Hot favourites are friendless in the market with Oddschecker users
This weekend will see Aidan O’Brien aim to continue his dominance of Classics on both sides of the Irish sea as he looks to add the Irish 1000 and 2000 Guineas to the Newmarket versions he collected earlier in the month. Both Churchill and Winter will be looking to complete the Guineas double with victory at the Curragh and both are short-priced favourites to do so at 4/11 and 10/11 respectively.
However, it appears that Oddschecker punters are keen to take on the O’Brien pair with both horses proving unpopular in the ante-post markets over the last seven days. One-time Derby favourite Churchill has been diverted to Saturday’s Group 1 and goes into the race as the undisputed top miler of his generation in the UK and Ireland.
The manner of his victory at Newmarket suggests he will be very hard to beat but one horse Oddschecker users are backing to do just that is Godolphin’s Thunder Snow. Trained by Saeed bin Suroor, the 3yo was last seen being pulled up in the Group 1 Kentucky Derby after blowing his chances at the start by kicking and bucking, making him almost impossible to ride.
Great to hear that Thunder Snow seems fine after the Kentucky Derby - we hope to see him in the Irish 2000 Guineas at @curraghrace... pic.twitter.com/IITph7HJ4u
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) May 9, 2017
Punters appear to be willing to forgive his antics and the multiple Group winner is responsible for over 73% of bets in the ante post market over the last week, accounting for just shy of 52% of stakes.
The O’Brien second string and Guineas 4th, Lancaster Bomber, has also been nibbled in the market at big prices, attracting just under 10% of bets and 8% of stakes.
It’s a similar story in Sunday’s 1000 Guineas with punters keen to take on the market leader Winter. The O’Brien filly was a decisive winner at Newmarket and is fancied to uphold that form with those who reoppose this weekend.
One rival who was not part of the beaten field that day was the punters’ pick Rehana. Mick Halford’s 3yo finished behind the favourite in a Guineas trial over course and distance back in April when she was beaten by just ¾ of a length. She has since gone on to win a Group 3 at Naas in impressive fashion against older horses and has been tipped up by Oddschecker tipster Andy Holding for Sunday’s Classic. 35% of all bets over the last week have been for the 11/2 second favourite, accounting for just over 30% of all stakes.
Another one to attract support is Kevin Prendergast’s unexposed Aneen. The Hamdan Al Maktoum filly will be making her seasonal reappearance, having not been seen since landing a 7f maiden at The Curragh last October. Completely unexposed, her trainer is confident of a big run from his charge stating: “I expect her to run very well. The lack of a run isn’t a concern as she’s in very good form and has been working well.”
Oddschecker users are happy to take their chance at the double-figure odds with Aneen matching Winter in terms of bets placed (20%) although at a much smaller stake level (9% compared to 31%).
