St Leger

The final Classic of the season, the St. Leger, is the highlight of Saturday’s card at Doncaster and has attracted a dozen high quality staying 3-year-olds from both sides of the Irish Sea.

Ballydoyle trainer Aidan O’Brien sets a puzzle for ante post punters by declaring four and while likely pacemaker Bright Horizon (200/1 with Victor Chandler, Stan James and William Hill) and the outsider Flying Cross (33/1 with Sporting Bet) can probably be safely passed over his other two look to have realistic chances.

Midas Touch (7/1 with Bet365, Stan James and Ladbrokes) and Joshua Tree (8/1 with Victor Chandler and Paddy Power) finished second and third, respectively, in the Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes over 1 mile 4 furlongs at York last month. They were beaten 4 lengths and 6½ lengths, respectively, by the winner Rewilding (6/4 generally) on that occasion, but as all three are untried over 1 mile 6 furlongs – and none has a pedigree that is laden with stamina – there must be a chance that one or the other of the O’Brien entries can turn the form around. That said, Rewilding was a very ready winner at York, quickening clear at the furlong pole and showing no signs of stopping, so the current prices look about right.

Impressive as Rewilding was at York, the closest the son of Tiger Hill has come to winning a Group 1 contest was a 7½-length third to Workforce in the Epsom Derby. That form has not worked out, with Workforce finishing only fifth of six, beaten 17 lengths by Harbinger, in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on his only subsequent start. On balance, Rewilding has something to prove with regard to class and distance and owes his position at the head of the market to the lack of strength in depth in this race rather than any outstanding form claims.

The only Group 1 winner in the race is Ed Dunlop’s filly Snow Fairy (8/1 with Sporting Bet and Paddy Power) who won the Epsom Oaks under a fine ride from Ryan Moore in June and was hugely impressive when winning the Irish equivalent by 8 lengths at the Curragh a month later. She was beaten 3 lengths by Midday in the Yorkshire Oaks on her most recent start last month, but that form still reads well in the context of this race. Ed Dunlop expressed concern that the 25mm of rain that fell on Town Moor on Monday night may place more emphasis on her stamina, but her win at the Curragh came on “good to yielding” going and with if and buts about many of the other runners she looks fantastic each-way value.

Working through the field in alphabetical order, Arctic Cosmos (8/1 with Coral) has no Group wins to his name despite placings at Group 3 and Group 2 level and needs to improve to win this, Corsica (66/1 with Sky Bet) won the Group 3 Bahrain Trophy over 1 mile 5 furlongs at Newmarket in July but appears held by Artic Cosmos and Dandino (7/1 generally) and Dandino himself looks short of Group 1 class.

That leaves Ted Spread (16/1 with Totesport, Victor Chandler and Paddy Power), who was beaten fully 12½ lengths by Rewilding in the Great Voltigeur, Theology (33/1 with  Victor Chandler, Paddy Power, Stan James and William Hill), who has only a maiden win to his name and cannot really be entertained at Group 1 level and Total Command (33/1 generally), who has powerful connections but finished miles behind Rewilding in the Great Voltigeur.

The latter is trained by Sir Michael Stoute, who has a line to Rewilding through Workforce and Harbinger and it is interesting to see him willing to take on a horse that beat his charge by 36 lengths last time again. That said, this is the St. Leger and he may well be tilting at windmills.

On reflection, the St. Leger this year appears to be a two-horse race, with the proven Group 1 winner Snow Fairy preferred to favourite Rewilding. Ed Dunlop’s comments about the going on Saturday tempers enthusiasm slightly, but fine, sunny weather is forecast on Town Moor between now and then, so Snow Fairy’s current price makes more than a little appeal for win or each-way purposes. A reversed forecast with Rewilding could also pay dividends.

Everton v Manchester United, 12.45pm

There’s an intriguing game in prospect at Goodison Park on Saturday, with Everton searching for their first Premier League win of the season against the Red Devils. The Toffees beat the same opponents 3-1 last February and you can get a hefty 7/2 with Stan James that they land a precious three points against a team which might decide to leave their star striker out.

You would have to be living on the moon not to notice the tabloid allegations focusing on Wayne Rooney this week and Sir Alex Ferguson may spare him returning to his former club and being jeered from the rooftops. However, the striker did play for England on Tuesday and he’s a 4/1 chance with bet365 to silence the home crowd by opening the scoring.

With or without Rooney, Manchester United are strong favourites at 10/11 (bet365) to win this match and continue a reasonably strong start to the season. Javier Hernandez (6/1 Bet Fred) is still looking for his first goal in club colours this season, while Paul Scholes is a 14/1 chance (Victor Chandler) to continue his strong start to the season by breaking the deadlock.

Even so, Everton have been dominating possession in recent matches without scoring goals and this is where things could slot into place for them. Stan James go 9/4 about David Moyes’ team on the Draw No Bet market and Jermaine Beckford is 8/1 with Paddy Power to open the scoring as he did against the same opponents for Leeds United in the FA Cup last term.

