Tuesday, 30th June 2026
In ATC today….
June has been kind to us….
…. first delivering a good Epsom…. followed by a terrific Royal Ascot….
…. and then a BIG win at a BIG price on Friday night at Newcastle….
Oh…. and here’s how I do it….
Read on….
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June’s been kind to us….
…. first delivering a good Epsom….
…. followed by a terrific week at Royal Ascot….
…. and then on Friday night a big win at a fancy price courtesy of the totally overlooked Al Shabab Storm….
…. or ‘the Shab’ as I will insist on referring to him from this point forward and until the end of time….
Sent off at 22s he’d been easy to back at 33s, 28s & 25s when I put him up on Thursday for the Gosforth Park Cup….
…. and I know plenty of you got on at price points in the 40s on the machine in the lead-up to the off….
I can’t say it looked like a cert halfway through the race – our lad looked just a trifle outpaced….
…. but the stiff finish helped and he powered through in convincing fashion at the furlong pole under a fair ride from 5lb claimer Conor Whitely….
…. and whilst it’s true that he had to cling on at the death – with the favourite coming hard and late – he was ahead when the line came and that’s what counts….
What a fantastic call it was from Mick Appleby to step him back to the minimum trip….
…. finding the key after two months and two runs with a horse that had lost its way a fair bit….
The reduced mark helped, of course – but you’ve still got to get the job done….
…. and the outcome was a real testimony to Appleby’s horsemanship and his knack for doing the business with horses inherited from other yards….
I tip my hat to the trainer some people refer to as the King of the Switchers….
…. and – just a reminder – it’s always worth looking twice at any horse fresh into his yard….
…. because he’s a magician when it comes to rejuvenating them…. restoring their enthusiasm…. finding new ways of getting more out of them….
…. or whatever it is he does to get them back on the right track and firing on all cylinders….
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I very much hope you were on….
…. though I know some readers weren’t – probably thinking I’d boiled my brain in last week’s heatwave….
I’m blessed with a knowledgeable readership – and plenty of ATC afficionados don’t blindly bet every single selection I put up….
…. choosing instead to assess whatever argument I put forward, factor it into their own deliberations, and then make their own decision….
I’ve got no problem with that approach at all….
…. but I can understand the post-race frustration if you’re one of those that missed out on Friday night….
HC was on….
“…. an extremely profitable month of June. Apart from the "blips" that were Chester and York, your analysis has been brilliant and if a few of the near misses had won at the advised prices it would have been spectacular. I look forward to your emails just as much now, if not more so, as when I joined the service back in 2017.”
…. so too MT….
“Got initially 24's on Betfair, then had to go in again at 34's and again at 46's!!!! Just sorry I didn't go in again at 48's (thought there must be something wrong with the horse!!) Well done and thanks again."
Meanwhile MB makes a statement that comes my way from time to time….
“How you manage to find these selections in those large fields I've no idea.”
There’s no great secret to it…. no magic formula…. nothing you could bottle….
…. it just boils down to time…. and a willingness to dig deep into the detail…. and to think around what you find and what you see and the context surrounding it….
…. and over time I suppose you develop a sort of intuition – that alerts you to possibilities within situations that you can then give some thought to….
Of course, this is the very same methodology that’s produced losing sequences long enough to kill a man….
…. so I don’t get too carried away with myself….
…. I have purple patches…. I tread water…. and I suffer through bouts of poor form that probably aren’t very healthy for me….
…. and it all comes from the exact same spadework – and that’s the truth of it….
And I’m also fallible….
…. I spend hour upon hour looking at things – and I can still overlook details that are obvious and which – in hindsight – shouldn’t have been missed….
…. like Kevin Ryan’s decision to reapply the tongue tie to Cadarn on Saturday….
…. headgear he hadn’t worn in three previous runs for Ryan – but had worn and won in for previous trainer George Boughey….
I missed that completely….
…. and I’m not saying I’d have put the horse up for sure in the Dubai Mile at York – which he won sent off at 28s….
…. but I’d have had a much closer look at the 5yo as a consequence of that detail – and I’d have given myself a definite chance….
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Saturday was a bit of an anti-climax….
Bahadur ran okay in the Plate…. so too Mighty Magnus at York….
…. but both were sticking on rather than genuinely fighting out the finish….
Rappers Delight disappointed me….
…. whilst Caviar Cowboy suggested he’s one for another day….
He’s only had six goes under rules and I reckon he’ll prove better than a mark of 85….
…. he was well-keen early doors – pulling for his head under Luke Morris….
…. and he probably did well to finish where he did….
You can’t win them all….
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That’s all for today….
Back tomorrow….
Meantime – contact me at – nick.pullen@spapublishinggroup.co.uk
Stay tuned….
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