Week-end Preview

It was far from being Really Lovely as the daughter of Galileo could only manage a 4th-place finish, out of placings. I hope this week-end gets me back on track with my selections.

The 17:25 race at Ripon looks a great spot for Yasir from the Godolphin blue to score his first win. He looks a very progressive sort who should be suited by the mile and a half distance. On his last outing, he was a fast finisher at Folkestone over the same distance and given his room for improvement, he should be tough to beat in this race. He should easily be in the first 3 in my opinion, and I recommend him as a Place. He should probably be winning this as well, but with my rotten form, I'll stick to a safe Place.

In football, there are bound to be a few surprises in the EPL although my inclination is that most of the favorites should either win or draw their games. I see Newcastle, Man Utd, Man City and Arsenal as having the best chances to bag 3 points, and are my draw-no-bet recommendations.

The Red Devils' travel to Stoke is bound to be a difficult one as proven in recent years, but they thrive in such circumstances and I think Stoke will find it difficult to cope with their speed. If Rooney and co play with the same fluidity of the past few weeks, they will be a tough team to beat. Man City looks strong on paper against Everton although I'm a little concerned that they might have an eye on the upcoming Champions League match against Bayern. A draw-no-bet should provide a safety net in case Mancini's men lack the focus to beat the Toffees.

Call me crazy but I will stick to Real Madrid for another week although they've totally did me wrong in their last 2 outings. I recommend a heavyweight recommendation on them as draw-no-bet as I cannot see them being beaten at the Bernabeu no matter what slump they are in. If they find their goalscoring touch, it might be a goal-galore game for them. They should be winning this game and have the newly-promoted pay for their last 2 uncharacteristic outings. Barcelona face an in-form Athletico Madrid team and with their defensive problems, the hosts are no certainties to have an easy night by any measure. Sure they will dominate possession and will score, but they'll have to make sure they don't leak any goals as well. I'll abstain on speculating on this one.

Place: Yasir

Draw-no-bet: Man Utd, Man City, Newcastle, Arsenal, Madrid