Yahoo Sports UK columnist Jim Crowley: A good Selection for the Guineas

Top jockey Jim Crowley has been unveiled as Flat racing Ambassador for Bet4Causes and is a new columnist in the Racing Plus newspaper’s stable of stars.

He has rides in both Newmarket Classics this weekend and gives us the low-down on his mounts and a few horses to follow for the next few days.

Catch his Yahoo Sports UK column here every Saturday.

By Jim Crowley

WHERE do you start? Trying to find a chink in the armour of Air Force Blue is nigh on impossible and he is obviously going to be very hard to crack in the 2000 Guineas.

He wears a tongue tie for the first time as he bids to give Aidan O’Brien a seventh win in the race, but he is deservedly a warm order.

Although it is a pity for racing fans that Emotionless was not quite ready to take him on again, if he replicates his Dewhurst-winning form, he should take the honours.

I’m fortunate enough to ride First Selection (3.45 Newmarket) for Simon Crisford. Like Air Force Blue, he is trying new equipment for the first time and we hope the fitting of a hood will help him.

First Selection won the Group 3 Solario Stakes at Sandown last August, where he put his stamina to good use and made all. While things didn’t work out for him in Dubai (he pulled too hard in a Listed race) we are very happy with him and he would have a small each-way chance.

While Air Force Blue is going to be very hard to beat, I quite like Marcel (below) at a fair price. His form ties in very well, because he beat Johannes Vermeer in the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster and that one subsequently won a Group 1 in France with Stormy Antarctic (currently second-favourite) behind him.

Marcel is currently 12/1 with Bet4Causes, and while it could be argued that he may want a little bit more cut in the ground, Peter Chapple-Hyam is a master at training them for the big day.

It is always a thrill to ride on the biggest days at HQ and I kick off the afternoon with Niceofyoutotellme (2.00) for Ralph Beckett. He won this race two years ago and obviously is a little bit higher in the weights now, but seems to be a better horse.

He was third in the Brigadier Stakes at Sandown last May with horses like Tryster and Eagle Top behind him, and is now rated a couple of pounds below that mark. It is a great ride to pick up and Ralph’s horses are in good form.

I’ve ridden Justineo (2.30 Newmarket) for Roger Varian a couple of times. He has his first run for sprint king Robert Cowell in the Palace House Stakes and Robert is very hopeful – he says he’s going very well at home.

Obviously it is a competitive Group 3, but it is another great ride to pick up and I’m pretty sure if he doesn’t hit the target today, he will certainly do so somewhere in the season.

Tomorrow, it is the fillies’ turn on the Rowley Mile. Aljazzi (3.40 Newmarket) is my mount in the 1000 Guineas. She won a very nice 7f maiden here last year which has been won in the past by the likes of The Fugue.

She went to Chelmsford a couple of weeks ago, but running on the all-weather probably wasn’t her cup of tea. In a slowly-run race, she was out of her ground behind Marenko and will probably will be a lot better on the grass.

The Guineas is a big step up for Marco Botti’s filly, but this race can often throw up a surprise.

The attention will be on Aidan O’Brien’s trio of Minding, Ballydoyle and Alice Springs and one of them will probably win, but I think you’ll see a really big-priced horse finishing in the first three.

If not Aljazzi, it could be the William Knight-trained Robanne, who was third to Nathra in the Nell Gwyn, but caught the eye making up ground hand over fist (below, far right). It would be no shock if she hit the frame at a big price – the extra furlong should help her.

I also ride Forgotten Hero (1.50 Newmarket) for Kim Bailey in the opening 1m4f handicap. Formerly with Charlie Hills, this hard-knocking sort is a decent horse on his day if things fall right, he would have a chance.

Finally, Clear Spring (3.00 Newmarket) won a couple of 6f handicaps last May and John Spearing’s runner has dropped back to a mark 3lb below his last win, so he’d have a small each-way squeak in a competitive handicap.

TIME FOR A NAP

FELLOW Bet4Causes brand ambassador Emma Lavelle signed off the Jumps season tipping a decent-priced winner in Junction Fourteen last week, so the pressure is now on me to deliver the goods.

While I am at Newmarket today, I will have one eye on Solar Flair (2.50 Goodwood).

Trained by William Knight, he was second on his seasonal debut at Kempton from a bad draw, but he looked very progressive last year and his only blip was at Glorious Goodwood where the race didn’t pan out. It is a competitive 7f handicap, but he is a very nice horse and he will take a bit of beating. Fingers crossed, he’d be my nap of the weekend.

On Monday, I’m at Windsor and ride Niceonecenturion (3.25) in the mile maiden. He is a nice horse who will pay his way through the season and he will be worth following.

And on Tuesday, Monks Stand (2.20 Brighton), trained by Jeremy Noseda, should run very well in the 5f novice stakes. I’m really looking forward to riding him.

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