The Cambridgeshire is one of the biggest flat racing betting heats in England and tomorrow 35 runners will face the starter on the Rowley Mile (off time 16H40 SA time) (Picture: Irish Sun).
It is difficult to break through in the U.K. and this is highlighted by Greg Cheyne’s seven winners, including a big Heritage Handicap at the York Ebor meeting, coming at a high strike rate of 18% and yet his booked rides amount to one today (Friday), one tomorrow (Saturday) and one on Sunday.
His ride tomorrow is in the famous Cambridgeshire handicap, which together with the Cesarewitch in two weeks time, makes up what is known as “The Autumn Double”.
Cheyne gets the ride on the Peter Chapple-Hyam-trained long shot Sayf Al Dawla, a five-year-old Frankel gelding who has won two turf races in seven career starts, five of which have been on turf.
Both of his wins were over a mile and two furlongs.
The Cambridgeshire is run over a mile and one furlong on the Rowley Mile and 35 horses will face the starter.
The race was established in 1839 and is a big betting event.
One of the most famous gambles landed was by the Sir Mark Prescott-trained Pasternak in 1997.
The horse was owned by a syndicate who included the founding editor of The Racing Post, Graham Rock, and Pasternak was aimed at just two races the whole season, the John Smith’s Magnet Cup at York and the Cambridgeshire.
He duly won the Magnet Cup.
On the morning of the Cambridgeshire a famous Racing Post headline, obviously inspired by the transparent editor Graham Rock’s association with the horse, proclaimed: ‘Why you must back Pasternak’.
Twenty-four hours before the big race he was on offer at 12-1, but the headline sparked a massive countrywide gamble that saw him backed down to 4-1.
Pasternak fended off stable companion Rudimentary to win by three-quarters-of-a-length and was reported to have cost the betting industry £5 million, one of the most successful gambles in recent times.
Tomorrow’s renewal is off at 16H40 SA time.
The stake cheque earned by the winner is £103,080.