Arsenal v Bolton, 3pm

It’s been a solid start to the season for the Gunners, with Arsene Wenger stating that his young team are now ready to win the Premier League. It hasn’t helped that the injury-prone Robin van Persie has been ruled out for six weeks, although Arsenal should still ease to victory without the Dutchman as they look to build on their two wins and a draw.

Stan James offer a stand-out 1/4 that it’s three points for the north London team, who trounced Blackpool by a 6-0 scoreline three weeks ago. If you fancy a repeat against Wanderers, Blue Square offer odds of 50/1 and it should be noted that Bolton did concede twice against Birmingham in their last match and the fact that Jussi Jaaskelainen will be suspended for slapping Roger Taylor in the face.

Even so, Owen Coyle’s team are unbeaten so far this season and the Scot will fancy his chances of taking a point from this match, something which is available at 11/2 (bet365). We shouldn’t forget that they went into a 2-0 lead before losing 4-2 last season and Ladbrokes offer 14/1 that they finish in front this time around, something which would put a big dent into the title hopes of their opponents.

While van Persie and Bendtner are missing, perhaps we will start to see the best of Marouane Chamakh, who is starting to settle in at the Emirates. The Moroccan is 4/1 with Sky Bet to open the scoring, while Theo Walcott can’t be ignored after scoring four goals in his past two matches. The 21-year-old is 5/1 with Sky Bet to open the scoring for the third Arsenal game running.

Fulham v Wolves, 3pm

Will the Cottagers be this season’s Premier League draw specialists? Draws with Bolton, Manchester United and Blackpool mean that Fulham are leading the way with games ending all square. Ladbrokes offer 5/2 that this one ends a point apiece, although Mark Hughes will be confident that his unbeaten team can kick on from the 2-2 draw with Manchester United three weeks ago. The bookies are also wary of the home team, with their best price of 5/6 (Paddy Power).

That said, Bobby Zamora will almost certainly be missing with a thigh strain and that could mean Moussa Dembele is the main man for the Cottagers. The Belgian is a 6/1 chance with totesport to break the deadlock and score his first Premier League goal since arriving from AZ Alkmaar in the summer.

Wolves stayed in the Premier League last season and look as though they are likely to consolidate their status if the first three matches are anything to go by. A point gained at Goodison Park was particularly impressive and Mick McCarthy’s team are an eye-catching 4/1 (totesport) to come away with maximum points and have the supporters dreaming of Europe.

The question is whether the manager will persist with Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (10/1 Victor Chandler) or instead go for Kevin Doyle (15/2 William Hill) and Steven Fletcher (8/1 Boylesports) for a match where the visitors might be on the back foot.

Newcastle v Blackpool, 3pm

It’s been a rollercoaster season already for the Tangerines, who started off with a 4-0 win at Wigan and recently drew 2-2 with Fulham. In between was a forgettable afternoon at Arsenal, although Blackpool have shown enough spirit to suggest they could pull off an upset at St James’ Park and Paddy Power’s 5/1 is surely too big about a team that were in the Championship with Newcastle last season.

At the very least, the 9/10 being offered by Stan James about Ian Holloway’s team with a +1 goal start looks quite appetising, with the bookmakers getting a bit carried away with Newcastle’s 6-0 demolition of Aston Villa in their first game at home. It won’t always be that easy for the Magpies, although that won’t stop people piling into Chris Hughton’s team at odds of 8/13 (Ladbrokes) and they have recovered from that 3-0 opening game defeat at Old Trafford to take four points from their next two matches.

It always helps when you have an improving striker in the ranks like Andy Carroll and there will be plenty of Geordies queuing up to back the forward at odds of 7/2 (Paddy Power). However, while he was the hat-trick hero against the Villans, Kevin Nolan bagged two of his own and the former Bolton midfielder is a 6/1 chance with Paddy Power to send United into the lead.

Meanwhile, the visitors have a familiar face back in their ranks, with DJ Campbell (9/1 Blue Square) having completed a permanent move to Bloomfield Road after spending a successful loan period there last season. He will be looking to form a potent Little and Large act with Marlon Harewood (10/1 Victor Chandler).

Manchester City v Blackburn, 3pm

City are currently stationed in ninth place and Roberto Mancini would probably get the sack if this was their finishing position at the end of the season. So far, two lacklustre performances at Tottenham and Sunderland have sandwiched a bright display against Liverpool, suggesting that their form will be pretty watertight at Eastlands this term. Paddy Power go 4/11 that it’s three points for the most ambitious club in the Premier League.

While Mancini struggles to keep his squad players happy, there are many viable candidates to open the scoring on Saturday and that includes England pair James Milner (17/2 Victor Chandler) and Adam Johnson (7/1 Sporting Bet). Both players love to get forward and support Carlos Tevez (10/3 Sky Bet), the latter of whom scored a hat-trick in this fixture last season. Sky Bet offer 20/1 that he manages this again.

