Sport

Alhaarth and Hern wait on weather

DICK HERN is keeping an eye on the weather before making a final decision on where 2,000 Guineas favourite Alhaarth will make…

Mon Apr 15 1996 - 01:00

DICK HERN is keeping an eye on the weather before making a final decision on where 2,000 Guineas favourite Alhaarth will make his long awaited seasonal debut. Last year's European champion two year old was yesterday reported in good form by his trainer.

But Hern will be studying this week's going reports before deciding whether to send the Unfuwain colt across the country to Newmarket for the Craven Stakes or down the road for Newbury's Greenham Stakes.

"I originally intended running him in the Greenham, but it may be too soft at Newbury so I have entered him in the Craven," the trainer explained.

"A decision on where Alhaarth will run will be made as soon as we know what the weather is going to do. I wouldn't want him to have too hard a race on soft ground at this stage.

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"I couldn't be more pleased with him, he is in very good form," Hern added.

Newmarket's clerk of the course Nick Lees reported the going on the Rowley Mile as good to firm, whereas Newbury is soft after heavy rain fell on the Berkshire track during Friday night.

Alhaarth is now rated odds on for the 2,000 Guineas at 4 to 5 from evens with Ladbrokes and 8 to 11 from evens with Coral, following further support for the colt over the weekend.

Also in demand has been 1,000 Guineas favourite Bosra Sham who is down to 11 to 8 from 6 to 4.

Ladbrokes' spokesman Ian Wassell reported: "We took bets of £5,000 at evens and £4,000 at 10 to 11 on Alhaarth as well as a number of three and four figure doubles with Bosra Sham yesterday.

"Confidence in the chances of both market leaders appears to be very high and this has been translated into heavy betting support.

"The Godolphin horses have been seen as the major challengers to last year's top two year olds' and since the mixed reports about their trials people have been betting with more certainty."

. Frankie Dettori partnered Godolphin's Overbury to an easy three and three quarter lengths victory over the New Zealand trained Sapio in the Group One Queen Elizabeth II Cup over eleven furlongs at Sha Tin yesterday.

Overbury, formerly trained by David Loder, rebounded from two poor runs on the sand in Dubai, to provide Godolphin with a second straight win in the big Hong Kong prize following Red Bishop's 1995 triumph.