RACING POST FRIDAY FEBRUARY 22nd 2013
WEEK MONDAY FEBRUARY 18th TO SUNDAY FEBRUARY 24th 2013
REVIEW YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
PREVIEW TODAY'S CARDS
http://www.racingpost.com/news/live.sd
RACING POST NEWS
http://www.racingpost.com/news/live.sd
Doncaster Wednesday February 20th Winner
£3,898.80
120 BENEFIT CUT (IRE) 7 11-2 partner TOM O'BRIEN rated (118)
Equus Zone
Richard Birch and Scott Burton
RACING POST NEWS
http://www.racingpost.com/news/live.sd
O'BRIEN
SET TO APPEAL AGAINST BAN
"TOM
is expected to formally appeal this morning against the ten-day ban he received
from the Doncaster stewards on Wednesday which
would rule him out of next month's Cheltenham Festival, writes Richard Birch.
"The
stewards at Doncaster deemed O'Brien, riding
seventh-placed BENEFIT CUT in the novice hurdle, had "failed to take all
reasonable and permissible measures throughout the race to obtain the best
possible position", and suspended him
from March 6-15.
O'Brien,
who landed the 2009 Fred Winter Juvenile Novices' Handicap Hurdle on SILK
AFFAIR, has partnered 54 winners this season, and was in action at Huntingdon
yesterday, where he confirmed: "The plan is to pursue the appeal."
"Renee
Robeson, trainer of BENEFIT CUT, said "The severity of the punishment is
out of all proportion."
"O'Brien
has ridden regularly for Peter Bowen, Paul Henderson, Richard Newland and Jamie
Snowden this season, in addition to his boss Philip Hobbs.
"Hobbs said: I haven't had the chance to speak to him about
it yet, but losing TOM is bound to cause me a problem at Cheltenham ."
J Margaret Clarke Turfcall Comment
3.25 National Hunt Novices Hurdle (Qualifier) (Class 4) 2m+ 11
ran
WIN: MINELLA FORFITNESS 6 11-8 partner Barry Geraghty handler presenter? trainer Nicky Henderson 9-4f rated (133)
Also ran
120
BENEFIT CUT (IRE) 7 11-2 partner TOM O'BRIEN rated (118)
FORM
Racing
Post Spotlight 10-1 winner of Market
Rasen bumper on debut last June and runner-up in Leicester novice (pulled hard) (unsettled)
on hurdling debut for new yard in November but didn't show much after an early
mistake in a decent novice at Newbury last time and another tough task here.
(118) RP rating.
120 BENEFIT CUT (IRE) 7 11-2 partner TOM O'BRIEN rated (118)
Took
keen hold in rear, kept on from 3 out never a factor 66-1 needs to learn to
settle 32 lengths off the winner MINELLA FORFITNESS 6 11-8 9-4f rated
(133) 2nd CHELTENIEN 3rd VALDES (129) Turned into a smart race.
Equus Zone
Rodney
Masters speaks to Nick Scholfield, riding high in the jockeys' table
and
with a clutch of lucrative rides at the festival.
NICK
SCHOLFIELD
"The leading jockey talks about his lucrative book of festival rides
FESTIVAL
RECORDS TUMBLE Biggest-ever tally of 1,145 entries made for handicaps.
"RACING'S enduring love of the Cheltenham Festival has been illustrated by a record number of 1,145 entries for the 11 handicaps at next month's four-day extravaganza. The total is 48 up on the previous best in 2009 - In addition there are ten French-trained entries."
PYMAN'S
THEORIES
CHELTENHAM
PUNTING PEARLS A Pyman's Theories special on the value of experience at the
meeting. Lack of a prep race no barrier to festival glory.
"PY
CATCHERS James Pyman's horses to follow."
NEWS SPECIAL ALL-WEATHER
RACING
FIT FOR PURPOSE?
James Burn " Investigate the state
of all-weather racing in Britain Special report'
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
"Pitiful attendants,
low-grade horses, corruption cases and starting-price manipulation.
Fit for purpose? Or what? Needs to be developed the right way, the bloodhorse literate way within a truly run Equus Zone. JMC
NEXT
POPE
PUNTING ON THE POPE yes, yes, yes (page 99)
Freddy
Gray marks your card in the race for the Vatican
hotseat. Cultured Italian may be papal punters' pal in a wide-open heat.
"Think
of it as the Grand National but with three times as many runners.
"Ask
any Vatican insider and they'll tell you that
predicting the identity of the next Pope is not easy. The first problem is that the number of possible winners, or papabili, is huge.
"In
Theory, at least, any baptised Catholic male 'with youth of reason' can ascend
the throne of St Peter, which narrows the field down to about 500 million
souls.
"But
since the last non-Cardinal to be made Pope was in 1378 (Urban VI, in case your
wondering) it's fair to say that the next Pope will be one of the 118 papal
electors who will meet in Rome
"Think
of it as the Grand National but with three times as many runners, and even
bigger leaps.
