1:50 Newmarket Lanwades Stud Fillies Nursery handicap Cl2 7f Channel 4. Top weight and favourite Autumn Lily has a 12lb rise to cope with after her Chesham Stakes win, with the second and third in this race not franking the form in their subsequent races there is a value elsewhere with Cornish Path at 17/2. Selection Cornish Path win 17/2.

2:05 Newbury Denford Stud Stakes (Registered As The Washington Singer Stakes) (Listed Race) Cl1 7f Channel 4. Hard to ignore the talented favourite Somewhat. Selection: Somewhat win 11/8.

2:20 Newmarket 32Red.com Supports Racing Welfare Grey Horse Handicap (For Grey horses Only) Cl4 6f Channel 4. This race for grey horses only is a great spectacle and this year it looks sensible to side with the favourite Majesty, who is easily the least exposed runner in the field. Although last year’s winner Medici Time is in the race, I cannot see him taking on the favourite. There is some place value with Bilash, who looks good each way versus the single figure priced horses like Crew Cut and Baby Strange. Selections: Majesty 9/2 win and Bilash each way 12/1. 

2:40 Newbury Betfred TV Geoffrey Freer Stakes (Group 3) Cl1 1m 5f 61y Channel 4 At the top of the market Aitken and Biographer will need more rain to show their best form, whist there are others like Royal Empire and Testudo who have never raced over this distance. On the basis of there being plenty of question marks in this race The Wine Tipster will take a tentative chance on Aitken, whose second to Rite of Passage in his last run does stand out, with an each way wager on Red Cadeaux to turn back the form clock.  Selections: Aitken win 7/2 and Red Cadeaux each way 11/1.

2:55 Newmarket 32Red Supports Racing Welfare Stakes (Handicap) Cl2 6f Channel 4 Tight between the top three in the betting Ninjago, Midnight Flower and Secret in the Park,  however Ninjago has an advantage in the weights over Secret in the Park on their last running and Midnight Flower, who beat Secret in the Park by a length, when finishing second to Lucky Beggar – who also runs in this race but the 33/1 winner so might be a one off – doesn’t have the weights in his favour this time. Selection: Ninjago win 5/1 win.

3:15 Newbury Betfred Hungerford Stakes (Group 2) Cl1 7f Channel 4. The big question is how favourite Soft Falling Rain will cope with the ground and the course at Newbury on his UK debut and I prefer to look elsewhere and take on this favourite with Caspar Netscher, who will like the ground and run impressively on his seasonal debut when second to Garswood. Selection: Caspar Netscher win 3/1 win

3:30 Ripon William Hill Great St Wilfrid Stakes (Handicap) Cl2 6f . Baccarat was tipped for his previous race by The Wine Tipster, however this four yr old was slow off the mark, then badly hampered, before running on to finish sixth, beaten three lengths. The one slight worry is that he is drawn in stall nine in the middle of the track in a race where the draw tends to favour one side or the other, however with some deserved luck in running he is still my tip.  Selection: Baccarat 6/1 win

3:50 Newbury Betfred Mobile Sports Ladies Day Handicap Cl3 7f Channel 4 Plenty with chances in this handicap and The Wine Tipster is going to take a punt with the Richard Hannon trained 3 yr old  Janoub Nibras, who is having his first run of the season and won three times as a 2 yr old. Selection: Janoub Nibras 10/1 each way. 

For some champagne to celebrate try Canard-Duchêne Brut NV, which is great value in Majestic at £19.00.

 

 

The popular Shergar Cup day takes place at Ascot today and this year there are four teams battling it out over a six race card starting at 12.55.

Ascot 12.55 Les Ambassadeurs Casino Shergar Cup Mile The main question here is how Nine Realms will perform after a slightly lacklustre first run of the season. The Wine Tipster thinks that Nine Realms has too much to do and his siding with Andrew Balding’s Roserrow, who is certainly progressive.Selection: Roserrow win 8/1.

Ascot 1.30 Redcentric Shergar Cup Stayers 2m Sir Mark Prescott is renowned for the placement of his horses and his Mutual Respect, a winner last time at Ffos Las over this distance, looks open to improvement against some tough opposition including Broxbourne and Brockwell. Selection: Mutual Regard win 5/1.

