Channel 4 Races Saturday 2 February 2013

[Guest]

Saturday 2 February 2013[/B]

13:50 SAN Betfred "The Home of Goals Galore" Handicap Chase Cl2 2m CH4
14:05 FFO William Hill Welsh Champion Hurdle (Limited Handicap) Cl2 2m4f CH4
14:25 SAN Betfred Novicesī Chase (Reg As Scilly Isles Novicesī Chase) Grade 1 Cl1 2m4f110y CH4
14:40 FFO William Hill West Wales National (Handicap Chase) Cl2 3m4f CH4
15:00 ?
15:20 WET totepool.com Towton Novicesī Chase Grade 2 Cl1 3m1f CH4
15:35 SAN Betfred Masters Handicap Chase Cl2 3m110y CH4

Edit: Links to the two Graded Race Threads added

[Sprinter]

I'd be well up for a bit of banter about Saturday races but no point until decs in this weather ?

[Morning Glory]

I'm only a newbie so dont mean to be cheeky but a thread for races not covered in Big Races section sounds like a good idea.

If mods added links to the big races to first bit of a post like yeehaa above that would work IMO.

Also thought jumps notebook horses could be linked to and from the Cheltenham section.

lots of good stuff here and hoping to contribute

[Morning Glory]

Going to change ?


With the ground on Sandown’s hurdles course only “borderline” on Wednesday, the BHA has programmed a provisional
all-chase card in an attempt to safeguard the fixture with further rain of up to 25mm forecast. This would consist of the three chases originally scheduled plus three additional chases.

The going is currently soft, heavy in places on the chase course and heavy, soft in places, with some waterlogging, on the hurdles course. Officials are to inspect at 3pm on Thursday and decide whether to implement the alternative plan.

BHA spokesman Robin Mounsey said: “We are looking at options at the moment in case Sandown’s hurdles are cancelled. There is a Listed two-mile hurdle in the programme at Doncaster on
Monday.”

Andrew Cooper, head of racing and clerk of the course at Sandown, said: “Since the thaw at the weekend we’ve had over 30mm of rain. As a result, parts of the hurdle course are saturated and false in places. The chase course, as is invariably the case here, is better and while very soft would be
“In order to give ourselves the best chance of staging a day’s racing here on Saturday we have asked the BHA to provisionally schedule an all-chase card with six races.

“We’re expecting Thursday to be mainly dry with a risk of showers, but most forecasts suggest Friday will be a very wet day for us, with up to 25mm of rain possible.”

[Old Vic]

Welcome to the board Morning Glory. Nice to get some new blood on here.

Have changed as suggested. It is nice to get some feedback.

Any other requests from the lurkers

[Yeehaa]

No hurdles at Sandown.

Not the most inspiring stuff this weekend.

[johnno]

Looking forward to Super Duty and Captain Conan but thin on stars tomorrow.

[johnno]

Barry's Blog


My other ride for Seven Barrows is ROBERTO GOLDBACK (3.35) in the three-mile Betfred Masters Handicap chase.

He’s just edging down the handicap having leapt 12lb for winning at Ascot in November and is now 7lb above that mark which would put him in with chances here.

My principal concern would be that he is a better horse on nice ground, which he’s not going to get, and there are improving horses in this, like Keppols Hill, who gets 21lb.

I’ve picked up a couple of reasonable outside rides, one is my old friend MAD MAX (3.00) who I won on at Aintree back in 2010 which saw him jump up to 157.

He’s now with Neil Mulholland and hasn’t won in eight runs since but he’s had plenty of issues in his time and he is better suited by decent ground.

On the positive side, he’s now dropped 17lb and if he can cope with the ground then he would be a contender in this.

The two-mile handicap chase will be the first time that I’ve sat on KUDU COUNTRY (1.50) who I’ve been booked for by Thomas Tate - and the only time I’ve seen him was in the paddock when he was 50 lengths behind Sprinter Sacre at Aintree last April.

But there’s nothing like Sprinter here and having scanned the runners, this looks a winnable contest to my eye.

This is the specialist trip and Kudu Country’s latest run was his best over fences when he closed the gap from ten lengths to two and three quarters behind Desert Cry at Ayr in early January.

The fact that gives me most encouragement is that this horse operates well on heavy ground and it’s certainly going to ride testing.

[Sprinter]

Sunday better than Saturday this week

[Lester]

The Romford Pele the one for me at fflos las. Missed the 16s at laddies

[mayo]

The Romford Pele the one for me at fflos las. Missed the 16s at laddies

Donn likes him too

I backed Rangitoto during the week for the Heroes Handicap Hurdle at Sandown today in the hope that Oscara Dara would run in the Welsh Champion (Handicap) Hurdle instead, so was delighted when the news emerged on Thursday morning that, indeed, Nicky Henderson’s horse would go to Ffos Las. Then they cancelled the hurdle races at Sandown, and it was all for nought.

