Jamie Reid's sports betting blog - 26/10/09

St. Nicholas Abbey, tipped in this space on Friday, was a scintillating winner of Saturday's Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster and is now a red hot 5-2 favourite with Betfred for the 2010 Derby. Make no mistake - this colt is a potential superstar. The line-up at 'Donnie' featured just about the best looking and best bred bunch of two year olds seen anywhere this season and there was no shortage of winning form but St. Nick picked them up effortlessly approaching the final furlong and then left them for dead. Middle distances should hold no fears for him next season, but he could well be another Sea The Stars and good enough to win the 2,000 Guineas en route to the Derby. He's no bigger than 3-1 for the Newmarket classic with Betfred and the way he galloped home over Doncaster's straight mile suggests the wide open spaces at HQ will suit him very nicely.

But Aidan O'Brien is not being disingenuous when he warns punters not to under-estimate the form of last weekend's Dewhurst Stakes in which he saddled three of the first four and I know that Steinbeck, who finished fourth on the Rowley Mile in what was his first start for five months, is very near the top of the Ballydoyle Guineas pecking order. He can still be backed at 10-1 with Betfred for next May's contest and were his illustrious stable-mate to miss the Guineas and follow O'Brien's usual path to Epsom via the Leopardstown Derby Trial, that would be a great value bet.

Daring David who I put up each way on Friday ran really well at Doncaster, finishing fourth only a neck behind Godolphin's Al Zir who is said to be their best two year old. Brian Meehan's colt looks a horse to follow next year but so too does the Barry Hills trained Tamaathul who chased home Daring David first time out and then came out on Friday and bolted up in a seven furlong Doncaster maiden. The grey, who is almost white, has been given a tentative 25-1 quote for the Guineas and was continuing the tremendous back end form of the Hills stable who struck again with High Heels at Newbury on Saturday and their runners are worth the closest inspection until the close of the Turf flat campaign.

More top class jumping prospects have been returning to action and the brilliant 2009 Cheltenham Bumper winner Dunguib hacked up on his hurdling debut at Galway yesterday. The opposition were no-hopers and we'll need to see him in a stronger run race to guage just how good a jumper he is but he's got an awesome engine and, frankly, odds of 11-4 that he wins the 2010 Supreme Novices may under-estimate his potential.

Bolton and Fulham, tipped to beat Everton and draw with Man City respectively, were both winning bets yesterday but Arsenal shamefully blew a two-nil lead at West Ham while the real Manchester United seemed to go missing in the big game at Anfield. The big winners appear to have been Chelsea who are now 5-4 to regain the title with Betfred, with United out to 9-4 again and Arsenal 9-2. Then you can get 11-1 Liverpool and 14-1 City whose momentum has, for the moment, stalled.

New England duly outclassed Tampa Bay at Wembley yesterday, but even more impressive were the Indianapolis Colts, the weekend's other NFL handicap tip, who blew away the St. Louis Rams and are now unbeaten in six games this season. They will run the Patriots close in the AFC and look a fair price for SuperBowl XL1V at 6-1 with Betfred.