Stan James’ Charlie McCann Takes a look at the big races of the Weekend for you…..

The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe which is run at Longchamp tomorrow is, arguably, the most prestigious flat race run in Europe and one which has been won by some of the sports greats including Sea Bird and Dancing Brave and more recently Zarkava and last year Sea The Stars. Three year-olds have won six of the last seven renewals and thirteen of the last sixteen and although some will pundits will suggest the forecast soft ground will play to the strength of the older horses I can’t have it I’m afraid.

The Derby winner Workforce was only given the green light on Thursday morning and is reluctantly overlooked for that reason only. He looked a real champion when winning at Epsom in record time but went out like a light behind stablemate Harbinger in the King George the following month and has been off the track since.

Sir Michael Stoute has yet to saddle the winner of the Arc and I am reluctant to desert the Derby winner who did us such a favour back in June. Yet to race on soft ground Workforce is bred to appreciate the forecast rain that is due to hit Paris today but his preparation is less than ideal and it will be one of Stoute’s greatest ever training performances if he can coax another brilliant performance out of Workforce.

The French Derby winner Lope De Vega wouldn’t stay a mile-and-a-half in a horsebox and the two to concentrate on are Planteur (3.05) and Behkabad with marginal preference for the former despite narrowly losing out to the latter on his last couple of starts. I feel there is more to come from Planteur although he is not a strong recommendation in what is hardly a vintage renewal.

Arc betting from StanJames: Longchamp Sunday (place terms: 1/4 the first 3)
7-2 Behkabad
5 Fame And Glory
11-2 Workforce
6 Planteur
10 Cape Blanco
10 Sarafina
12 Youmzain
16 Lope De Vega
20 Bar

The Cambridgeshire is the big betting race of the day and StanJames.com will be offering ¼ odds 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 places. John Gosden has saddled the winner of the first leg of the autumn double in two of the last three years and his Nationalism (3.40) did us a favour at Goodwood three weeks ago and he looks to have a very similar profile to Pipedreamer who won the corresponding race for the stable three years ago.

The forecast soft ground certainly won’t inconvenience this son of Pivotal who will be only having his fifth start. He is drawn in stall three and I have also supported Emirates Dream in stall 29 just in case there is a bias to those drawn on the far side of the Rowley Mile. Frankie Dettori has ridden the winner of the big betting race of the weekend courtesy of Redford for the last couple of weeks and Godolphin may have found the key to Emirates Dream when they dropped him back to a mile last time. He has been backed from 33s to 14s in recent days and is worth a saver.

Cambridgeshire (place terms: 1/4 the first 5); prices from StanJames.com
4 Nationalism
11 Ransom Note
11 Absinthe
11 Taqleed
11 Start Right
14 Elliptical
14 Emirates Dream
16 Set The Trend
16 High Twelve
16 Pires
20 Bar

Together (1.55) ought to get favourite backers off to a flying start in the valuable sales race which opens the card given she was only just touched off in group 1 company at Ascot last weekend. The drop back to 7f is a concern but she does look different class.

Murtagh Can Land Big Win on Together

Emerald Commander (4.25) is penalised for his recent win in Germany but he is the sporting selection in the finale at Longchamp today. Soft ground is ideal and the more rain the better although he does have a poor record for today’s jockey. Sweet Hearth is blinkered for the first time and is the best of the home challenge; she looks the one to beat on her second in last year’s Prix Foret but she has not quite been herself so far this season.

There are three interesting jump cards on Sunday and one of my horses to follow for the season Any Given Day (4.15) runs at Kelso. Under normal circumstances he would warrant nap material but his wonderful trainer Donald McCain is surely using the race as a sighter to see whether or not the grey will stay a trip in excess of two-and-a-half-miles. A winner over 12f on the level he didn’t quite get home over 2m 5f at Newbury last Xmas although that was on desperate winter ground. If the ground is no worse than good to soft his class ought to prevail.

For all your sporting odds this weekend check out StanJames.com proud sponsors of the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham next March.

Be lucky

Charlie

Stan James to Sponsor Champion Hurdle….

Cheltenham Racecourse announced today that a major sponsorship deal has been agreed with leading bookmakers Stan James.

The valuable five-year deal sees the company backing The Grade 1 Stan James Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in March, and three other major two-mile hurdle races on the road to The Festival, namely The Grade 1 StanJames.com Fighting Fifth at Newcastle in November, The Grade 2 StanJames.com International at Cheltenham in December and The Grade 2 StanJames.com Champion Hurdle Trial at Haydock Park in January.

Making the announcement, Cheltenham’s Managing Director, Edward Gillespie, said: “This is great news for Cheltenham, for Newcastle, for Haydock Park and for British racing at a commercially challenging time.

“It has long been an ambition of ours to strengthen the narrative running through the Jump racing season and, having a single sponsor backing four of the most important two-mile hurdle races, will enable a continuity to the promotion of that category.

“On behalf of Cheltenham and also the teams at Newcastle and Haydock Park, I’d like to express our enormous gratitude to Stan James for having the vision to back some of the most important races of the season in such a joined-up way.”

Denis Kelly, Chief Executive of Stan James, added: “We have always looked to support racing through key events and high-profile sponsorships so we are delighted to be backing The Stan James Champion Hurdle, the biggest and most valuable hurdle race of the entire season.

“We share the goal of the industry, through Racing For Change, to bring racing back into the public’s line of vision and I hope that our sponsorship of three of the races on ‘The Road to Cheltenham’, including major races at Newcastle and Haydock Park, will help to achieve that aim.

“This is a significant investment for us and demonstrates our commitment to racing for the long term.”

Race dates for 2010/11:

November 27, 2010 – The StanJames.com Fighting Fifth Hurdle – Newcastle

December 11, 2010 – The StanJames.com International Hurdle – Cheltenham

January 22, 2011 – The StanJames.com Champion Hurdle Trial – Haydock Park

March 15, 2011 – The Stan James Champion Hurdle – Cheltenham

Stan James Champion Hurdle 2011 latest odds

3    Binocular

5    Hurricane Fly

14    Khyber Kim

16    Solwhit

16    Get Me Out Of Here

16    Peddlers Cross

16    Menorah

20    Rite Of Passage

20    Casual Conquest

22    Go Native

22    Dunguib

25    Quevega

25    Overturn

28    Soldatino

33    Zaynar

33    Mille Chief

33    Cue Card

33    Secant Star

33    Walkon

33    Sanctuaire

33    Blackstairmountain

40    Medermit

40    General Miller

40    Alaivan

40    Starluck

40    Barizan

50    bar