The Cheap Commenting

Paynter did well to win but Gemologist flopped to last. Although he only took part in only one race of the Triple Crown, the Belmont in which he came a close second, Paynter looks set to play a major role in upcoming races for 3-year olds. With the retirement of I'll Have Another and Union Rags, this son of  Awesome Again is clearly the best colt from the classic generation still in training.

The Olympics is in full stride and I must admit that I am keeping a keener interest than I would have hoped for. The China v/s USA quest for the medal haul is turning out to be a great duel. The Chinese are performing with brio in the pool, none better than 16-year old Ye Shiwen, whose astonishing feats have raised a cloud of suspicion among competitors and media. Let me get to the comments of Clare Balding, BBC journalist commonly known in racing circles, and who strongly and openly hinted at foul play following Ye Shiwen's demolition of the field in the 400m medley race. Such comments have caused mixed reaction in the Twitter world with some calling for her sacking.

Yes, it is true that the first reaction that springs to mind after the Chinese bettered her personal best by 5 seconds, is that she's been juiced up. Maybe she did, maybe she didn't. Impulsive reaction from the commentator one might say? No, not from a seasoned journalist who should know better on the repercussions of her remarks to a wide audience. Stick to your professional code, report as objectively as possible, air personal opinion without getting into derogatory remarks based on the unfounded. Commenting on live television should not have been a reason for her to let go on these principles.

It would not be surprising if she did it for sensationalism, which many have alluded to in the past in her racing coverage. Jumping on the bandwagon belief that the Chinese athletes must be all juiced up to win so remarkably is an easy, but wrong, step for her to make. I don't follow jump racing, but how does she comment on a winner from the Nicky Henderson yard, who's made headlines for being found out doping his horses, not least the Queen's horses! Does she openly question the credentials of the winner? How would she comment on Big Brown's winning the 2008 Kentucky Derby? The colt was under the care of Rick Dutrow who's always been notoriously known for steroid use on his horses. Would she have mentioned performance enhancing drugs in her post-race commentary? Probably not, because it would not be politically correct in the small racing circles to do so, and certainly not without damaging ramifications. But the Chinese being so "far away", it would certainly not sting her back, or so she thought. Clare Balding, get on with the Olympic spirit, and spare us your superficial commenting.

Back to racing, where Glorious Goodwood has kicked off today. Noble Mission has won quite impressively today, and it will be a shock of major proportions if his brother Frankel did not do the same tomorrow in the Sussex Stakes. For sure, he will win. Farhh from Godolphin, can become a genuine Group 1 horse, but definitely many notches behind Frankel. Frankel will win, Farhh will come second, the other 2 horses in the race are not even worth the mention. So, I would recommend piling on the exotic combos on this one.

Win: Frankel

Place: Farhh

Exacta: Frankel- Farhh

Ugly is good

A full week-end it was, one which could have ended up great, had Holland and Ireland not lost. The fact that the Irish folded so tamely against the Croatians was disappointing as I was expecting them to do well during these Championships.

Nadal dominated Djokovic to win his seventh French Open. One thing to bear in mind from now on is that he's less effective in wet conditions where his strokes lose a lot of their spin. He's still the best, but Nole is clearly on the upward curve on the clay surface. We'll see next year if he can bridge the gap with the Spaniard.

Union Rags won the Belmont and with I'll Have Another's premature retirement, is definitely the 3-year old to follow. The Michael Matz horse will surely be playing a leading role in the important mile and a quarter Summer races.

England just drew with France in the Euros. 12-1 were the shots on goal in favour of France, England's only shot leading to a goal. What to make of this performance other than it was an important point gained? Expect a boring, disciplined, robotized England under the Hodgson guidance. At this point, long-suffering England fans will not care if the football spectacle is sacrificed for success. The FA must have known that when they appointed Hodgson, and I concur. England is at a point where it's better to win playing ugly than to play well and get a negative result, as has been many times the case in the past years. Really, outshot 1-12 would have looked like a disaster a few years back, but no longer. Even against a not-that-good French team that is a far-cry from the Zidane years.

These Euros are there for the taking. I believe there are more surprises in the offing during the group phase.

Loaded week-end

Off to a promising start in the Euros with the Greeks and Polish drawing. In tennis, Nadal and Djokovic also won as expected, setting up a final that promises to be a spectacle for the ages.

A fully-loaded week-end it looks to be. Here are my views on the week-end matches.

Netherlands v/s Denmark. It's hard to go against the Dutch here although Denmark will certainly give them all they can handle. But in this Group of Death, Holland need to ensure they get the full 3 points as their remaining games are against Germany and Portugal. A draw-no-bet for the Dutch here looks safe.

Germany v/s Portugal. Portugal's performance in these Euros depend on their main man, Christiano Ronaldo. If he has a good tournament, so will the national team. Germany will be their solid selves and it's hard not to see them go through. I see Germany as a good draw-no-bet as well.

Spain v/s Italy. The Italians are struggling right now and they don't look anywhere as good as their predecessors. That said, they should never be discounted because they almost always rise up on the big occasions. Spain is the best team in the tournament, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll be winners at the end. They shouldn't be beaten by this Italian team though, and are taken as a safe draw-no-bet as well.

Ireland v/s Croatia. I think the Irish could be the surprise package of this group and of the Euros in general. I like the work of Trappatoni and he's got the experience in these kinds of tournaments. Croatia are capable of the best and worst, and they now have a really good striker in Everton's Jelavic. I still like Ireland's chances here, and they look to be the best value draw-no-bet of the week-end.

