Find all previous Seymour Biz racing previews in his weekly column: Saturday Horse Racing Tips.
ITV Racing are playing it safe this Saturday by covering three meetings in case one or more are lost to the frost or floods. The three tracks being televised are Warwick, Kempton and Wetherby with the first two designated as Premier Racedays.
There are four races being covered from Warwick with a couple of Class 1 chases and also the Veterans Chase is being carried over after being lost last week at Sandown, a Pertemps hurdle qualifier completes the lineup.
There are three races from Kempton where the highlight is the Grade 2 Silviniaco Conti Chase where Alan King’s Edwardstone will be looking to get off the mark for the season. He will have it tough against last year’s winner Pic d’Orhy an a couple of Irish challengers.
Finally, there is a Grade 2 Chase from Wetherby to round off Saturday’s programme of eight races. There is no shortage of Irish entries throughout the contests and it will be interesting to see how they fare prior to Cheltenham. Here are my thoughts for this week.
Saturday Lucky Fifteen
1.50 Warwick. Mel Monroe
3.00 Warwick. Malina Girl
3.35 Warwick. Aye Right
240 Kempton. Nemean Lion
Bet this lucky 15 now on Bet365
It’s very unusual to have Warwick as the main meeting of the day but that is the case this week and it’s here I will begin with the 1.50 the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle a Class 2 race run over 3m 1f.
Top weight here is Hughie Morrison’s Third Wind who is having his first run for 22 months since winning the final of this series at the Cheltenham Festival. He was third in this two years ago but is best watched after a long lay off.
Joe Tizzard’s The Big Breakaway has been pulled up on his last two outings both times on heavy ground. He is likely to find similar going here and as he has not won since 2020 it is hard to support him.
Martha Brae won a nice race at Kempton over Christmas for trainer Dan Skelton, a repetition of that will see her go close.
Mel Rowley’s Kyntara has won twice this season but they were lowly Class 4 races and this is a big step up in class.
My preference is for the Irish raider, Gordon Elliott’s Mel Monroe who comes here with hopes of reaching the Final with a possibility of winning that. She won earlier this season and ran a fine second at Cheltenham in October and looks the one to be on here.
The 3.00 is the Wigley Group Classic Handicap Chase a Grade 3 contest run over 3m 5f. Several of these are laying out their credentials for the Grand National but it could turn into a slog on heavy going.
One of the favourites is Nigel Twiston-Davies’s Beauport who was second at Sandown last month but this is much tougher.
Venetia Williams’s Fontaine Collonges won at Wetherby on Boxing Day showing a return to form after a mishap in the London National at Sandown earlier in the month and he may hit the frame.
Charlie Longsden’s Guetapan Collonges has shown fine form over the last couple of seasons and won at Carlisle in October. He deserves his chance in higher company.
Henry Daly’s Rapper was fourth in a Grade 3 at Cheltenham last month and is capable of hitting the frame again.
But Gavin Cromwell’s Malina Girl is the stand-out horse here. She looked all over the winner when falling 3 out at Cheltenham last month after winning at the same course the previous month, she can gain recompense for that fall here.
The Unibet Veterans Handicap Chase is at 3.35. This Class 2 is run over 3 miles and is re-routed here after the abandonment of Sandown last week.
My tip for this last week was de Rasher Counter but now the race will be run clockwise instead of the anti-clockwise that it would have been run at Sandown also the going should be better and the fences are easier so I’m allowed to change my mind.
That said I do expect Emma Lavelle’s de Rasher Counter to go well and hit the frame.
Nigel Twiston-Davies’s Good Boy Bobby is expected to run well and should go close, as will Venetia Williams’s Cepage.
But my eye is taken by Harriet Graham and Gary Rutherford’s Aye Right who was third here in November behind Olly Murphy’s Thomas Darby but Aye Right is 6lbs better off and has the ability to take this.
Finally, I will move to Kempton for the last leg of the Lucky Fifteen, the 2.40 is the Coral Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle a Class 2 contest run over 2m 5f. This really looks a close contest on paper and one of the fancied horses is the joint top weight Paul Nicholls’s Sonigino who won at Aintree last month but has gone up in the handicap for that win.
Nicky Henderson sends his classy Impose Toi to tackle this, he was a fine second at Ascot last month in a Grade 3 after winning his previous two races. He drops back to handicap company and must have every chance.
Jamie Snowden’s Up For Parol has tried to win this on the last two occasions and failed by just 4 lengths last year. His trainer has had this race in mind for him since the start of the season.
Another Nicky Henderson runner is King Alexander who has won twice this season. He has risen in the weights and this race is a step up in class.
My preference is for Kerry Lee’s Nemean Lion who won at Ffos Las in October and then ran fifth in a Grade 3 at Cheltenham where he was half a length behind Sonigino. He is 11lbs better off with that horse and can be successful here.
Saturday Lucky Fifteen
1.50 Warwick. Mel Monroe
3.00 Warwick. Malina Girl
3.35 Warwick. Aye Right
240 Kempton. Nemean Lion
Bet this lucky 15 now on Bet365
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