Ascot 2.05 Barclays Shergar Cup Dash  5f Ahtoug looks well handicapped and his trainer Charlie Appleby’s stable is in good form so with a pull in the weights Ahtoug can reverse the form with joint favourite Steps when they last met on July 28^th at Ascot. Selection: Ahtoug win 9/2.

Ascot 2.40 Keltbray Shergar Cup Classic 1m 4f Chesterfield, despite a six pound penalty after his determined victory over Lady Pimpernel over 1m 2f, looks sure to benefit from the longer trip of 1m 4f and give trainer Charlie Appleby a double, whilst Cathy Gannon’s mount Cardinal Palace looks good for some place money.  Selections: Chesterfield win 11/4 and Cardinal Palace each way 12/1. 

Ascot 3.15  Pagegroup Shergar Cup Challenge 1m 4f Star Lahib will relish the return to 1m 4f and his two wins this season have both been over this trip. Ustura is the main danger and if runs to his Royal meeting form then he is a big threat, although The Wine Tipster still takes Mark Johnston’s Star Lahib to just edge this tight handicap. Selection: Star Lahib win 7/2.

Ascot 3.50 Dubal Duty Free Shergar Cup Sprint 6f Trainer William Haggas continues in cracking form and look set for another successful Saturday in televised races with favourite Noble Deed’s three wins all coming at this distance of 6f, this looks the horse to be punting your pounds on.Selection: Noble Deed win  5/2

Channel 4’s is also featuring these races with my The Wine Tipster’s tips:

2.20 Haydock: Educate 9/1 each way.

2.55 Haydock: Telescope 4/5 win.

3.35 Newmarket: Wedding Ring  7/2 win. 

To celebrate a successful afternoon The Wine Tipster suggests some wonderful fizz from Champagne Jacquart Brut Mosaïque NV, £25, Great Western Wines or Laurent-Perrier’s delicious and expressive Laurent-Perrier Millésime 2004,Champagne, France £43.99. Stockists: Sainsbury’s, Oddbins

Cheers!

The Wine Tipster has been shortlisted for the UK Champagne Ambassador’s Awards 2013!

He will be joined by two other UK finalists and will go head to head in the final on 16 September.  The UK winner will then go onto the European finals in October.

Wish him luck!

 

On Monday evening The Wine Tipster was at the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Annual Awards of Excellence 2013 Dinner at The Royal Horseguards Hotel.  The evening was hosted by a couple of renowed chefs John Williams and Brian Turner, who incidentally are also both keen racing fans and who I invariably mix food chat with handicap form.

There are three competitions covering Kitchen, Pastry and Service with 33 young people achieving the finalists’ award, with each competition having an overall winner:

• Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Young Chef of the Year: Matthew Ambrose, Claridge’s
• Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Young Pastry Chef of the Year: Lucy Jones, The Ritz
• Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Young Waiter of the Year: Adam Willis, Le Manoir aux Quat ‘Saisons

The winners received silver trophies (donated by Gordon Hogg and Finclass), Meyer Cookware, Victorinox Knives, a bursary worth £2,000 – thanks to the generous support of the Savoy Educational Trust – and also a day’s work experience at The Fat Duck.  The Honorary President of the Awards Heston Blumenthal was on hand to present the awards to the winners as was The Wine Tipster.

Earlier in the evening the 33 finalists had been called to the stage to receive their awards for getting through the finals, which included a magnum of G.H. Mumm Cordon Rouge NV each.

Chef Ben Purton did a great job with the menu which included a delicious Chicken, Parma Ham and rocket pesto terrine and a Black cherry, Tahitan vanilla and Valrhona Opylis chocolate marquise which was a great match with the G.H. Mumm Demi-Sec.

We had a terrific evening and it was great to catch up with other chefs including Adam Byatt and Martyn Nail.

