Morning all,
A tough day at the office yesterday. Tommy’s Oscar was the only return although Unexpected Depth did finish second in the 3m handicap hurdle at Leopardstown.
The best position for my three selections in the handicap chase was Farclas who finished fourth. He led briefly over the last but probably needs further than 2m 5f and better ground. The winner Off You Go was returned a good price at 10/1 and was findable as mentioned in my race preview:
“Needs to jump better than he has done on his last two starts though but looks up to winning a race like this”.
It looks bleak on the weather front and I don’t think I will be doing much until the weekend. Fingers crossed Saturday’s Newbury Betfair Hurdle meeting can survive the freezing weather.
With the Dublin Racing out of the way I’m going to look at some of the Cheltenham Festival races to see if there is any value in the ante post markets. It’s been a bit since I added anything to Cheltenham ante post portfolio.
Before all that. My thoughts have briefly turned to the summer game. The entries are now out for the first big handicap of the new flat season the Unibet Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster and I have an ante post selection for the next months race.
Doncaster – March 27th 2021
Unibet Lincoln (Heritage Handicap) (Class 2)
King Ottokar is one of only two that I kept in my tracker at the end of the last flat season. Primarily for big field handicaps like the Lincoln or the Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot.
He went into the notebook after an eyecatching performance at Doncaster last September when finishing 5th of 12 in a mile handicap. He was unlucky in the run, but for that would have been much closer and the ground would also have been a shade on the quick side for the 5-year-old.
I really fancied him for the Balmoral Handicap at Ascot on Champions Day (8/1). His high draw (22) scuppered his chance at Ascot, as all the action was towards the far rail. He was also a slowly away and he also didn’t get the best of runs at the furlong mark when making his effort. In the circumstance he did well to finish as close as he did in 6th (beaten 5 ½ lengths).
Sitting off a good pace in a big field handicap, with some ease in the ground is what he ideally wants and he should get in the Lincoln.
Sadly the 20/1 that was available last week has now gone but the 14/1 is still worth taking. For those who prefer going each way, five places are available with Paddy Power & Sky Bet (12/1). At this stage it’s win only for me at 14/1.
1pt win – King Ottokar – 14/1 @ William Hill & Bet365
There are no selections today.
Watch your inboxes for any posts this week.
Cheers
John