Blogs

The Irish Champion Stakes and the Sprint Cup at Haydock dominate the racing this weekend, and the clash in the Irish Champion Stakes between Rip Van Winkle and Twice Over should be a cracker. The two horses have met three times in all, and currently the head-to-head score is 2-1 in favour of 'Rip'. We currently have Rip Van Winkle favourite for the Irish Champion Stakes.

Aidan O'Brien has fancied runners in all three Group 1 races taking place at Haydock and Leopardstown this weekend, but how many winners will O'Brien have? We are betting 14/1 that O'Brien draws a blank in the Haydock Sprint Cup, the Irish Champion Stakes, and the Matron Stakes.

O'Brien saddles three in the Irish Champion Stakes, including the odds-on favourite Rip Van Winkle. His runner in the Sprint Cup is Starspangledbanner, and with the ground drying out all the time at Haydock that horse looks sure to go off a short price. Finally, in the Matron Stakes, Lillie Langtry might have disappointed in the Falmouth Stakes last time but she looked top class in the Coronation Stakes previously.

The Euro 2012 qualifiers kick-off this weekend with several nations out to restore their reputations. As you'll know England, Italy and France all bombed out in disastrous fashion at the World Cup in South Africa. Those three teams will be under the most scrutiny during the opening round of Euro 2012 qualifiers, no question about it.

The feature race of the day is the Group 2 Celebration Mile at Goodwood. It has attracted just the four runners, but the race at Goodwood is a good-quality contest nonetheless. Main Aim has never won beyond 7f but is proven on soft ground and looked ready for a step back up in trip when finishing strongly in a better contest at Goodwood last time. He is likely to start favourite given his ability to handle the ground but I am keen on Poet's Voice (3.05) who was a leading juvenile last term but like so many Godolphin three-year-olds lost his way in the first half of the season.

StanJames.com will refund all losing bets as a free bet on the outright market of the FIBA World Basketball Championships which begin in Turkey on Saturday if holders Spain retain their World Championship crown. This betting offer extends until the round of the last 16 at 14.00 on Saturday 4th September.
 

We have a great new giveaway for the upcoming US Open tennis championship. If Andy Murray wins the US Open men's title, we will refund all losing stakes as free bets on the men's outright market.

Murray was a beaten finalist in 2008 and he comes into the tournament on a high, having beaten both Nadal and Federer en route to the title in Toronto the other week, but we think once again he will fall short of that elusive first Grand Slam.

The racing from Sandown and Chester may lack the brilliance of York's Ebor meeting, but there are a number of fascinating races including Sandown's opener the Listed Atalanta Stakes. Three year-olds have won the last four renewals of this race and I believe that sequence will be extended to five with Long Lashes, Seta and Decorative taken to fight out the finish.

At StanJames.com we've been busy refunding bets over the last few days thanks to our great 0-0 football free bet offer and our Payoff In A Playoff promotion on the USPGA Golf Championship.

We have guaranteed that if any football match finishes 0-0, we will refund losing goalscorer bets as free bets. Well, there were two goalless draws in the Premier League on Saturday so we refunded all losing goalscorer bets on those matches. All punters who had a goalscorer bet on the Tottenham v Man City game, or on Bolton v Fulham, have been refunded their stakes as the equivalent in free bets.

Newbury racecourse stages a cracking card on Saturday. Kite Wood (2.30) became the first three-year-old for eight years to land the Geoffrey Freer Stakes last year and he can follow up especially with showers forecast for the area in the build up to the meeting. Runner up in last year's St Leger, Kite Wood got very warm at Royal Ascot ahead of the Gold Cup where he palpably failed to give his running. If back to anything like his best form he will be difficult to beat although he does carry a 4lb penalty.

The Juddmonte International takes pride of place on day one of the Ebor meeting at York. In my video preview I go through the likely runners and riders in the Juddmonte International ahead of Tuesday's big race, and I give you my take on how I see the race panning out.