Wow! Been a busy few weeks for The Wine Tipster with the Cheltenham Food & Drink Festival, Taste of London, Abode Hotel Champagne Dinners, the Skills for Service Conference, Formula One, trips to Jersey and Switzerland and last night’s awe inspiring Coronation Festival evening.
In-between all these wonderful events and dinners I’ve managed to keep the waistline in check with my training for the Oxfordshire Mota-Vation Series, organised by Kidlington Running Club. There are five of these popular races of around 4-5 miles in the series, which take place on the first Thursday of the month from May to September and have around 300 runners per race. Diary commitments have meant that I’ve missed the first three races but I’m definitely up for the next two in Combe and Oxford. Another race

I like is the Hooky 6 on August 11th, which usually has my ideal conditions for running with baking hot weather!
My perspiration has extended to the form book of course and I was delighted to see my tipping success on twitter featured recently in Robin Gibson’s Surf & Turf column in the Racing Post so make sure you keep following my tips!

Cheers!

Zoe Bawtree interviews The Wine Tipster ahead of The Cheltenham Food & Drink Festival 14^th – 16^th June 2013.

Q) As you are an expert on Wine, Food, Horse Racing, UK Ambassador for the famous Champagne houses G.H. Mumm and Perriër-Jouet, Master of Ceremonies . . . to name a few is there anything you can’t do?

A) Actually I can’t build a shelf and I can’t do circus acts, especially juggling!!

Q) How did you get interested in Wine?

A) I was a punk rocker living in Gloucestershire, who headed north to Sheffield to see some great bands, whilst doing a degree in Urban Studies and a dissertation on deprivation! Post graduating I went for interviews with record companies before my parents, who were members of a wine society, told me to come along to a wine talk and try some Chardonnays from around the world.

Q) What is it that excites you about wine?

A) There’s a wine for every mood you may have, every occasion. As a taster I am always looking for something new.  At the moment, I am getting excited about wines from Croatia, Brazil and Germany.

Discovering new wines is really exciting, but so is tasting a wine that you already know.  I associate wine with memories. Wine is also very challenging and different every year.  You can never get bored with wine.

Q) As a food and wine matching expert, can you recommend wines to go with the following dishes?

Coq Au Vin, Fish Pie and Beef Wellington

A) Coq Au Vin: Cotes du Rhone 2012, Les Dauphins or Aurora Pinot Noir Reserve 2012 from Brazil
Fish Pie: Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection Chenin Blanc 2011, South Africa or Josif Graševina 2011 from Croatia
Beef Wellington: You need a level of intensity with this dish which you could get from a Cabernet Sauvignon from Santa Rita or a lovely Bordeaux from the brilliant 2009 vintage.

Q) Is it still possible to find hidden gems in the supermarket?

A) Yes it is. Knowing regions that are not fashionable is always a good start. Croatia has some fantastic wines from indigenous and classic grape varieties.  Portugal has quality wines at all levels, white or red. Germany is producing some wonderful Rieslings that are great as an aperitif style and match up with fish like mackerel as they can really stand up to dominant flavours.

Q) What are you looking forward to at The Cheltenham Food and Drink Festival in June this year?

A) We are running wine masterclasses on all three days of the show for the first time this year. Our wonderful wine journey will start on Friday at 12.30pm with Podere Sant’ Alberto wines (pictured above) from Tuscany and end on Sunday afternoon by Celebrating with Wines of Brazil!

In between, we will be tasting some exciting wines from Spain, England, Croatia, New Zealand, France, South Africa and Germany.

Also, we have some great beer speakers this year with Tim Hampson, Jane Peyton and Sophie Atherton.  And let’s not forget Phil Huckle who will be talking about Malts and Blended Whiskies.

Look forward to seeing you there. Cheers!

For further details check out the Cheltenham Food & Drink Festival

Head to the Chadlington Beer Festival today, near Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds, which is open from Noon – 11pm.

The Chadlington Beer Festival is celebrating their 10th year as a quality, village beer festival, with over 20 quality ales on offer including Binghams’ Hot Dog Chilli Stout, St Austell’s Proper Job and Orkney’s Skull Splitter!

The Wine Tipster has also put together a selection of summertime quaffing wines from Italy, France and Spain and will be on hand to offer you any tips or guidance you need.

This will be a fun filled day, enjoyed by family and all, with food, music and games. See you there!

 

 

 

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