At the time of writing, I’m still yet to know the results of yesterday’s column, but with a graduation to attend on Friday, I’m sorting my Betfair Chase Day selections early.
Apart from that Florida Pearl, this weekend is truly a cracker, so above all else, just enjoy the racing.
Plenty of racing like this weekend can entice one into having too many bets, so keep it clear cut and the rest of the racing can remain untouched.
So, let’s begin.
1:15 Haydock – Fine Casting @ 20/1 & Knight Of Allen with 10/1 – 1pt EW both
The 2m3f handicap hurdle is full of chances, though I thought Fine Casting and Knight Of Allen had good chances for different reasons.
Starting with the latter, I’m taking it on trust that he is better than 120 because he hasn’t exclusively shown this to date.
He ran a good race at Uttoxeter behind Wade Out when giving 5lbs away to the winner, but he looked like he needed the run that day.
Jane Williams highlighted the Grade 1 Challow Novices’ Hurdle as his first big target pre-season, and while he’ll need to improve on his last effort to even run in the race, connections must think plenty of him.
He stuck on nicely last time out and finished a good second to the now 130-rated Liari on awful ground at Aintree in December 2023, so he could make light work of 120.
As for Fine Casting, he worked nicely at Newbury on Tuesday morning and is on a nice mark to do damage.
His last win came off 123 over course and distance in December 2022 and he went on to finish a good fourth in the 2023 Imperial Cup off 129.
He didn’t pick up over fences last year, though his third at Cheltenham to Libberty Hunter and Matata off 126 is notable, and he looked a very sound hurdler two seasons ago.
It’s his first run of the year, which is a worry, but he has the right attributes here.
1:50 Haydock – Trelawne @ 3/1 with William Hill – 1pt Win
Kim Bailey has not hidden his excitement for Trelawne this season, and hopefully, the softening of the ground will allow him to make his seasonal reappearance.
He was my Coral Gold Cup horse a few months ago until they failed to get a prep run into him, and he actually went off shorter for the Ultima than his stablemate Chianti Classico.
When speaking to Bailey last season, he convinced me that Trelawne was equally as good if not a more talented horse than Chianti Classico.
Considering I was Chianti Classico’s biggest fan last year, that took some convincing.
He tipped along last year nicely without properly breaking through, though he showed plenty of promise when behind the likes of Ginny’s Destiny, Grey Dawning, and Colonel Harry.
Iroko is clearly a nice horse, but I feel like Trelawne is also full of talent and I want to keep him on side.
3:05 Haydock – Royale Pagaille @ 4/1 with William Hill – 1pt Win
The Betfair Chase is a bit of a cracker this year.
Yes, it maybe doesn’t have the ‘wow factor’ of a Gold Cup winner, but it’s incredibly competitive and tricky to work out.
The horse I’ve landed on is Royale Pagaille as I think he might get conditions in his favour.
The ground is good currently, but rain overnight, throughout today, and the incoming boatload tomorrow afternoon is sure to ease the surface up to nearly soft. One can hope, anyway.
If that’s the case, Venetia Williams’ 10-year-old enters calculations.
He further moves up the ranks of working out when you consider he’s won two of his five seasonal reappearances.
One of his losses came against a truly impressive A Plus Tard, the other came at the hands of Bravemansgame, and the final one was his first run for the yard.
This is his Gold Cup, and I recognise that this phrase is sometimes overused, but he won this race on his first start of last season and he’s a four-time Haydock Park winner.
If the ground goes soft, that will rule against a few near the bottom of the market (notably Ahoy Senor, Hewick, The Real Whacker, and Bravemansgame), and I have a small question mark against Grey Dawning.
Overall, he has a sound chance despite his age of 10.
3:20 Ascot – Sans Bruit @ 11/2 & Marvel De Cerisy @ 13/2 – 1pt Win Both
Much like the handicap at Haydock earlier in the day, I’m happy to play two horses in the 2m1f handicap chase at Ascot, but It’s just win-only on the pair.
Starting with Sans Bruit, he’s on a career-high mark and he didn’t get dropped in the handicap for his third in the Haldon Gold Cup.
However, that’s fine, because it was his first run of the season and it occurred on good ground rather than his preferred soft.
The horses ahead of him, JPR One and Djelo, look like bonified Graded horses and the former could even run nicely in Grade 1s later this season.
It’s hard to ignore what he did at Aintree in the Red Rum last season, and it’s equally hard to ignore the market move for him on the first day of the Grand National Festival.
I think he’s quite smart and there’s a chance we haven’t seen the best of him yet.
As for Marvel De Cerisy, he’s a familiar name to those who backed him for the 2023 Plate Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival when trained by Henry de Bromhead.
He finished ninth that day, though that year’s renewal looks smart thanks to Fugitif, Shakem Up’arry, Il Ridoto, and Bowtogreatness.
Before that, he gave seven pounds to the subsequent Mares’ Chase winner Impervious in a Wexford beginners chase and ran a good race before falling at the last.
Since moving back to France and changing trainers to Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm, he won his last two starts on heavy ground and gets in here off 136.
That looks like a workable mark, and the more rain the better.
