Kempton 11.55 After Eight Sivola win - no price yet 2.10 Captain Chris 2/1 2.40 River Maigue 7/1 each way Warwick 12.10 Glens Melody 7/4 3.35 Royale Knight 12/1 each way
The William Hill Lanzarote Hurdle (Kempton 14.40) is the only race for my hedging bet tomorrow. If In Doubt 7/1, 2 points (16) Junction Fourteen 11/2, 2 points (13) Saphir Du Rheu 6/1, 1 point (7) River Maigue 13/2, 1 point (7.5) Spirit Of Shankly 10/1, 1 point (11) 7 points staked. Potential return in brackets
Very intruigued by Twinlight stepping up in trip. Doesn't look like he necessarily needs it but who am I to question Mr Mullins?! I'd agree with you Bob though Captain Chris will be exceptionally tough to beat and could be a class above, with Twinlight unlikely to stay well enough. The dogs on the street are singing that Willie is sending out the Supremes winner tomorrow. Unbackable price but expect it to go a lot shorter for March tomorrow afternoon...
Some great racing tomorrow albeit very competitive. Kempton 1.35 - The Liquidator 5/2 - Nothing out of the ordinary, has the best form of the 2m novices so far this season. Upazo hasnt beaten much over the water so is hard to fancy. Gard La Victoire got beat of Ballyalton who albeit is pretty decent but is better over further and Kempton is known for being suited to a faster horse. 2.10 - Captain Chris 7/4 - Likes it around Kempton, gave Riverside Theatre 10lbs for a close up 3rd on seasonal debut last night time out and will strip fitter. Twinlight looks like a 2 miler and id be happy to see him in the Champion Chase with a decent EW shout but wont get home here(attempted 2m 4f twice and beat easily both times 1 hurdle/1 chase) 2.40 Kempton - Saphir Du Rheu 5/1 win/Home Run 10/1 EW - Tipped up Saphir Du Rheu last time up in trip and demolished the field rather easily. Travelled superb the whole way round and extended away after the last. Up 16lbs for that though so will be much tougher although improvement looks likely still. Home run gets over a stone in weight this time and looks dangerous. Warwick 12.10 - Mischievous Milly 9/2 - Has been frustrating to back so far this season and is up against a decent sort in Glens Melody who is a grade 1 winner. Both runs this season have possibly been on faster ground than what is ideal. Both hurdle races(and wins) last year came on soft and heavy ground so will get her ground tomorrow. 2.25 - African Gold 5/1 - Top novice stayer over hurdles last year especially with cut in the ground. Stepped out of novice company at Aintee on faster ground against his elders for the first time and ran credibly to finish 5th(travelled well and then outpaced 2 out). Looked certain to be amongst the top staying chasers this year but jumping let him down badly and reverts back to Hurdles for the rest of the season. Grand Vision 9/1 is interesting, had a blow out at new year and can possibly show(if ability retained) how good that Brindisi Breeze Albert Bartlett win really was, small saver on him. 3.00 - Deputy Dan 9/2 - Bolted up last time and ran a nice race behind Champagne West the time before at this track. Who then went on to bolt up on handicap debut. Again we dont know how good the Mullins horse is as he could be beating trees for all we know.
Not much for Vautour to beat tomorrow Beefy - but Willie likes it that way BTW - why is a Graded 2 Novice Hurdle named after Moscow Flyer, one of the great 2 mile Chasers? Ah now I see it - he won the Champion Novice Hurdle at the Punchestown festival from 4/7 shot Sausalito Bay (Supreme winner at Cheltenham) and then landed the Morgiana later the same year. I never realised he ran against Istabraq in the 2001 Irish Champion Hurdle- Christ he was some horse. 27 wins from 45 career starts, lots of them Grade 1s over hurdles and fences.
Pricewise picks tomorrow 2:10 Kempton: Pepite Rose 2:40 Kempton: Saphir Du Rheu 3:35 Warwick: Noble Legend 3:35 Warwick: Royale Knight
Super Saturday (NOT), Quite a few todays, fancying them more for places than win bar Red Sherlock J Good luck all 1220- Voyageofdiscovery 1235- Red Sherlock 135- Garde La Victore 225- African Gold 330- Come to The Party 335- Carrathers 350- First Avenue (Hoping for rain and bottomless ground)
African Gold- should run well back over hurdles and seems to have the strongest form in the field. Just hope the blunders over the bigger fences havent done too much damage
I'm inclined to agree Wardy, but I'm convinced that this horse has improved enormously from his last defeat behind Dedigout. Anyway, too late now, the dosh is down Another running against his presumed distance is Royal Boy in the Tolworth. He was effortless over 22f LTO, yet is dropped to 16f tomorrow. This may be why BG is on Josses Hill but I can't see the strategy myself. In the Classic Chase at Warwick, I'm on Boyfromnowhere, still nicely weighted to take another long distance slog, with a small ew on boom or bust horse, Master Overseer, who's sequence says he wins tomorrow at 20-1
2.40 Kempton SPIRIT OF SHANKLY 9/1 (NAP) Very smart bumper horse with plenty of cruising speed, however he has looked better at the end of his races of late and upped in trip to 2m 5f and the ability to travel well around Kemptons sharper track, he looks a very, very interesting proposition as I think he has the potential to be better than a mark of 136.
Just the one for me tomorrrow...oops sorry today. Warwick 3.35pm - Safran de Cotte - 16/1 E.W 4 places BPG. .Horse goes well in the mud and strikes me as a horse who will be better over further. Has a low racing weight of 10 stone 2 tomorrow and Jake Greenall takes off a further 3 lbs. Blinkers also applied which may sharpen him up. I am hoping for a much more improved effort than his run in the Tommy Whittle at Haydock.
Personally can't see African Gold winning tomorrow purely on the basis if he wins this off 148 his season from a handicap perspective is finished and I think he's one NTD will plot for somewhere. A few I like the look of tomorrow. Wrecked so these are going to be very short. 2.40 Kempton Spirit Of Shankly 9/1 is definitely one I agree with Toppy on and I think a mark of 136 is definitely lenient at a track that should suit. Lets hope its lenient enough for him to land this race that is sure to be full of horses ahead of their marks. 3.35 Warwick Solix 33/1 is a bit of a speculative bet but on the form of 2 years ago there is no doubt he is much better than his current mark of 131 and I think the step up to today's mammoth 3m5f contest looks like it could suit very well as he has been seen to make very laboured but good progress over about 3m the last twice and I think an out and out slog could suit him. Still only an 8 year old, Solix certainly still should be more than capable of producing his form from a couple of seasons back from an age perspective and with Jason Maguire getting down to just 1lb above his lowest weight in the past 12 months on Ian Williams gelding I'm hoping if he relishes this huge test in stamina he could provide a shock in Betfred Classic Chase. 3.50 Kempton Right Step 14/1 has been completely out of sorts for the last 2 years on the flat but he shaped extremely well on his first start for Pat Phelan over hurdles (ran ok for Alan Jarvis over hurdles in October) when looking set to finish 3rd behind the clearly well handicapped pair of Three Kingdoms and Vibrato Valtat over this C+D on his last start before a shuddering mistake at the last when a very tired looking and well held 3rd saw him come home only in 5th. Judged on his previous flat form and 4 spaced out runs over hurdles to date, a mark of 116 definitely looks workable and with Paddy Bradley 10lb claim (whose lowest weight in the last 12 months is 9-10) getting him down to a lovely racing weight of 9-8 I definitely think he could run very well.
