Medici Time completely missed the break at Ayr yesterday and you're just not going to get away with that over a sharp 5-furlongs on such quick ground. I'm in two minds as to whether it was going to be "his day" in any regard, as Tom Eaves didn't seem to be going after much and only gave him a solitary smack with the whip from what I could see, and that yielded a little burst towards the end to finish a bit closer to the main protagonists. On the face of it, it may not look like a great run but there's plenty of encouragement to be taken from it and I am fairly sure that he'll be winning in the next month or so. A stiffer track might help.

Horse Racing will always find a way to break your heart and Santefisio was just the latest to do exactly that. Keith Dalgleish's charge travelled ominously well until a furlong from home, under an intelligent ride from Phil Makin, and was then produced to take a very narrow lead coming into the dying stages, at which point it looked like he would narrowly prevail. Sadly for us, a decent pay-day was denied with our selection getting headed just a couple of strides from the line and that, as they say, was that. He was keeping a bit to himself here as per usual and by right, should not have been denied. That was a fair way harder to take than Oneladyowner last week, but we are definitely getting on the right horses and a bit of luck is coming!

-4.00pts on the day. Form of last 10 selections; 1-6-0-0-3-3-1-5-8-2 (2 winners & 3 places).

Really tricky stuff today and it's much tougher than usual to find a bet, but I've still managed to get two that are worth putting our hard earned on. I know that I'm sounding like a broken record at this stage but each of them come with plenty of risk attached and don't be surprised by anything! I'm fairly certain that both will be winning races soon though and that they can outrun their current odds, so hopefully that'll happen and maybe one would be kind enough to stick his head in-front for us! After Oneladyowner and Santefisio, we are due some luck, despite May being a cracking month (will end with a +46.50pt profit regardless), and it would be lovely to close it out in style. I don't hold too much hope but you never know in this game, it's just absolutely bizarre and why do we put ourselves through it?! Have a very good day folks and take it handy.

7:10 Newcastle - King Of Eden - 2pts @ 9/1 (General)

First off, I will say that I'm not really sure a stiff 7-furlongs is what King Of Eden is really in need of, but he is stupidly priced if it doesn't prove to be an issue and you'll find plenty worse bets than this. Eric Alston's 6-year-old gelding was one of our selections on Saturday but he ran no race at all, shaping as if there was something amiss. Indeed his jockey was looking down after about a furlong, as the horse seemed to get struck into not long after they broke from the gates. He mustn't have thought that there was anything wrong because he was giving the horse plenty, despite the fact that he was clearly beaten from a very early stage and that's not like him, as he's usually seen travelling sweetly through his races. The draw and his track position weren't favourable, but the run was significantly below what he's capable of doing. Overlooking it completely may be the smartest thing to do and I can only assume that there is no problem with him due to connections allowing him to take his chance here and that's encouraging at least. The ground being on the fast side is a massive plus, as is the likely solid gallop and we know that he has no problems with the Newcastle track having seen him win twice from three attempts around here, the second of those coming off today's mark. He won by a comfortable 3-lengths that day, albeit over a furlong shorter than today's trip. 7f isn't exactly beyond him, and he ran well off a mark of 88 over C&D this time last year (off 81 now) but I always had him down as a 6f performer and will now be hoping that I'm wrong. The stable are at least in decent knick of late and have a brilliant 21% strike-rate (8-38; £30 LSP) at this track in recent years. This is their only runner of the day and Paul Mulrennan, one of the top jockeys at Newcastle, is an interesting, rare booking for the yard. King Of Eden will be winning a race before too long, of that I'm quite certain, and he is overpriced at current odds of 9/1. There's a chance that he may not be a trier but it's a risk worth taking.

Result - 3rd @ 7/1; Travelled quite nicely, not good enough on the day.

8:55 Sandown - First Post - 2pts @ 16/1 (General)

I've lost count of the amount of times that I've selected First Post and not once has he obliged for me, but usually goes on to win next time out, typically. Derek Haydn Jones' 5-year-old is talented and consistent, more often than not, but very quirky and tends to throw away any chance that he has in a race by lugging badly to his left under pressure. He has still managed to win on no fewer than five occasions throughout his career though, and two of those came over this stiff C&D. His form here reads; 1-3-3-1, and by right he could be unbeaten at the track if it was not for bad luck on one occasion and violent hanging on the other. Connections could have readily found another much easier race for him and like our earlier selection, it's interesting that he's being turned out quickly having last raced on Saturday as well. That one was a lesser race than this, but he shaped really encouragingly despite being sent off in the lead, rather strangely. As a result, he was far too keen for his own good but still posted a solid effort, better than his finishing position suggests, and may have done even better had he not jinked in the closing stages, causing him to give up valuable momentum. Coming back to Sandown will help, as he clearly likes it around here and the fairly quick ground is in his favour as well. A good gallop would help and enable him to settle better, but I'm not really sure whether that will materialise. He is a big price at least and another that's worthy of chancing for that reason. It won't be an easy race to win, but 83 is an exploitable mark for him and if he is going to take advantage of it, it'll probably be around here. The usual stakes will suffice and here's hoping for a big run.

Result - 4th @ 9/1; Race not run to suit and was too keen. Ran very well.