Hi all,
Just a quick update as to what happening this week. There’s a decent card at Wetherby this afternoon with the highlight being a class 3 handicap chase (2:05).
On Wednesday it’s the rescheduled Grade 1 Lawlor’s Novice Hurdle at Naas (2.20). A race that was won last year by Envoi Allan and his way to success at the Cheltenham Festival.
Thursday Catterick takes centre stage with the latest running of the North Yorkshire Grand National Handicap Chase (2.40).
The Saturday big race caravan moves to Warwick. The feature races of a seven-race card are Classic Chase (3.00), the Grade 2 Hampton Novices’ Chase (1.50) and the Ballymore Leamington Novices’ Hurdle (2.25).
The ITV cameras are covering all the best of the Warwick action and three from Market Rasen as part of seven race programme. Over the Irish Sea at Fairyhouse it’s the normally competitive Dan & Joan Moore Memorial Handicap Chase (2.15).
Tomorrow, I will be looking ahead to some of the weekend action and hopefully there will be a couple of ante post selections but first I have a selection from Wetherby this afternoon.
Wetherby
2:05 – Eclair D’Ainay made an impressive chase debut when winning at Chepstow 53-days ago. Both the second & third have won since so the form of that race looks solid. He’s up 14lb for that success and looks the right favourite.
The King Of May ran really well when a close-up third over C&D 16-days ago. That was slightly better race than this and he can race off the same mark here. More than capable of going close if in the same form as last time.
Billingsley takes my eye at a fair price. The 9-year-old won three of his four starts over fences and looked an improving handicap chaser. Ran well for a long way and was still in contention when falling four out on his seasonal return at Doncaster 31-days ago. It was good to soft last time and he’s a better horse on even deeper ground. He’s 4-6 on heavy and given he’s 0-5 on his first start of the season, he’s likely all the better for that run.
1pt win – Billingsley – 9/1 @ Sky Bet & Unibet
Cheers
John