Our form expert has a selection for tonight's action at the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar.
The Verdict: Saturday November 1
1pt win Goliath in 9.41 Del Mar at 8/1 (General)
1pt win General Medrano in 2.05 Ascot at 8/1 (General)
1pt win Indemnity in 3.10 Ascot at 15/2 (William Hill, 7/1 General)
1pt win Bhaloo in 3.45 Ascot at 11/1 (bet365)
2pts win Dysart Enos in 1.50 Wetherby at 11/2 (NON RUNNER)
Goliath looks a giant of the Turf
We’re all set for a quality night of action in front of the TV for the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar, but it’s a very trappy track with its tight turns and punting-wise it could pay to tread carefully.
The one race I do want to have a go at is the Breeders’ Cup Turf as Minnie Hauk looks short at around 11/10 on the back of her Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe second.
She doesn’t look an obvious one to appreciate this test although I completely get the bookies running for cover following a stellar season and considering the 7lb she gets from the older horses.
I am happy to take her on, though, and given this could be run at a real clip with plenty of prominent racers in the field I thought Francis-Henri Graffard’s GOLIATH might well be seen to advantage.
He thrived tracking a strong pace on fast ground in the 2024 King George, a race in which he beat Rebel’s Romance by over five lengths, and the way he has been campaigned suggests he could peak to that sort of level again here.
Now owned in partnership with American owner John Stewart’s Resolute Racing, Goliath only got racing in early June and has had the four starts with a view to this high-profile backend assignment.
I loved how he accounted for Dubai Honour in the Grosser Preis von Baden last time, looking as good as he’s been since his King George win, and given it looks like the American vets are happy with his stringhalt (fingers crossed) he’s worth backing to add more top-level success after a fine year for his yard.
The Verdict: Back GOLIATH in the 9.41 Del Mar
Take out insurance with Lavelle
With the Breeders’ Cup signalling the end of the good Flat stuff, more on that later, we’re almost fully into National Hunt mode now and Ascot and Wetherby serve up a couple of good cards on Saturday afternoon.
Ascot provide some excellent handicaps to get stuck into and with the ground ‘Good, Good to Firm in places’ at the time of writing, with 8-12mm of rain forecast, conditions will hopefully be what everyone anticipated at declaration time resulting in few non-runners.
This time of year is all about fitness and different stables approach this stage of the season with varying methods, so it’s always a good idea to see who has their string in good shape for the early weeks of the jumps season proper.
Emma Lavelle wouldn’t be one to set your watch by at this time of the season, sometimes they are flying and sometimes they have needed a run, but she has started this campaign in top gear and her runners are worth close consideration on Saturday.
In October she had seven winners at a strike-rate of 33% and one of those was INDEMNITY who bolted up at Market Rasen on his reappearance when he was value for more than his length-and-three-quarter win.
He travelled all over his opposition under Harry Cobden just over two weeks ago, looking every inch an improved model on his fifth hurdling start, winning with ease after just one tickle with the whip and despite being less than fluent over the last two flights.
That might not have been much of a race, but nor does a 6lb rise look insurmountable judging by both his hurdling progression and his Flat form for Roger Varian and I want to be with him on his first go against proper handicap hurdlers in the Lavazza Handicap Hurdle.
His proven fitness doesn’t look the advantage it might’ve been in here given most of these have had a run, but I do think he might get the run of the race sitting prominent with Moveit Like Minnie likely to go forward over this trip in the unusual visor and cheekpieces combination.
Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies are in cracking form themselves, as you would expect at this time of the campaign, and Moveit Like Minnie has some good Ascot form to his name, for all that he is 0/4 here.
I think he’ll find at least one too good again, though, and the unexposed and progressive Indemnity could well be the horse to beat him.
The Verdict: Back INDEMNITY in the 3.10 Ascot
General to pull rank at Ascot
Earlier on the card I also think Lavelle’s GENERAL MEDRANO is worth siding with in the Grundon Waste Management Handicap Chase over 2m1f.
Lavelle doesn’t usually leave her returning handicap chasers lacking in fitness this time of year, no matter how the rest of her team are going, and this horse has a very good seasonal reappearance record after winning first time back in 2023-24 while he was a good second at Haydock last season.
A week after Haydock he bolted up at Newbury (watch the free video replay below) and crucially he travelled smoothly off an average gallop (Timeform recorded a closing sectional of 107.7%) there, which just shows he doesn’t need a pace collapse to come through with a winning challenge.
That’s good news as there are very few obvious front runners in here and I wouldn’t necessarily bank on a strong pace despite a good field size of 13.
Everything is set for General Medrano to run to a good level and a mark of 140 doesn’t look beyond him. In January he was a close second to Petit Tonnerre off a rating of 141 at Doncaster and he gets a 13lb pull with that rival in this.
Jockey Ben Jones has a cracking record at Ascot and he knows this fellow very well, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes the most of the weight advantage he gets from the likes of Boothill and L’eau du Sud in a super race.
The Verdict: Back GENERAL MEDRANO in 2.05 Ascot
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Bhaloo looks interesting up to three miles
Nicky Henderson hasn’t had an October as quiet as the one just gone (0/10) since 2004 (0/10) but that year he bounced back with a typically fruitful November and you have to think he’ll be amongst the winners soon enough.
BHALOO could be the one to get him going in the Sodexo Live! Gold Cup Handicap Chase over three miles, as he has an excellent record fresh and he ran as recently as July when he put up a good showing in third in the Summer Plate at Market Rasen.
The way he stayed on there suggests he might improve for tackling this trip and I certainly wouldn’t presume he doesn’t stay judging by his two failed efforts over the distance so far, as those runs came during a period last season when he wasn’t right.
He’s bred for three miles and he’s won at Ascot, beating a right-handed specialist in Bad at this meeting last year, while he’s only 6lb higher than when bouncing back to win at Newbury in March in a competitive 2m4f handicap chase.
You just sense Henderson is getting to grips with him now and there could be plenty more to come, so he could be a potent rival for this lot if getting into a good rhythm under Nico de Boinville.
The Verdict: Back BHALOO in the 3.45 Ascot
Dysart to sink Golden champion (NON RUNNER)
It’s Charlie Hall day at Wetherby and the feature looks a good but trappy race with fitness levels for the main protagonists largely an unknown quantity.
I’m happy to watch how that all plays out but I do think Fergal O’Brien’s DYSART ENOS (NON RUNNER) is worth a bet in the Listed bet365 Mares’ Hurdle over two miles.
Jeremy Scott’s Champion Hurdle winner Golden Ace is the odds-on favourite here, but she normally comes on for a run and last season she needed her first run of the campaign at Ascot.
With only three runners you can see why she has assumed favouritism, but I’m wary of her on fitness grounds and Dan Skelton could also be using this as a starting point for Kateira who needs another mile ideally.
Dysart Enos looks a big danger getting 6lb from Golden Ace and she might well have a fitness edge, too, after running on the Flat 59 days ago.
Add to this Fergal O’Brien is in cracking form and he has a super record in the early months of the season at Wetherby, while we probably shouldn’t forget Dysart Enos slammed Golden Ace by nine lengths in the Nickel Coin in their bumper days, for all that plenty of water has passed under the bridge since then.
The Verdict: Back DYSART ENOS in the 1.50 Wetherby (NON RUNNER)
Preview posted at 1600 GMT on 31/10/25
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