than first imagined. Realistically he’s an ever better proposition on this occasion having improved his mark by SIXTEEN POUNDS!
For the first time jockey Charles Bishop will not be aboard Chipotle and Eve has booked a real ‘favourite’ David Probert.
Although Vintage Claret is likely to represent Richard Fahey’s yard favourably, and a clutch of previous winners are expected to improve, to all intents and purposes Chipotle is nigh on a ‘cert’ and at odds-against must not be missed. Bookmakers will want to ‘get him’ and betting activity is bound to be fascinating.
No this isn’t a case of missing the wedding and going to the funeral, it’s just a question of Chipotle hitting anything like his exceptional time-handicap figure which one computed, in disbelief, I recall. Several confirmation checks were made!
Perhaps underfoot conditions will be somewhat softer but we’re promised a heatwave and this Berkshire course dries out rapidly; get in!
A smashing eight-race card ‘kicks-off’ with an opportunity for Godolpin-owned, Saeed Bin Suroor-trained Home City to make it fourth time lucky in a seventeen-runner Novice Stakes over six furlongs; experience is a major factor with two-year-olds and this Profitable colt, again mount of Louis Steward, definitely meets median requirement in my book.
Home City, ‘dobbed’ a short-head in a similar race at Yarmouth last time, sports cheek-pieces, for concentration purposes.
Selections, Newbury, 1.15 Home City; 3.40 Chipotle; Newmarket, 4.40 Makashi (e.w).
Jeffrey Ross, horse-racing correspondent for WMN since 1983 when winning the most prestigious racing journalist award, Sporting Life Naps Table, before winning it a record number of six times collectively in the Racing Post, the current ‘trade’ paper, including 2019