TOP 100 SPORT SITES
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| Madison Du Berlais the value bet for a King George upset • David Pipe's runner keeps exceeding expectations• Betfair Chase flop probably caused by lack of recent runMadison Du Berlais may be the one to surprise everyone in the King George VI Chase, frustrating Kauto Star's attempt to make history. The winner of last year's Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup, he has exceeded the wildest hopes of trainer David Pipe, who told the owner his horse had "no chance" before the Newbury race.Madison Du Berlais has continued to defy low expectations, showing that 25-1 success to have been no fluke with at least two excellent efforts since. He defeated Denman and Albertas Run over the King George course and distance in February before going to Aintree to beat Exotic Dancer, a tired Denman having already fallen at the second-last fence.It would be unwise to suggest that Denman was at anything like his best for either of those two races, but there were plenty of seriously good horses beaten almost out of sight in both contests.Never at his best after an absence, it was no surprise to see Madison Du Berlais (3.05) struggle at Haydock last month. He will be much straighter today. Kauto Star demands respect as he tries to land the race for the fourth consecutive year and entirely deserves to be the odds-on favourite. The selection may be best backed at 9-2 with Stan James to win or be second to Kauto Star.Rest of Kempton Since Long Run (1.55) arrived from France, he has attracted a lot of attention and should take plenty of beating if he takes to British-style fences. Nicky Henderson has suffered some major reverses in this race since last winning it with Bacchanal in 2000 but he has a bumper crop of novice chasers this season. His Binocular (2.30) produced an inexplicably bad performance last month at Newcastle but can restore his reputation in the Christmas Hurdle. Polyfast (3.40) looks Henderson's second-string on jockey bookings, but has the potential to prove better than he has been able to show so far. He looks temptingly handicapped on the best of his hurdles form.Wincanton 3.25 Some of these will no doubt be thinking about the final of the series. Ellerslie George has gone up in the weights, despite his recent return to form having come over fences. However he seems a different horse this season and should be able to translate that improvement back to the smaller obstacles.Wetherby 2.10 Carruthers has plenty of class and should go well at a track that often suits front-runners. He remains open to improvement and this contest looks ideal.Horse racingHorse racing tipsKauto StarWill Haylerguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
NCAA upholds sanctions for Fla. State; Bowden loses wins The NCAA has upheld its decision to vacate up to 14 victories from former football coach Bobby Bowden as part of its penalty in an academic cheating ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Seahawks CEO flying to LA to meet with Carroll SEATTLE (AP) -- The chief executive of the Seattle Seahawks is headed to California to meet with Pete Carroll, as the struggling team closes in on a deal with the charismatic coach at Southern California.... hosted.ap.org |
Cerner, Kansas City Wizards development deal goes for final approval A proposed development agreement calling for a new 18,000-seat soccer stadium for the Kansas City Wizards and a first-class office campus for 4,000 new Cerner Corp. employees is scheduled to be acted on by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan., during a special meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday. feeds.bizjournals.com |
White's 'trick' secures the win at U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix Defending men's Olympic halfpipe champion Shaun White resumed his winning ways in the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix Olympic qualifying series ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |