Champagne Stakes looks wide open at Kenilworth

Jack Milner

The Grade 3 Champagne Stakes over 1200m heads up the holiday card at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Monday and as is the case with all of the day’s nine races, it looks highly competitive.

It comes as no surprise that in the early betting, bookmakers are betting 9-2 the field, and bettors will need to load up in their exotics bets.

However, one has to find a winner and perhaps this could be the turn of trainer Patrick Kruyer to pick up a feature success when he sends out The US Of A.

So far, The US Of A has been at this best over 1000m but he has notched up a win over 1100m recently and should not find the extra 100m beyond him. The five-year-old son of The United States has not had the best of luck in his last two starts and despite suffering interference in both of them he still did not finish more than 2.35 lengths off the winner.

Richard Fourie has ridden him 12 times and has been on his back for all five of this gelding’s victories. He stays with The US Of A and could well make it win No 6.

He is coming back from an 86-day break but has regularly run well racing fresh so that should not be a hinderance.

The dangers are many but the biggest threat could come from Café Culture who has been running well behind the likes of Questioning and Kingdundee. This Lucinda Woodruff-trained gelding has been competing in races with average merit ratings between 111 and 120 recently and this time the level is 106.

He does come in as the second-best weighted runner behind Beware The Bomb and will be ridden by Callan Murray for the first time.

King Regent is one of those frustrating runners who is loaded with talent but also has his quirks. He totally blew the start last time but ran on best of all over 1100m at finish just 2.05 lengths behind Dance Variety.

If Glen Kotzen’s charge behaves himself this time he could provide some decent value in this field.

 

Jack Milner’s selections

Race 1: 9 Godric Gryffindor, 2 You Made Me Look, 6 The Cullinan, 7 Royal Light

Race 2:  12 Vercicat, 2 Eugenius, 6 Crazy Little Thing, 5 Lifelong Dance

Race 3:  2 Pay The Palace, 6 Boogiefied, 1 Major Master, 7 Katsu

Race 4:  4 Spanish Verse, 5 Zagreb, 11 Bourbon King, 8 Glenalmond

Race 5:  9 Spirit Of Nical, 2 Redlight Lane, 4 Mon Papillon, 1 Burning Desire

Race 6:  4 Givethatmanabells, 5 District Master, 10 Klein Karoo, 7 Cedar Point

Race 7:  2 The US Of A, 9 Cafe Culture, 11 King Regent, 4 Beware The Bomb

Race 8:  2 Objet D’ Art, 4 Give It Laldy, 10 Churchillian, 1 Shesgotclass

Race 9:  10 Supreme Fate, 13 Clair De Lune, 9 Iona Castle, 1 Hampstead Heath

BEST BET

Race 4:  4 Spanish Verse

VALUE BET

Race 9:  10 Supreme Fate

BEST SWINGER

Race 2 2×12

BIPOT

R144

Leg 1: 2, 12

Leg 2: 2, 3

Leg 3:

Leg 4: 2, 4, 9

Leg 5: 4, 5, 7, 10

Leg 6: 2, 7, 9

PLACE ACCUMULATOR

R216

Leg 1: 2, 3

Leg 2: 4

Leg 3: 2, 4, 9

Leg 4: 4, 5, 10

Leg 5: 2, 9

Leg 6: 2, 4

Leg 7: 9, 10, 13

PICK 6

R960

Leg 1: 4

Leg 2: 1, 2, 4, 9

Leg 3: 4, 5, 7, 10

Leg 4: 2, 7, 9, 11

Leg 5: 2, 4, 10

Leg 6: 1, 8, 9, 10, 13

JACKPOT 1

R192

Leg 1: 1, 2, 4, 9

Leg 2: 4, 5, 7, 10

Leg 3: 2, 7, 9, 11

Leg 4: 2, 4, 10

JACKPOT 2

R240

Leg 1: 4, 5, 7, 10

Leg 2: 2, 7, 9, 11

Leg 3: 2, 4, 10

Leg 4: 1, 8, 9, 10, 13

Leg 1: 2, 3, 11

Leg 2: 12, 14, 15

Leg 3: 4, 11

Leg 4: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8