Find all previous Seymour Biz racing previews in his weekly column: Saturday Horse Racing Tips.
Top-class winter racing is in prospect this Saturday on ITV Racing, with coverage from Haydock and Ascot. The Berkshire course is the principal meeting, and the Grade 1 Clarence House Chase is the highlight on the card, where Willie Mullins hotpot Il Etait Temps takes on last year’s winner, Nicky Henderson’s Jonbon, a mouthwatering clash. This race is backed up by a Grade 2 Mares’ Hurdle and two Class 2 Handicaps.
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Meanwhile, at Haydock, there is a Grade 2 Supreme Novices trial, the Class 1 Peter Marsh Handicap Chase, and a Class 3 handicap hurdle. So seven very good contests, and here are my thoughts for this week’s best value and my Lucky Fifteen.
Saturday Lucky Fifteen
2.20 Ascot. Hitman
2.53 Ascot. Came From Nowhere
2.00 Haydock. Konfusion
2.35 Haydock. Dalston Lad
Bet this lucky 15 on Bet365
Beginning with the the Ascot card and the 2.20 is the bet365 Handicap a Class 2 race run over 2m 5f. The top weight here is Paul Nicholls’s Hitman, who drops down in class from Graded company. He won a Grade 2 at Aintree in October and then ran third in a similar contest at Huntingdon in December. He is the class act here.
Dan Skelton’s Etalon won a handicap here at Ascot in December, beating Scarface and Bad, but he has gone up in the weights since that victory.
Ben Pauling’s Bad is 5lbs better off after that defeat, but he was beaten 15 lengths. He is a Kempton specialist.
Joe Tizzard’s Scarface is 4lbs better in with Etalon after running second to him last month, and he can reverse that defeat and hit the frame once more.
Sam Thomas’s Vincenzo has finished second on his last three outings, all Grade 3 contests, and drops down in class to seek a victory. However, although he gets 15 lbs from Hitman, he may have to settle for a place behind the Grade 2 winner.
The BetMGM Holloway’s Handicap Hurdle is at 2.53. This Class 2 race is run over 2m 3 1/2f. The top weight and one of the favourites is Fergal O’Brien’s Tripoli Flyer, who won three times last season. His latest run was in Grade 1 at Kempton on Boxing Day, where he was beaten 18 lengths. He has plenty of weight.
Dan Skelton’s Faivoir is respected despite now being 11 years old. He was placed in Grade 3 at Cheltenham in November, but he has not won for almost three years.
Toby Lawes, Surrey Lord, has won three times this season and steps up in class after winning a Class 3 at Kempton on Boxing Day, but this is much tougher.
My preference here is Jeremy Scott’s Came From Nowhere, who has been running consistently well this season and won going away in a Class 3 at Hereford in December. He can improve on that.
Moving north to Merseyside and the 2.00 at Haydock is the Sky Bet Peter Marsh Handicap Chase, this is a Class 1 Premier Handicap run over 3m 1 1/2f. The top weight here is Venetia Williams’s Royale Pagaille. This top-class chaser won this race in 2021 and 2022. He has also won two Grade 1 Betfair Chases over this distance here at Haydock. He is a big favourite at this track. However, he is now 12 years old and would probably want it soft, especially with 12th on his back. This may be his swan song.
Jonjo and AJ O’Neill’s Johnnywho ran a fine third in a Grade 3 at Ascot last month and has been running consistently well without success.
So I come to the two who may fight it out for the finish: Konfusion and Myretown. Joel Parkinson and Sue Smith’s Konfusion has won three times already this season, two of which were Grade 3s, the latest of which was at Wetherby on Boxing Day.
Lucinda Russell and Michael Scudamore’s Myretown won the Ultima at last year’s Cheltenham Festival and was sent off favourite for a Grade 3 at Newbury in November, but after jumping to his left, he fell at the 9th. Better things are hoped for with him, but without a run since that tumble, Konfusion gets the nod.
The 2.35 is the Sky Bet Super Sub Handicap Hurdle, this Class 3 race is run over 3m 1/2f. Donald Williams’s Both Barrels won a Class 3 at Kelso at the end of December, but drops back in trip here. He may find these too speedy.
The Hobbs and White-trained Solar System is making his seasonal reappearance. He won here at Haydock last January, his third win last season, but he must have had his problems.
Joel Parkinson and Sue Smith’s Heather Honey has won three times already this season, but is upped in class here.
Mel Rowley’s Kyntara is fancied in some quarters and has finished just outside the places on both his runs this season in Class 2 races. He should perform better here.
I like Dan Skelton’s Dalston Lad, who won two NHF races last season and won a Class 4 at Sedgefield on Boxing Day. He looks perfectly capable of moving up a notch to this class.
Saturday Lucky Fifteen
2.20 Ascot. Hitman
2.53 Ascot. Came From Nowhere
2.00 Haydock. Konfusion
2.35 Haydock. Dalston Lad
Bet this lucky 15 on Bet365
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