Matt’s left field horse racing predictions for 2021 – Part 1

2020 is a year that a lot will want to forget. Will 2021 be any better? I’ve taken a step back from the horse racing tips for a couple of days to take a left field look at what might (but almost certainly won’t) happen in 2021. That said, there are a few that have more than a kernel of truth to them! We start with January to June.

January

3rd – A new year, a new start and we begin in the most exciting way possible, it’s Snowed In day at Catterick! A winner at the opening January meeting at the track in 2015, 2017 and 2018, we were warned 2020 would be a complete write off when he was only 5th on the opening day of the year. If he doesn’t win in 2021, we might as well hibernate until 2022!

28th – Gordon Elliott and Gigginstown field 15 of the 18 runners in the Thyestes at Gowran Park. Run in the fog – as always – there are 5 in a line at the last leading to an overexcited Jerry Hannon calling the finish at a pitch only the local dogs can hear.

February

6th/7th – 8 Grade 1 races, €2.1 million in prize money and 1 British raider, yes, it’s Dublin Racing Festival weekend. Detroit Red Wings fans are known for throwing octopuses onto the ice, in keeping with this, Irish racing fans fill the Leopardstown parade ring with KFC to taunt the English trainers too scared to take them on, on home soil.

March

16th – The first four home in the Supreme are all Irish trained, Britain throws in the towel early in the Prestbury Cup.

17th – The sun shines on Cheltenham forcing Rich Ricci to turn around and go home having forgotten his sunglasses for the first time in his life. He’s beaming when Chacun Pour Soi lights up the big one, scorching up the hill to set his rivals ablaze #sunpuns.

18th – The Pertemps Final goes to the horse who finished sixth in the qualifier at Leopardstown at Christmas beating the sixth in Warwick’s January qualifier and the fifth in Market Rasen’s November one. What a series this is!

19th – Having blamed the jockey for 175 consecutive losing bets, Johnny Expert from Walsall takes up the Twitter challenge to ride in the Foxhunters. Sadly he makes it no further than the first…step out the weighing room before realising his keyboard trolling has written cheques his backside can’t cash.

April

10th – Grand National Day. Controversy on the Friday when Durham Edition landed the virtual Grand National having only placed 27 times in the race in real life. The big race itself gets less viewers than the cartoon much to the disgust of self proclaimed “proper punters” who can’t understand anyone with a differing opinion to their own toxic Twitter machismo.

15th – Ruth Carr puts the memory of an awful 2020 to bed by landing a 2456/1 four-timer on the opening day of the flat at her beloved Ripon. Ironically the first winner is Forseeable Future who finished last in both 2020 runs with his victory proving anything but. Explain follows up before Tricorn and Don’t Joke round out an improbable afternoon.

May

12th – There is a lot of snickering at Perth as the Fergal O’Brien’s #gopinting crew unleash their latest cheekily named recruit, The Great Extendo, in the bumper. Closely related to Magic Wand, though sadly already gelded, he has been denied access to the magic circle.

June

19th – Having missed both the Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National, Tiger Roll wins the Queen Alexandra on the final day of Royal Ascot, landing the biggest public coup since the attempt to name a naval research vessel, Boaty McBoatface.