Follow The Money: International makes plenty of appeal at Ffos Las

Recommended Bets

Lay Super Duty @ 3.613/5 15:20 Wetherby
Back Kaylis Aramis @ 6.25/1 15:45 Ffos Las
Back Internationalapeal @ 2.962/1 16:50 Ffos Las

Today's movers come from the meetings at Ffos Las and Wetherby...

We start at Wetherby where Super Duty continues to prove easy to back in the 3m1f Novice Chase at 15:20, currently available at 3.613/5 having been 2.942/1 this morning. This Donald McCain-trained runner showed good form over hurdles last season, including when finishing second behind Simonsig at Aintree, and got off the mark over fences last time out at Cheltenham in testing conditions similar to those he will face today. However there is a feeling the seven-year-old prefers better ground and he also has to prove his stamina stepping up half a mile in trip, whilst it's also said he may improve for the run. With his rivals including the interesting chasing debutant Goulanes and the hat-trick seeking Fourjacks, the drift gives cause to take him on today.

We move to Ffos Las for our next selection where there has been notable support for Kaylis Aramis in the 2m4f Handicap Hurdle at 15:45, now trading at 6.25/1 from an early 11.010/1. The six-year-old has yet to get his head in front in seven career starts, three over hurdles this season, but posted an improved display last time out when looking the winner before failing to find anything in the finish. That run was over 3m and the drop in trip should suit today, whilst a 2lb rise in the weights after his handicap debut looks fair enough. With form in the heavy conditions, the move suggests he can lose his maiden status here.

We go back to the Welsh venue for our final piece of advice where the price of Internationalapeal has continued to contract in the Bumper at 16:50, now on offer to back at 2.962/1 from 4.3100/30. The five-year-old finished a three and a quarter length-second on his debut under rules at Chepstow in early January, encountering the heavy ground he will again face today, the form of which is yet to be proven. However that was a seemingly encouraging run and trainer Rebecca Curtis is a force in this sphere and won with her most recent runner at Cheltenham last Saturday, whilst also having an impressive 41% strike rate when teaming up with champion jockey Tony McCoy. With main market rival Heath Hunter weak in the market the gamble suggests those stats can improve further.

Recommended Bets

Lay Super Duty @ 3.613/5 15:20 Wetherby
Back Kaylis Aramis @ 6.25/1 15:45 Ffos Las
Back Internationalapeal @ 2.962/1 16:50 Ffos Las

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Masters 2012: Rory can beat his demons but Englishman appeal

US Masters / Ralph Ellis / 04 April 2012 / Leave a Comment

Will Rory be squeezed out by the likes of Donald and Westwood?

"If you’re feeling patriotic you can back an English winner at between [4.0] and [6.8] in the Winning Nationality market."

Rory McIlroy tees off alongside the man who got the best view of his 2011 meltdown at Augusta. The in-form Irishman shouldn't be fazed but, whether Ralph Ellis is backing him to claim the Green Jacket, is another matter...

If there's one thing worse than having a nightmare day on a golf course, it's playing with somebody who's having a nightmare day. There are only so many times you can mutter "bad luck" to them when another tee-shot curls its way into the trees, or a two-foot putt lips the hole and runs six feet down the slope.

If you're playing well yourself there's a danger you start to feel guilty at your own good shots. And even if you are Mr Ruthless, the disruption to the rhythm of the game inevitably takes its toll on your score too.

Yet while everybody focused last year on Rory McIlroy's meltdown at The Masters, few showed much sympathy for his playing partner Angel Cabrera as they went round Amen Corner together and the young Northern Ireland star fell apart. Maybe the coverage was different in Argentina, but back here we barely noticed the burly guy with the ringside view of arguably the most spectacular collapse in golfing history. The second story was that Tiger Woods almost made a challenge. The fact that Charl Schwartzel won was almost an afterthought.

Yet Cabrera was just as badly affected. Don't forget the reason he was in the final pairing with McIlroy was because at the start of that fateful Sunday he was the closest contender, just four shots behind the lead. And at one point the Argentinian even shared top spot before he too couldn't sustain the pace and he finished up seventh.

It's a rich twist of fate that when McIlroy begins his 2012 Masters at 06:42 our time tomorrow afternoon, he'll have Cabrera alongside him again, together with Bubba Watson. (Rory, incidentally, is [2.1] favourite to win the three ball). If you'd wanted a test of how he would handle his Augusta demons, it couldn't have been organised any more fiendishly than if a red guy with a tail and a pitchfork had turned up to make the draw. Not only does he have to wait all day to start, he then gets to meet the man who shared his agony.

The hope for McIlroy is that he has said and done all the right things in the run up to this Masters, and is in magnificent form. He looks relaxed, and his putting has improved beyond recognition thanks to his work with Dave Stockton. Whether that makes him worth backing at [8.0] to win the tournament is another matter.

I'm more inclined to look at the claims of Luke Donald, who doesn't get the same huge publicity but has quietly worked his way back to the top of the world rankings. Prices of [4.5] for a top five finish and [17.0] to win the Green Jacket both look attractive. Lee Westwood, at [5.7] and [23.0], offers value too. If you're feeling patriotic you can back an English winner - which also gives you the option of Justin Rose who is in good form - at between [4.0] and [6.8] in the Winning Nationality market.

Five things you might not know about Angel Cabrera

1. Born September 1969 in an impoverished part of Cordoba, Argentina, he was three years old when his handyman father Miguel split from his mother who worked as a maid, and he was left in the care of Miguel's mother.

2. He started caddying at the age of ten at the Cordoba Country Club as a way of helping put some food on the family table, and then learned to play golf by competing for money against the other caddies.

3. He has two sons who are both excellent golfers - the oldest, Federico, caddied for him at last year's Masters and was also on his bag when he won the Cordoba Open in Argentina.

4. He's known as 'El Pato', the duck - a reference to his huge feet which leave him walking with a waddle like gait (and not Chris Waddle!).

5. He used to smoke heavily and said that while others had a sports psychologist, he had a packet of Marlboros. He gave up three years ago and now chews gum instead.

From Tea Olive to Holly - all the holes at Augusta rated for you...

Can Charl get his Masters defence off to a strong start? Will Louis produce the goods at Augusta? Does Rickie have a chance against Rose and Immelman? Is Cabrera going to find either Rory or Bubba too strong? For Dan...

Romilly Evans discusses the showdown between Masters favourites Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Does our man believe that an outsider could upset the odds?...

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