Very unlucky all Mikael backers. Feel for you all. So frustrating. My NAP today: 1:20 Chelt - Our Father 5/2.
Far West in the first at Cheltenham - very impressive last time out and the King horse has franked the form. Nicholls also like to target this race.
2.05 Uttoxeter Hassadin 20/1 Michael Blake's 6 year old Hassadin is quite a risky proposition given that he is yet to win in a handicap and he seems a bit temperamental but if strengthening up and freshened up from a 210 day absence then I think he could go well at a nice price with the excellent Tom Bellamy taking an extremely useful 7lb off his back. A really poor maiden on the flat who couldn't win off a mark of 45 for Andrew Haynes, (he did win a selling hurdle for him back in 2010) Hassadin joined his current stable back in September of last year and he's definitely made up into a far nicer hurdle than his flat rating would suggest, with his current mark standing at 115. After a pretty decent effort over an extended 2m at Wolverhampton on the flat on stable debut on the back of a 14 month break, Hassadin started out his hurdles career in very good form with two excellent 2nds at Hereford when beaten by a neck on both occasions off marks of 100 and 106. The 2nd of these was truly an excellent effort when he was denied by a huge John Flint gamble on his horse Grams And Ounces whilst giving that rival 17lb (taking Thomas Flint's 10lb claim into account) with the front two pulling 20L clear of the rest of the field. That form has subsequently taken a huge boost with the winner scoring on his next two starts including off a 17lb higher mark and he is now 29lb higher rated than he was when scoring that day. To escape an impending 9lb hike in the weights, Hassadin ran off the same mark of 106 but was well beaten and when raised to 115 it was a similar story. I can't give any explanations for those defeats other than he just seems a horse who has off days. After those disappointing defeats, Hassadin was stepped into a Selling Hurdle at Ludlow where he recaptured his from in terrific fashion to bolt in by 24L from King of Castile, receiving 2lb from that rival (when including James Best's claim). Although its normally hard to quantify how good a performance in a race of this nature is to handicapping, its made a lot easier because he beat a thriving rival that day who had won his last two starts in handicaps impressively, latterly off a mark of 102 and despite getting thumped by Hassadin he resumed winning way on his next start in a Selling Hurdle by 19L so despite the grade it came in Hassadin's victory was rather impressive. It was hardly surprising that, back in a handicap off a mark of 115, Hassadin was well beaten on his next start a couple of weeks later but at the end of March this year on his 2nd last start off a mark of 113 he ran an excellent 2nd at todays course when beaten 2.5L when upped to 3m for the first time in a race that looks very solid form. Having found things difficult going from quite a bit out, Hassadin stayed on resolutely under Noel Fehily to run an excellent 2nd. The form of that race took a major form boost when the 3rd Abnaki won on his next start off a 1lb higher mark on his next race and also ran a luckless race in defeat last month off a 10lb higher mark than this 3rd. Upped 2lb for that effort to his current mark of 115, Hassadin's last race came in April at Bangor where - you guessed it - he ran no sort of race at all and was comprehensively beaten. I'm hoping Michael has got him in good working order after a break and on a fair few pieces of his form I think a mark of 115 should not prove beyond him on a going day. His trainer Michael Blake has hit a rich vein of form at present with 5 winners from his last 17 runners (4-9 over hurdles) and Hassadin could hardly be returning at a better time for the yard. Blake has proved he is very adept at readying a horse after a break with another of his horses Lamps running out a very impressive winner on the back of a break last weekend. Tom Bellamy, a 7lb claimer that I rate very highly, takes the ride and brings down Hassadin's mark to effectively 108 and this should help no end for this 6 year old's chances. Bellamy is a very interesting booking on what is his first ride for the yard because Hassadin's owner, Wayne Clifford, is the owner of Bathwick Tyres who sponsor the David Pipe stable and given that Bellamy is based out of the Pipe yard I've got an inkling that he was asked to take the ride on this horse and its his only ride of the day. I think the same thing could well have happened with another Clifford horse trained by Michael Blake in the form of Sporting Boy recently, when Tom Scudamore had his first two rides for the stable when partnering that horse to two facile victories. If coming here fully wound up and on a going day, I'm hopeful of a big showing from Hassadin and hopefully he can land this contest at a nice price.
NVM - wasn't mine! Start as you mean to go on then - looking like a bad day already It wasn't on TV Oddy - and can't find a stream Edit: just discovered that I COULD have watched courtesey of Stan James ... oh well I can watch me lose the next one then!
Sticking with Nicholls / Walsh here - Sire Collonges. For me he beat Sea Of Thunder comprehensively last time and I can't see a reversal of form today
You know when you get the feeling that the horses just arent going to go for you today.....four bets, four seconds! On the plus side i got on the football banker of the day - 6/4 on over 3.5 goals in the arsenal spurs match!
Walkon and Forpady in the paddypower, keep the rest of it bookies will win a fortune today, wont be more than peanuts of mine.
Nice price (reebok 33s on poquelin), just need a run! I'm having a little sentimental ew on Carruthers in the next at Chelts. Will like the ground
