Saturday Horse Racing Preview & Tips – 18th November – Vincente Value

Seymour Biz sets out his stall, on Saturday’s action and has found a patent bet too good to pass-up.
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This week we have a major meeting at Punchestown and the Irish trainers have tended to leave the Saturday and Sunday meetings at Cheltenham alone. The November meeting as it is now called has attracted the usual collection of high class horses on the upgrade making for some really exciting racing. The main race on Saturday is The BetVictor Gold Cup Handicap Chase with £100,000 of prize money, and for some reason Malcolm Jefferson has not entered Cloudy Dream in this. He is entered in the earlier handicap chase and also in the Schloer Chase on Sunday. He should be respected wherever he runs. I have run the rule over Saturdays television races and believe I’ve found some value.
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In the first on ITV at 1.50 The BetVictor.com Handicap Chase, Minella Rocco has been gifted with top weight. If he runs, this would mean several horses will be out of the handicap. If not it brings most of the field in with a chance and Alvarado would be in with every chance should this happen. However looking higher up the handicap I like the look of Paul Nicholls’s Vincente, this winner of the last two Scottish Nationals, he looks up for this first time out. Nicholls’ top stable jockey, Sam Twiston-Davies, broke his elbow when falling at Sandown last Sunday and will be out for a few weeks.There is however a highly competent future star waiting in the wings. Harry Cobden has been riding winners for fun and if taking the ride on Vincente will be a very able deputy. Perfect Candidate looks to be the type to chase the selection home.
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The Gold Cup has as usual a very strong field for this big prize. Le Prezien and Foxtail Hill ran a fine race here three weeks ago with a neck between them. Le Prezien has a small pull at the weights this time and that should be enough to reverse the placings this time. They will both be well fancied in the betting, however this is a very competitive race and there are others I fancy here. My main fancy is Kylemore Lough, he moved from Kerry Lee’s stable to Harry Fry in the summer and he will be very keen to have this Grade 1 winner spot on for this. He can be backed with confidence.
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There is a 2 mile 5 furlong contest to be run in the oncoming gloom at 3.30. This is a very open handicap in which Seymour Star is set to run, but he is also declared at Ludlow on Thursday and has a better chance there. I like the look of Alan King’s River Frost who ran well at Chepstow last month in a hot handicap, staying on from the last. He won three times last year and could add to that tally here. Coole Cody has won twice at Newton Abbot but I think this race may be too high a class for him. My real fancy is Diable de Sivola, Nick Williams’s speedster won first time out last year at Uttoxeter and has been highly tried since. His form is excellent, only beaten by Dashing Oscar .
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Saturday Patent: 
Cheltenham 1.50  Vincente
Cheltenham 2.25  Kylemore Lough
Cheltenham 3.30  Diable de Sivola