Find all previous Seymour Biz racing previews in his weekly column: Saturday Horse Racing Tips.
I hope everyone is enjoying Cheltenham and finding a few winners and is in the pocket. It’s back to the bread and butter of our racing on Saturday, with ITV Racing covering the cards from Uttoxeter and Kempton.
That said, it is Uttoxeter’s big day of the year with the Class 1 Midlands Grand National, a Premier Handicap. This is backed up with three further handicaps, two Class 2s and a Class 3.
The other meeting being covered is Kempton Park, from which there are three further handicaps, two Class 2s and a Class 3. So we have the unusual case of seven races and seven handicaps making for a really competitive Saturday afternoon’s racing.
Here are my thoughts for the best value and this week’s Lucky Fifteen.
Saturday Lucky Fifteen
2.25 Uttoxeter. Strackan
3.00 Uttoxeter. Apple Away
2.40 Kempton. West Balboa
3.20 Kempton. Outlaw Peter
Bet this lucky 15 on Bet365
At Uttoxeter, the 2.25 is the JenningsBet Handicap Hurdle, a Class 2 contest run over 2m 7 1/2f. The two horses highest in the handicap are both trained by Jonjo O’Neill, Indiana Dream and Red Dirt Road, and it’s the latter that interests me most after winning a Grade 3 at Sandown last month. However, he does have plenty of weight.
Emma Lavelle’s Guard Duty has won his last two at Newbury and Windsor but steps up in class here.
Paul Nicholls’s Red Risk returned after a long lay-off when he finished third at Musselburgh in early February. He can improve after that run.
Ben Pauling’s Samuel Spade romped home at Ascot last month. He is upped in class but can go well in this.
There is an Irish runner with Margaret Mullins’s Blaze The Way who won at Navan in December then finished second at the same course the following month. He could be anything.
Evan Williams’s Patriotic was a winner at Doncaster a fortnight ago and can go well again off a low weight.
My preference is another off a low weight- Henry Daly’s Strackan, who won for the third time this season at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day when winning with his head in his chest in a Class 2 race. He disappointed at Exeter last month, but can make amends here.
The big race of the day is Uttoxeter’s JenningsBet Midlands Grand National, a Class 1 Premier Handicap run over 4m 2f. The top weight here is Sara Bradstock’s Mr Vango, who comes here after two fine victories this season at Sandown and latterly in a Grade 3 at Haydock. This is top-class form, but the rise in the handicap may find him out over this longer distance.
Venetia Williams has been gobbling up these big Saturday handicaps and has Tanganyika in this. He won twice last month, showing he is in form but is upped in class here and has risen 9 lbs for those wins.
Val Dancer won the Welsh National at Chepstow in December for trainer Mel Rowley and ran a creditable third at Haydock last month. He is sure to put up a bold show.
An Irish challenger is Gordon Elliott’s Fortunedefortunata, who won a Listed race at Punchestown last month and cannot be discounted.
The other Irish raider is John McConnell’s Bodhisattva, who unseated in the Eider Chase at Newcastle and can go well here off a low weight.
The winner of the Eider was Ryan Potter’s Knockanore, who added that win to his victory here at Uttoxeter in December. He comes here off a low weight and has an efficient claimer aboard. He has every chance of hitting the frame.
But I go for Lucinda Russell’s Apple Away, who won a Listed race last April. He has been very consistent this season and has hit the bar on his last three occasions, finishing runner-up in three Class 1 handicaps. I take him to go one better here.
Moving to Kempton and the 2.45 is the Virgin Bet Best Odds Daily Handicap Hurdle, a Class 2 race run over 2m 5f. Unsurprisingly, the bookies’ choice here is Phillip Hobbs and Johnson White’s Saint Anapolino, who notched up his third consecutive victory at Kempton last month but is upped in class here.
Paul Nicholls’s entry is Irish Hill, who got home by a neck last time at Warwick, is a very consistent sort and is expected to go close once again.
Neil Mulholland’s Double Powerful won six times on the trot before going down by a head at Ascot last December. He made jumping errors that day and has been given a break since. It remains to be seen if he can regain those winning ways.
Nicky Henderson’s Aston Martini ran a fine second last time at Ascot and can be expected to feature in the finish. The top weight is Dan Skelton’s West Balboa, who chooses to come here despite having other entries. He is a past course and distance winner and has been running well in higher class races than this.
The Virgin Bet Daily Extra Places Handicap Chase is at 3.20, a 2m 4 1/2f Class 2 contest. Ben Pauling’s Bad is the current favourite after winning over this course and distance last time out in February. He romped home that day and looks the one to beat despite a 9lbs rise in the handicap.
Dan Skelton has three entries here, Midnight River, Hidden Heroics, and Flegmatik, the latter looking the best of the three after his 4th in a Grade 1 at Ascot in February.
Joe Tizzard’s Bourbali has been placed in all five of his contests this term and his last two wins have come here at Kempton the latest was last October. He can hit the frame once more.
Trainer Paul Nicholls has won this race in the past two seasons and sends last year’s winner, Outlaw Peter, to try and retain his crown. He has run only once this season, in the Grand Sefton at Aintree in November, where he went well until two out. It is to be hoped Nicholls has him back on song as he returns to a track he loves.
Saturday Lucky Fifteen
2.25 Uttoxeter. Strackan
3.00 Uttoxeter. Apple Away
2.40 Kempton. West Balboa
3.20 Kempton. Outlaw Peter
Bet this lucky 15 on Bet365
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