"And
that brings us to problem No 2. The papal conclave (the gathering of Cardinals
who will choose the Pope) is shrouded in mystery.
"The
College of Cardinals is intensively secretive at the best of times, and the men
in red hats are forbidden by canon law from talking about the election so gathering
solid information about their collective thinking is almost impossible.
"Besides,
the conclave is supposed to be guided by the Holy Spirit, and we all know how
profoundly unfathomable that is.
"Then
again, maybe punters know best. In 2005, the heavily-backed favourite Joseph
Ratzinger duly won - even though many Catholic pundits (including, er...me)
thought he had too many enemies.
"It's
possible that, faced with an agonisingly difficult decision, the Cardinals
simply opted for the name that was already on everyone's lips.
"But
now Ratzinger - or Pope Benedict XVI, as he became - has announced his
resignation and, just like in 2005, the media buzz is that we'll have a Pope
from the "global south" who will "represent the changing face of
the Church".
"This
is a politically correct way of saying that we should expect a non-white bloke
from Africa, South-East Asia or South America ,
where the Church is growing, rather than the global north, where it is
shrinking.
"The
favourite, according to this school of thought, is Cardinal Peter Turkson, from
Ghana
"Turkson
would be a strong contender regardless of the colour of his skin. He's a fine
orator, has been an effective president for the Pontifical Council for Justice
and Peace and is well-liked by the Church hierarchy.
"There's
no doubt that Turkson is up for it. Just a few hours after Benedict's
resignation was announced, he declared that the Church was ready to be lead by
a non-Europian. Hint hint.
"But
nobody likes a too-obviously-ambitious man of God and Turkson may have wrecked
his chances anyway last week with an ill-timed interview in which he conflated
homosexuality and child abuse.
"The
South American contingent should not be underrated, especially not Cardinal
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. He has form - rumours
suggest that he finished second last time. He combines doctrinal orthodoxy,
which endears him to conservatives, with a strong emphasis on social justice,
or helping the poor.
"However,
Bergoglio is 76, and it's widely thought that the Cardinals are looking for a
younger Pope this time.
"Other
Latin American names to watch out for are the Mexican Cardinal Norberto Rivera
Carrera and the Honduran Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, both of whom have
been recognised for their brave stands against corruption.
"A
leading Asian papabile, meanwhile, is Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith. The Sri
Lankan won lots of admirers for his work as Secretary of the Congregation for
Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and might be worth a punt.
Don't discount the shrewd Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle, either.
"IT
is important to remember that, while the Church may be universal, it remains
Roman in essence - and Roman in this context means Italian.
"The
Italians always form a large voting bloc within the College of Cardinals - and
the number of Italian papal electors has actually increased since 2005.
"Cardinal
Angelo Scola, the Archbishop of Milan, is rightly deemed a favourite. He is,
like the outgoing pontiff, a well respected intellectual whose public stands
against gay marriage and abortion have made him popular among Catholics outside
and inside the Curia.
"Experts
say Scola could be the right man to carry on Benedict and John Paul II's legacy
of standing up for Christian values in Europe .
"My
tip would be 70-year-old Cardinal
Gianfranco Ravasi - dubbed 'the most interesting man in the Church'.
"As
president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, he combines high scholarship -
he can talk eloquently on anything from philosophy to science to literature to
art - with a useful populist and media - savvy streak.
"Moreover,
Ravasi was chosen to preach at the week - long Lenten retreat in front of Pope
Benedict and his Cardinals. This is a great honour, and it so happens that
Karol Wojtyla delivered the Lenten retreat sermons just before he became Pope
John Paul II - as did Joseph Ratzinger before he became Pope Benedict XVI.
"According
to some sources, though, we may be about to have our first American Pope.
"Under
the reign of Benedict, the influence of US bishops has grown considerably.
"Vatican experts speak about an "American Pope. Under the reign of Benedict, the
influence of US bishops has grown considerably.
"Vatican
experts speak about an 'American moment' in Rome Vatican
"Who
better, then, than Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the rotund Archbishop of New York?
He's a popular figure, close to Benedict XVI, who could easily win enough
support from the English speaking and Italian blocs. The problem, though, is
that some Vatican snobs think him 'unpolished'
"A
more sophisticated choice, perhaps, is not a citizen of the USA , but somebody familiar with Church's
struggles in north America - the Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet. He already has
great influence as the head of the Congregation of Bishops, is a brilliant
linguist, and has useful diplomatic experience in Latin
America .
"Two
weeks ago, bookmakers had Ouellet at 33-1, but those odds have shrunk in recent
days. At 6-1, he may still be a touch of value and is worth adding to the
portfolio alongside Cardinal Ravasi. And don't forget to say a prayer.
Freddy Gray is the assistant editor
of The Spectator and a columnist for the Catholic Herald.
Recommendations
G Ravasi
2pts 25-1
Ladbrokes, Paddy Power.
M Ouellet
1pt 6-1 Boyles, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power
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