Our racing expert Ben Linfoot has four selections for Saturday's ITV racing at Aintree, Newcastle and Wincanton.
The Verdict: Saturday, November 11
1pt win Enjoy Your Life in 1.15 Wincanton at 6/1 (bet365, William Hill)
1pt win Cooper's Cross in 2.45 Aintree at 8/1 (bet365)
1pt e.w. Good Look Charm in 3.32 Wincanton at 22/1 (Coral, BetVictor 1/5 1,2,3)
1pt win Teumessias Fox in 3.45 Newcastle at 13/2 (bet365, William Hill)
Third time’s a Charm for Honeyball
With heavy ground on the Grand National course and the November Handicap moved to Newcastle’s Tapeta track we’re in for an unusual Saturday and the best racing looks to be at Wincanton.
It’s the 62nd Badger Beer Handicap Chase and for all it’s a good renewal it looks a trappy betting heat with several contenders including Paul Nicholls’ grand old servant, Frodon, who goes for back-to-back wins in the race.
He runs off the same mark from which he won last year and it's easy to envisage him winging his way around here under Bryony Frost, probably because we can look back on his victory here 12 months ago.
Indeed, watching several of the past renewals it seems to me like prominent racers hold a distinct advantage and the key to the race could be Anthony Honeyball's tactics, as he runs four including three who like to be up there.
The most interesting of his quartet is Blackjack Magic, an unexposed eight-year-old at the bottom of the weights who jumped well when last seen winning at Uttoxeter in April, but that was in novice company and this requires another step up.
Joe Tizzard is in good form and The Big Breakaway has the talent to win this with a clean round of jumping, but there's no juice in his price at around 6/1, so all things considered I’m happy to leave the race alone.
I do like Honeyball’s representative in the JenningsBet Richard Barber Memorial Mares’ Handicap Hurdle later on the card, though, with his GOOD LOOK CHARM looking a cracking each-way bet at 22/1.
Honeyball has a tremendous record in this type of race, winning 31 mares’ handicap hurdles from 114 goes at 27.9%, including this very race with Lily Waugh in 2015, while he also saddled the 33/1 second Midnight Tune in this contest two years after that.
This mare was rated 116 over hurdles not long ago and she won an Exeter handicap hurdle off 112, so she's dead interesting here off 107 with her rating having come down because of her exploits over fences.
Even they weren’t too bad, especially since she had wind surgery, her fencing career blighted by the odd bad mistake but the evidence is the engine is still there.
She has had a good break since her last fencing run at Cheltenham in April, but she goes well fresh and in the hope that all eight run I’ll be having a good each-way bet on her at prices north of 20/1.
The Verdict: Back GOOD LOOK CHARM in the 3.32 Wincanton
Enjoy another Venetia winner
Earlier on at Wincanton I want to be with Venetia Williams' ENJOY YOUR LIFE in the Boodles Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Chase at 6/1.
There are more hurdles for conditional jockeys than chases but there's plenty of data surrounding this type of race and Williams has an excellent record in the sphere, winning 22 from 101 – with jockey Ned Fox winning six of those from 13 goes for the trainer.
That is a meaty stat for Enjoy Your Life to have on his side before he tackles his first handicap chase in England, the six-year-old having run in three handicap hurdles since he joined his new stable in March.
The best of his hurdles runs came at this track when he was second off a rating of 110 in April, the same mark he runs off now he tackles a fence, and significant improvement is expected over the larger obstacles.
He ran six times over fences in France, winning at Cagnes-Sur-Mer, and the horse who beat him in that Wincanton handicap hurdle, Oscars Moonshine, won at the same track off a stone higher mark last month so he was set the most difficult task.
This looks more his bag and at 6/1 he’s worth backing for a bang in-form yard.
The Verdict: Back ENJOY YOUR LIFE in the 1.15 Wincanton
A Cross word in the Grand Sefton
After plenty of rain in the region it’s going to be heavy ground on the National course for the BoyleSports Grand Sefton Handicap Chase at Aintree and that could bring the stayers into play over the 2m5f trip.
COOPER'S CROSS is the interesting one at around 8/1 as he improved plenty for stepping up in trip to three miles last season, winning the Sky Bet Chase on his first go at the distance, and he finished his campaign with a superb second in the Scottish Grand National over four miles after trading at even-money in-running on Betfair.
He won't have run on ground this testing before but he should handle it just fine, being a son of Getaway and a half-sibling to a couple of heavy ground winners, and he jumped these fences well in the Topham over the same 2m5f trip in April before he was effectively brought down four from home.
It went down as a fall, a bit harsh as Demachine jumped across him and gave him no chance, but the positives are he jumped and travelled well prior to the incident so it’s no wonder connections are having another crack at the fences here.
He’s a Grand National type should he improve enough to get in the 34 and given he goes well fresh this looks a good place to start the road to the big one in April.
The Verdict: Back COOPER'S CROSS in the 2.45 Aintree
Don’t miss Fantastic Fox in November Handicap
Finally, Andrew Balding’s TEUMESSIAS FOX looks a good bet in the diverted Virgin Bet November Handicap at Newcastle.
This horse wouldn’t have been on the radar for a heavy ground mudbath at Doncaster, but he looks the perfect type for the all-weather alternative and he looks dangerous coming off a three-month break.
His two victories in the spring came off 168 and 57 days off, both seriously impressive performances, including one on the all-weather at Kempton where he cantered to victory.
That was his second all-weather win as he won by over eight lengths here at Newcastle early in his career and his two wins on an artificial surface do suggest he has the gears to cope if they don’t go an even or overly-strong gallop.
A full-brother to Group 1 winner Zabeel Prince, Teumessias Fox could well have pattern-race pretensions himself next year and this looks the ideal spot for him to sign off his four-year-old season in style.
The Verdict: Back TEUMESSIAS FOX in the 3.45 Newcastle
Preview posted at 1530 GMT on 10/11/23
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