Back to Roland Garros where the best 2 players will square off in Sunday's final. Will it be Djokovic's first or Nadal's seventh? I think the Spaniard looks as good as ever, and will be all too aware that if he can't beat the Serb here, he won't beat him anywhere else. The French Open is his territory and he will be pumped up for it. Djokovic is the best among the rest on the surface and can give the Spaniard a real game, but at the end, it should be business as usual for Nadal. He is recommended to win it all.

Saturday's woman final between little-known Italian Errani and Sharapova. This is a fantastic opportunity for the Russian to win her first French Open and hence complete the career Grand Slam. She should be able to do it and is selected to win as well.

Finally, news just eked out that I'll Have Another will not compete in Saturday's Belmont Stakes, hence killing off any hopes of a Triple Crown winner. That clears the way for either Union Rags or Dullahan to win it. Union Rags as a Place looks safe and is the recommendation. For long punters, Street Life as a Place could also be the way to go because this horse will finish the best of them all.

Win: Nadal, Sharapova

Draw-no-bet: Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Ireland.

Place: Union Rags

Delivery time

Great last week-end with the Lockinge and Preakness delivering the 1-2 punch as expected.

What else to say about Frankel that hasn't yet been said? He's not as imposing as Sea The Stars but his mechanics are just unbelievable. In full flight, he's an unstoppable machine in motion. At this point, there seems nothing to stop him in the Prince of Wales stakes at Ascot, possibly his next stop. Excelebration ran the race expected of him but again had to settle for second place. Unfortunately for him, it looks like there are more runner-up spots in the offing for him each time he locks horns with the Galileo colt.

State-side, I'll Have Another outran Bodemeister in the final strides to complete the Derby-Preakness double, opening the possibility of achieving the Triple Crown. Can he do it? It's a little early to say but I believe much of it will depend on the disposition of Dullahan and Union Rags. Both horses will be fresher for the Belmont showpiece as they skipped Pimlico. The Triple Crown is far from a certainty for I'll Have Another, but he's proved to have lots of ability, and certainly is among the best of his generation.

In football, Chelsea finally won the Champions League after coming close in recent years. Their success had looked so improbable in their encounters with Barcelona and in the final against Bayern, but it seems that it was written somewhere that they would win it. Di Matteo showed all his savviness and when you look at his short managerial career, he's never really showed he was a bad manager. He did well at West Brom and looked unlucky to be sacked there. Whether he stays at the helm of Chelsea of not, he looks destined to be wanted by other top clubs in Europe.

Coming up over the week-end are the Irish Guineas Classics and both colts and fillies races look competitive. With Camelot certain to step up in trip from now on, this year's 3-year old top miler could be making a statement at the Curragh. It will be interesting to see if the returning Parish Hall can confirm all the promise of last season, or if one of the flops at the Newmarket Classic, such as Born To Sea and Power, can redeem himself and take a leading role in the division. There certainly will be no more room for excuses and ability or non-ability will be there for all to see.

Return of the Greatest Miler

The Lockinge, a race that has been a curse to many of its winners in recent years, when you think of the likes of Hawk Wing, Rakti and Creachadoir etc, who then never won again. This year, Frankel looks poised to win it and let's hope that this will not stop his winning sequence because so much is expected of him this season.

This is a race that Frankel will win even with the presence of Excelebration, possibly the second best miler in the world after the Galileo colt. The naysayers will mention that Frankel is vulnerable because of the injury he incurred a few weeks back that disturbed his training for nearly 10 days. They will mention that Excelebration has one run under his belt already which Henry Cecil concedes as a real advantage for the Ballydoyle colt. I believe Frankel will be as vulnerable as he's ever been, but his connections will not have risked him for the race if they did not think he would win. The logic should be respected at the end with Frankel leading Excelebration at the finish.

A few hours later, the Preakness will see a rematch between I'll Have Another and Bodemeister, the first 2 finishers in the Derby. Although the shorter distance of 9 furlongs will better suit Bodemeister, that does not mean that he will have enough to outlast the Kentucky Derby winner at the distance. My theory is that whoever of the 2 has better recuperated from their exertions of the Derby will win this. Usually, the one with the better stamina recuperates the better, so it is advantage I'll Have Another, and the shortened distance should not give any definitive edge to Bodemeister. The other theory is that Bodemeister lost the Derby not because of stamina issues, but rather because of a lack of seasoning and career starts. If that is the case, then he is the deserved favourite for the Preakness. In the end, this second Classic of the season should play between these 2 protagonists and I am inclined to have both as a Place.

Obviously, I couldn't close this preview of the week-end without mentioning the Champions League final between Bayern and Chelsea. Playing at home gives the Germans a big advantage. The fact that Chelsea will miss much of its defence gives the Bavarians an ever greater advantage. However, their form is suspect as demonstrated by their drubbing from Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup last week. As for Chelsea, their best chance is to play it tactically, like against Barcelona, and hope to nick a goal against the run of play, then park the bus. It's not an impossible task for them, but much of their chances will depend on the disposition of the host team. If Bayern are on song on the day, they should win. But this is not a guarantee, and neither is the result. Hopefully the best on the day wins and real football prevails.

Win: Frankel

Place: Bodemeister, I'll Have Another, Excelebration