Blackburn have looked pretty decent so far, having beaten Everton and run Arsenal close and the pressure will be off their shoulders for this match. Bet365 go 9/1 that they come away with a shock victory.

It’s been a bittersweet season for Spurs supporters, who have seen their team reach the group stage of the Champions League and also lose at home to Wigan Athletic, while they have also been dealt a blow due to Michael Dawson getting injured for several weeks. Nevertheless, they are warm favourites to win at The Hawthorns on Saturday, although it’s interesting to note that Boylesports are prepared to offer 11/10 compared to the 10/11 with Ladbrokes.

Indeed, with several players on international duty this week, Harry Redknapp must be cursing the timings of the international qualifiers, although Jermain Defoe is in great form after that brilliant hat-trick for England against Bulgaria. The striker is 9/2 to open the scoring with Victor Chandler and this firm are once again to be applauded for their excellent First Goalscorer prices. You can get Gareth Bale at odds of 11/1 with Boylesports and he’ll be looking to get forward a lot.

It’s a match where we might see new signing Rafael van der Vaart make his debut for Tottenham and the former Real Madrid midfielder is 7/1 with William Hill to enjoy a dream debut by breaking the deadlock.

The Baggies were thumped 6-0 by Chelsea on the opening day of the season, although they have done a lot better in subsequent matches against Sunderland and Liverpool. In both instances, Roberto Di Matteo’s team kept things tight and you can get 3/1 with Ladbrokes that West Brom keep their 100% record by beating Tottenham.

All Blacks answered all the uncertainty and analysis issues raised in the first quarter by their strong performance. Speaking about their preparations Smith said, “We have a great spirit, strong leadership and we have had a couple of weeks to refreshen. So expectations are we will go out to give our heart and soul which should be pretty intense.”

“We just expect every player will have gone through that process internally and will be totally determined to do well again in the jersey. So the number of wins (14) we have had is irrelevant to us.”
Praising his opponents assistant coach said, “They have got a pattern they seem to becoming used to and they provide threats right across the track. You can’t win at altitude against a desperate Boks team without having grown yourself and I think that will make a difference to them.”

Smith left All Blacks in 2001 after one victory and three defeats under his coaching, resumed his position after three years. Smith is of the opinion that All Blacks can win playing anywhere as long as they carry that attitude with them.

“It is a green rectangle, same rules, same shaped ball and we never talk about playing in Aussie or South Africa. It is just playing the game for the All Blacks and doing the best we can. We have got an away record of 60 per cent in the Tri-Nations so I think the approach has been successful.”

West Ham v Chelsea, 3pm

There’s been no stopping Chelsea so far this season, who have routinely dealt with West Brom, Wigan and Stoke City to hit the top of the Premier League and they will take some stopping this season. It’s hard to see West Ham stopping the Blues in their tracks on Saturday, with Paddy Power offering a best price 4/11 that the visitors continue their 100% start to the season.

Considering that the Hammers have conceded three goals in all three of their matches thus far, it’s tempting to have a bet on the champions winning by a 3-0 scoreline (8/1 Blue Square) and a 4-0 scoreline (14/1 Bet Fred), especially as there are so many goals in this Chelsea team. Didier Drogba (10/3 Sky Bet) looks to be well on the way to winning the Premier League Golden Boot this term, while Frank Lampard (4/1 Bet Fred) should be fit to play despite missing international duty for England.

How can West Ham manage to win this game? Avram Grant looks as though he has a massive job on his hands to keep the Hammers afloat this season, although this is a derby match which means the supporters will back them all the way. Bet365 go 9/1 that the east London side somehow manage to land a surprise three points and Carlton Cole is 9/1 (William Hill) to open the scoring after a transfer deadline day move to Liverpool fell through.

It wasn’t looking too great for the Latics after a 4-0 and 6-0 pummelling by Blackpool and Chelsea respectively, although the 1-0 victory at Tottenham before the international break suggests that Wigan are good enough to stay in the Premier League again this season. They obviously need to sort out their home form after those heavy defeats and Paddy Power make them marginal favourites at 6/4 to land the spoils.

It was Hugo Rodallega who score the winning goal at White Hart Lane and the Colombian is 13/2 with Sky Bet to score first against a team managed by someone who originally bought him for Wigan. Steve Bruce now returns to his old stomping ground with a new striker of his own and Asamoah Gyan will almost certainly make his debut after a club record transfer of £13 million from Rennes. The Ghanaian is 7/1 with Victor Chandler to score first.

With Darren Bent (5/1 Paddy Power) potentially playing alongside Gyan, it could be about time for Sunderland to improve on their poor away form of last season and you can back the Black Cats at 2/1 (Sky Bet) to kick on from that 1-0 win over Manchester City managed a fortnight ago. Perhaps the draw (23/10 Ladbrokes) is the likeliest result from a match where both teams will be looking to keep things tight.