My initial intention was to get with Oscara Dara for the Welsh Champion Hurdle. He won the Lanzarote Hurdle with a lot more in hand than the three-and-a-half-length winning margin. He travelled like the best horse in the race from a long way out, and that fact that he was able to get kick-started again after making a momentum-halting mistake at the final flight told you that he had plenty of energy left. The handicapper raised him a stone for that, but what was he gonna do?

He is only a 4.5 shot for this afternoon’s contest, however, and that is short. He may well be better than a handicapper, but he is going to have to be graded class if he is going to concede 9lb and more to some really interesting rivals. Also, Captain Sunshine might have beaten him had he not fallen at the last in the Lanzarote, and it might not have been that strong a renewal of the race. Oscara Dara is an exciting horse, no question, but he is popular now, and 4.5 is short.

Tanerko Emery could be very good, he is highly progressive and he has been impressive in winning his last two races in his tongue-tie. Also, he is owned by Dai Walters, Ffos Las supremo who won this race last year with Oscar Whisky when it wasn’t a handicap, so you can be sure that he has been trained for this race from a while back.

However, he was rewarded with an 11lb hike from the handicapper for his latest win at Lingfield, in a race that is not working out well, and he is significantly up in grade today. He may be progressive enough to be able to cope with all that, and he could improve again for the step up to two and a half miles but, like Oscara Dara, he is short at 4.5. It’s only about 2.25 about the pair of them coupled and, at those odds, and with so many other horses with chances running for you, it might pay to be a layer than a backer.

This is a strong race. The two Alan King horses are both interesting. Balder Succes wasn’t beaten that far by Zarkandar in the Elite Hurdle on his debut this term before he went to Haydock and beat Hollow Tree impressively, but he was disappointing in the Ladbroke Hurdle at Ascot last time, so you have to forgive him that.

Choc Thornton obviously has, it looks like he has chosen to ride Balder Succes in front of Medinas, but it can’t have been an easy decision. Runner-up in a Pertemps Qualifier at Kempton in November, Medinas ran a cracker to finish fourth behind the hugely exciting pair At Fishers Cross and Inish Island over three miles at Cheltenham’s December meeting, giving both of them weight. He is only six, he still has plenty of scope for progression, and the handicapper has left him on his mark of 140.

One of the main worries with both Balder Succes and Medinas is the form of the Alan King horses. He has just had one winner from 10 runners in the last two weeks, and a couple of the King horses have run disappointingly recently, including Walkon, Bless The Wings and Ardlui. It has to be a concern. However, Midnight Appeal did go close in a jumpers’ bumper at Kempton last week and those concerns are factored into Medinas’ odds of 11. His odds are probably inflated because of the fact that he will be ridden by Wayne Hutchinson and not Choc Thornton, but Hutchinson is a high-class rider, an under-rated rider, and Medinas is worth having on side at 11.

The other horse who looks over-priced is The Romford Pele. Like Medinas, his odds have probably been inflated at least a little because of the fact that it appears that he has been shunned by a top rider. AP McCoy has ridden Rebecca Curtis’ horse in all but one of his eight races, including in four bumpers. However, it would have been difficult for AP to have turned down the ride on the favourite in the race Oscara Dara, and he would have had to have done some wasting – although not quite as much as he did last weekend – to get down to 10st 4lb. As well as that, Patrick Corbett is a good rider who claims 7lb and who rode the Accordion gelding to victory last time at Chepstow.

The Romford Pele jumped well on that occasion, and he stayed on really well over the last two flights to beat Sin Bin, the pair of them clear. He relished the soft ground that day, and he seemed to appreciate the return to a left-handed track and the step up to two and a half miles.

He has been raised 3lb for that, and he is 6lb out of the handicap today, but he is progressive enough to take that type of hike in his stride. He is only six, and has raced just four times over hurdles in his life. Also, he was a good bumper horse – he was seventh in the Cheltenham Bumper – for whom an effective mark today of 134 should be more than workable. Racing over two and a half miles again today at a left-handed track on heavy ground, he is a player.

[mayo]

Been looking at the Jewson ...if Captain Conan doesn't stay that market will be all over the shop.

2nd fav Dynaste goes for Rsa
3rd fav aup Charlie lacks resolve
4Th fav Fago goes to Arkle ?
5th fav Arvika has jumping issues and alternatives
Unioniste for Rsa ? Oscar well to stay at home ?

If he wins 4s looks value ...

[Old Vic]

Paddy power have pushed Captain Conan out to 6/1 ...take it !