Preview of Exeter and Sandown

Saturday may be the day for the big races but a couple of very exciting horses line up tomorrow at Exeter and Sandown. Fingal Bay (I assume named after the breathtaking semi-circular bay in New South Wales) was a top class hurdler last term and although beaten by Dynaste at Cheltenham recently, is still a potentially top class chaser. He goes in the 1pm at Exeter and while it is probably a pointless race, it will be good to see him run again. Coole River could be deemed slightly interesting from a future perspective as although having been off the track since February 2010, he did beat Quel Esprit in a Gr2 over hurdles so may win a race or 2 if he returns anywhere near as able as he was before his layoff (though the Emma Lavelle team aren’t firing at the moment so could have some nicely handicapped horses when they come right!).

 

The 2.40pm at Exeter could see Philip Hobbs rack up a double as bumper winner Irish Buccaneer makes his hurdles debut over 2m. Hobbs did say in his stable tour that the horse would start off over 2m4f but given the soft conditions he may just get away with it. Not one I’ll be putting money on but worth watching with a view to the future as the trainer has stated he is hopefully one to look forward to.

Depending on the market I may have a few quid on Tim Vaughan's aptly named The Big Freeze in Exeter’s 3.15pm as he was only just touched off on his first 3m handicap chase last time, and although upped 3lb for that effort the softer conditions could well bring about further improvement as he’s out of Beneficial.

Exeter's final race at 3.50pm sees Paul Nicholls run Vibrato Valtat, a potentially exciting French recruit out of up and coming sire Voix Du Nord. The horse that beat Valtat on debut went on to win the Champion French Bumper so the form looks smart and the 7lb his young jockey claims effectively offsets the weight he gives away for his win 2^nd time out in France.

 

The card at Sandown is somewhat disappointing tomorrow as a total of just 9 horses are declared between the Gr2 Novice Hurdle and the Listed Intermediate Chase. Southfield Theatre has no easy task on his hands in the 1.45pm as all 4 of his rivals look like they could be useful. Taquin Du Seuil is likely to be seen to better effect when going chasing next season but ran well behind a seriously well regarded winner last time, Up And Go could have done no more when hosing up on rules debut, and both Le Bec and Dunlough Bay looked impressive on their hurdling debuts. However, Southfield Theatre could be “seriously good” according to his handler, and run respectably in a junior bumper last season he then ran on well when winning his bumper at Cheltenham in October and has apparently schooled well since. He’s out of Kings Theatre and could be an exciting prospect for the months ahead so could take this Gr2 en route to better things.

 

Pacha Du Polder is another Ditcheat inmate that Paul Nicholls has spoken favourably about recently and he goes in the 2.20pm Intermediate Chase. He has to give weight away to his rivals here but could be up to defying a mark of 150 this season as the step up to 3m should suit. This has been the target for a long time and the yard has won this race a few times so I’d expect him to go well given he has previously proven himself in similar conditions.

The only other horse I’ll have an interest in at Sandown is Nicky Henderson’s Barenger in the 3.30pm. I was at Newbury on the Thursday of last season’s Hennessy meeting when this one impressively took a bumper that Henderson traditionally targets (he won it with Oscar Whisky a couple of years before!) and I was disappointed when he flopped from then on. His trainer reports he wasn’t right last year and should win over hurdles before going chasing and I’d have to agree that his mark of 109 could be a serious underestimation of his ability! Mr Henderson can’t have many lower rated horses at Seven Barrows, and it could be worth getting on as soon as the market is released as I can see the price collapsing fairly quickly.

In summary, the horses likely to be worth an interest in tomorrow are:

Exeter
3.15 - The Big Freeze
3.45 - Vibrato Valtat

Sandown
1.45pm - Southfield Theatre
2.20pm - Pacha Du Polder
3.30pm - Barenger