Assuming all meetings escape the lovely
British weather we have a lot of jump racing to look forward to tomorrow and
with cards at Aintree, Chepstow, Sandown and Wetherby it will be an action
packed afternoon! Incidently, if you’re thinking of heading to Chepstow for the
Coral Welsh National, LoveTheRaces have a special 241
offer on Grandstand & Paddock tickets for this major raceday; details of
which can be found at http://www.lovetheraces.com/offers/chepstow-racecourse-coral-welsh-national-offer/
and must be booked by Wednesday 19th December.
Starting with Aintree and the first race at
12pm sees Oscar Magic run for Nigel Twiston Davies. Having won his debut
bumper impressively he didn’t show much in the spring festival bumpers before
having 18 months off. He returned with a respectable 2nd to a smart
sort of Paul Webber’s on hurdles debut and there could be more to come from
this son of Oscar. Interestingly in opposition is Brian Ellison’s Lifetime.
Last Sunday Lifetime was due to run before the card was abandoned, but in his
blog beforehand Aiden Coleman stated: “Finally, I fancy my two for Brian Ellison at Carlisle on Sunday, Stormy
Weather and Lifetime. Venetia has runners elsewhere but she’s kindly let me
travel up north instead. It’s a long way to go and not pick up a winner or
two.” Having read this I’ll be leaving this race alone but will certainly keep
a very close eye on both Oscar Magic and Lifetime, particularly if money comes
for either of them.
The Becher Chase at 2.10pm is the highlight of the card
and sees the infamous Grand National fences put to use for the first of two
races tomorrow. West End Rocker won this race for Alan King last year and I
feel he has a good chance of doing so again here. He was the cause of the delay
in the Grand National back in April and being so lit up put paid to any chance
he may have had but he is proven over the demanding obstacles and should be in
the mix. However, my stronger fancy for the race is Paul Nicholls’ Join
Together who had a good season as a novice before being outpaced and outclassed
in the RSA at Cheltenham. He returns here off a fair mark and the trip and
ground should both play into the favour of this excellent jumper. He concedes
6lb to Rocker but I feel Join Together will improve on his mark of 148 and hope
they both run a big race.
The Grand Sefton at 3.20pm is the other race over the National fences
and although I haven’t yet decided if I’ll be having a bet, there are a couple
who catch the eye. Nacarat is the class act but Carrickboy will be fine in the conditions and has run okay
around Aintree in the past (though flopping when outpaced on quicker ground on
his last visit). He is 3lb out of the weights but I have a feeling he could run
a nice race. The other horse I quite like is Little Josh and he will probably
be my bet if I have one as he is now 3lb lower than his win in the PaddyPower
Gold Cup at Cheltenham and he will love the conditions here.
On to Chepstow and as usual it could be “Paul
Nicholls Day” at a course where he tends to have a lot of winners (where doesn’t
he?!). Curtain Razer fell at Newbury last weekend but is a horse I feel will
improve a fair bit for fences and though he may need the experience he looks
like he’d be capable of better than his hurdles rating of 122. Not one I’d back
tomorrow as he may be looked after and given an introduction to fences in this
1pm race but is certainly one for the tracker as I’d say he’ll be picking up a
race or 2 sooner rather than later.
The 1.30pm is a competitive looking contest
and I’d give about 5/6 of them a shout but will be siding with Sin Bin who was
a bit green and looked like he needed the run on his hurdling debut, which is
no surprise having been one of many given a breathing op by Mr Nicholls in the
summer. He should come on a lot for that and it would be no surprise to see a
great amount of improvement tomorrow.
My other Ditcheat fancy tomorrow runs in the 2.40pm and is a horse I
like a lot and feel has more to come – Rangitoto. His trainer has stated this
horse has been difficult to train and can be fragile, but on a going day he is
very capable. I fancied him massively when he did the business in a competitive
looking Cheltenham handicap last season and hope he can emulate that
performance tomorrow. It’s important to note that it is over fences where this one’s
future should lie and although he is 6lb higher than that Cheltenham success
and this is likely to be a sharpener before he resumes his chase career, he has won at this course before and does go
well fresh so could be worth a small interest.
Sandown is the next leg of this super
Saturday of jump racing and the first race at 12.20pm contains a horse owned by the agent/golfer
double act of Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler and Lee Westwood (pictured above). Probably more known in
the racing world for their flat success with Hoof It, it wouldn’t surprise me
if the pair had a bit more success with Nicky Henderson’s Golden Hoof. Having
disappointed somewhat on debut he followed up with a nice win on his hurdles debut
and his trainer recently stated in a stable tour that although likely to keep a
fairly low profile for now, this son of Oscar has a big future. I probably
won’t be backing him tomorrow as he has to concede 7lb to the field but he’s
certainly one to keep an eye on for the future.
