
The sun shone on Doncaster and the first day of the flat turf racing season saw members of VG Tips win on 9/1 tip, Petrus (above right).
It was the Class 2 Spring Mile. There were plenty of horses in with a chance coming to the closing stages of the race. But Petrus, with 21 year old birthday boy Tom Marquand in the saddle, came through the pack at the right time and won the race going away at the finish. 9/1 and 8/1 were on offer the day before racing. That’s when my subscribers always receive my researched analysis and selections.
Here is what I told subscribers the day prior to racing:-
“Petrus is nicely drawn in stall 3 and the Brian Meehan trained gelding is a nice each way price at 9/1 with one bookie and 8/1 elsewhere, including with some bookies who will return each way bets about the first 5 horses past the post.
Petrus has not won for eleven outings but has finished in the first five in seven of those races. Now ten pounds lower in the handicap than one year ago, the trainer fits first time cheekpieces this day. Brian Meehan has a 20% strike rate when doing that in the past three years. Petrus is now a gelding and I suspect the canny Meehan has had this race in mind ever since Petrus was gelded. The jockey Tom Marquand has only ridden Petrus once previously. That was in a Group class race back in 2017 when the pair finished fourth. You may not be looking at the winner but I’d be surprised should Petrus not finish in the places.”
Petrus did win and that got the new flat season proper off to a winning start for me and my dedicated members. They may also have collected backing Sergei Prokofiev to win at odds of 2/1. That victorious tip came at Navan.
We’re not done yet with jump racing. This coming week I am looking forward to the three day National Hunt meeting at Aintree. It culminates, of course, with the Grand National. Can I tip the winner for the fourth consecutive year? Time will tell.