Find all previous Seymour Biz racing previews in his weekly column: Saturday Horse Racing Tips.
Another great Saturday’s racing to look forward to with some fine National Hunt meetings the length and breadth of the country, two of which are televised by ITV. These are Ascot, with their first jumps card of the season, the highlight being the Sodexo Gold Cup, and Wetherby, with the Charlie Hall Chase, a total of eight TV races, four from each track.
We are starting to see all the trainers sending out their best horses and with the Betvictor Gold Cup at Cheltenham only a fortnight away. That’s not surprising, the top class races come thick and fast now in the run-up to the King George on Boxing Day.
So here are my thoughts for this week’s top races and this Saturday’s Lucky Fifteen.
Saturday Lucky Fifteen
3.05 Ascot. Malaya
3.40 Ascot. Whatmore
1.35 Wetherby. Minella For Me
3.20 Wetherby. Sam Spinner
Beginning with the 3.05 at Ascot, the Sodexo Handicap Hurdle over 2 miles, it looks like Anthony Honeyball’s Kid Commando May go off favourite. I worry that as he has only won once over hurdles in maiden his company at Plumpton in January, he would need to step up dramatically to feature in this.
Donald McCain’s Dear Sire is an experienced hurdler and the grey has won twice this campaign latterly in a classy contest at Chepstow. I expect him to run well.
Scaramanga won at Wincanton last December for trainer Paul Nicholls and was considered good enough to go for the County Hurdle at the Festival. He was in contention turning in but was then outpaced. He will be stronger this season.
I like the look of another Nicholls contender, Malaya, a course and distance winner. He has not been seen since last February at Ascot when he ran second over 2m3f. He drops back to his optimum trip here for his first run of the season and I think this classy individual can take this.
At 3.40 it is the Sodexo Gold Cup Handicap Chase and Paul Nicholls has the top weight here with Black Corton and Bryony Frost aboard hoping for another big Saturday win. But, I’m afraid they have lumps of weight to carry in what promises to be soft going.
Nicky Henderson sends 2017 King George hero Might Bite but he is an 11-year-old now and has been tried over Cheltenham’s X-Country to revive his form. As much as I admire him, he is best watched at this stage of his career.
Commanche Red is having his first run of the season for trainer Chris Gordon. He was very consistent last year winning once and finishing in the frame on his other three runs, but this is a major step up from novice company and perhaps his best is yet to come.
Walk In The Mill comes here on his way to Aintree and exudes little confidence. Mister Malarkey from Colin Tizzard’s yard is a class act and is a course and distance winner. However, he ran poorly last year and soft going will not suit him.
I think Henry Daly can have another big Saturday winner with Whatmore who is having his first run of the season. He runs well when fresh and ran consistently well last season culminating in a fine fourth in handicap company at the Festival. He is at the bottom of the weights and the going will suit. He should put in a good performance.
Moving north to Wetherby, the first televised race is the Bet365 Handicap Chase run at just over 2m3f. Well fancied here and up at the top of the weights is Nigel Twiston-Davies’s Guy. Having not been seen since last December, he came out earlier this month at Huntingdon and easily beat what was a very poor field. He has more to do here and the extra weight will be a factor.
Iain Jardine sends She’sasupermack down for her first run since winning at Newcastle last March but she is another with lots of weight to carry.
Dandolo Du Gite has some great pieces of form with three wins in his career but he looks very hard to train by Neil Mulholland. This is his first run since May last year when he won at Southwell easily. He must have had his problems since and added to that the ground may not suit, he is best watched.
My preference is for Tom George’s Minella For Me who is nicely weighted. He notched up a couple of nice victories in the spring of 2019 then lost his way last year. He came out this season and ran a fine second at Warwick at the beginning of this month. His old sparkle may be there and George will have him spot-on for this.
Finally, at 3.20, it’s the big race of the day, the Bet365 Charlie Hall Chase and what a great turnout of top-class horses we have. Starting with the top weight and last year’s winner Ballyoptic trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, he completed last season with a fine victory at Ascot in February but he has 8lb more to carry than he did last year.
Paul Nicholls Cyrname is the bookies fancy and is very short-priced. Great things were promised for him after he beat Altior last November, but he was a well-beaten runner-up in the King George then fell at Ascot in February. He represents no value and is best watched at this stage.
Brian Ellison’s Definitely Red won this in 2018 and he finished off last season with a Listed win at Kelso but he is an 11-year-old now and I can’t fancy him.
Kim Bailey’s Vinndication is a class act but was disappointing at Cheltenham last March and this race may be a stepping stone to next year’s festival.
The top-class staying hurdler Sam Spinner had a great season when he moved to novice chasing last year for trainer Jedd O’Keeffe, winning all three of his outings, including two here at Wetherby. I take him to start his career with the big boys with a victory and he may well go on to greater things.
Saturday Lucky Fifteen
3.05 Ascot. Malaya
3.40 Ascot. Whatmore
1.35 Wetherby. Minella For Me
3.20 Wetherby. Sam Spinner
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