The 1.25pm is one interest as Sam Winner makes a long awaited return after a serious injury. His
chase career not having gone to plan he goes back over timber in this 2m6f
handicap and could be on a decent mark if he’s tuned up. Art Professor is
another who could be on a fair mark and Venetia Williams is going well at the
moment. The horse I most like in the race is Alan King’s Araldur who is on a
19lb lower mark over hurdles than his peak over fences so he could have a few
lbs in hand over his rivals here. Wayne Hutchinson (pictured below) takes the ride and has been
on fire for his boss in recent weeks, winning 5 of his 7 rides for King in the
past 14 days at prices of: 7/2, 7/2, 16/1, 1/2 and 7/4! He has ridden Araldur
twice before, winning once over hurdles, and the horse has run well fresh and
goes on the ground so he could put up a decent performance tomorrow.
Again won’t be playing in the 1.55pm but
fascinated to see Captain Conan run again as I think he could be special. He
put in an effortless round of jumping on chase debut at Cheltenham in November
and there seemed like there’d be more to come. The ground was awful that day
and he still looked smart. Hinterland opposes and could still have more to come
having disappointed last time. He’s a cracking looking horse but needs to
settle and jump a bit straighter if he is to trouble the potentially top class
Conan.
Yet again no bet but Softsong must have a
chance in the 2.30pm having finished 3 lengths behind the well regarded Valdez and
should be fine on the ground. Helium could also have more to come and has won
over course and distance in soft ground. He was actually 3 lengths behind Long
Run at Auteil a long time ago and on that form he could win by a furlong or 2!!
The feature race is of course the Tingle
Creek which sees a horse I’ve always liked in Sanctuaire, take on a huge task
in the shape of arguably the greatest chaser of all time in my opinion,
Sprinter Sacre (pictured below). Obviously not worth a punt due to the lack of depth in the race
and superiority of the aforementioned pair, but it is the race tactics I am most
looking forward to in this 3.05pm race. Ruby Walsh will bound along in front and leave Sprinter
Sacre to reel him in, but when will Barrry Geraghty press the button? It will
be fascinating watching this race unfold as I wouldn’t want to give Ruby too
big a lead on Sanctuaire, however good I thought Sprinter Sacre could be!
The final race on the card is the 3.40pm and
I might chance a small interest on Tempo De Cotte (again Mr Nicholls!). He is
out of Dom Alco and should stay all day; has won on heavy ground in France; gets
weight here and gave 7lb to the talented Broadbackbob when beaten around 11
lengths. Golan Way is only 1lb higher than his win here over shorter last year
but it is a hard task to give this much weight away and his poor form doesn’t
boost confidence so I’ll be siding with the French recruit.
Wetherby hosts the other leg of our jumping
bonanza and I’m only interested in the first 2 races. Kris Cross will surely
have a favourites chance in the 12.10pm as his only defeat to date has come at
the hands of Fascino Rustico, who although he didn’t win his bumper at
Cheltenham in November, had previously been bought for £310,000 by John Hales.
Jonjo O’Neil’s very impressive Point winner Catching On is likely to be a big
danger if he lines up against Kris Cross as he receives a handy 7lb from
Lucinda Russell’s charge.
As with nearly every other race
tomorrow, the 12.45pm also has 2 horses of note! Stormy Weather was the other
horse mentioned above in the comments by Aiden Coleman regarding his (later
cancelled) trip up North last weekend, so you’d think this one is also well
thought of. However, I feel Tim Vaughan could have a potential superstar on his
hands with Aland Islands and will be backing him regardless of who he comes up
against now he’s gone chasing. Out of Stowaway he looks a proper racehorse and
was bought by JP McManus (pictured above) after impressive AP McCoy who partnered him to an easy
success in his bumper (a trip far shorter than he’ll want in time!). He could
be the horse to put Paint Wilkin Stables on the map and I hope he’ll resume his
progress in this contest.
A tough day, but likely to have a few quid on:
Aintree
2.10pm - Join Together + West End Rocker
3.20pm - Little Josh
Chepstow
1.30pm - Sin Bin
2.40pm - Rangitoto
Sandown
1.25pm - Araldur
3.40pm - Tempo De Cotte
Wetherby
12.45pm - Aland Islands
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