It's day one of the International meeting at Cheltenham and Matt Brocklebank has a couple of bets at Prestbury Park.
Value Bet tips: Friday December 9
1pt win Captain Tommy in 1.30 Bangor at 12/1 (ABANDONED)
1pt win Legends Ryde in 1.50 Cheltenham at 9/1 (bet365)
1pt win Iontach Cheval in 3.00 Cheltenham at 10/1 (General)
Weather permitting - and the chances look pretty slim it must be said - we have four reasonably competitive televised races from Cheltenham on Friday and there are a couple that stand out at the odds.
The first is LEGENDS RYDE in the CF Roberts Electrical & Mechanical Services Mares’ Handicap Chase, a race that frankly isn’t going to take much winning.
There’s a chance Electric Annie and Marta Des Mottes could be lurking on dangerous marks further down the weights but Legends Ryde should relish having her sights lowered here having run into subsequent Peterborough Chase winner Pic D’Orhy and quality mares Fantastic Lady and Zambella (wide-margin Listed winner at Carlisle since) in her two races so far this season.
You can’t blame Jamie Snowden and connections for having a crack as the programme for these mares is really attractive these days but Legends Ryde isn’t up to that sort of level and the silver lining to a couple of heavy enough, though hardly disastrous, defeats at Newton Abbot and Market Rasen is that they’ve shaved 3lb off her mark.
Now down to 125, she’s just 4lb higher than when recording the second of her consecutive Fontwell wins in the spring and the drop back in trip on this stiff track should allow Tom O’Brien to be a bit more positive on a horse who clearly likes to attack her fences when on song.
She looks a very fair bet at 8/1 and bigger.
Captain Cattistock and Undersupervision look the obvious ones to oppose last year’s winner Commodore in the Dahlbury Handicap Chase but both are priced up pretty defensively, while the market looks to have it about right in the concluding Citipost Handicap Hurdle as well, with Captain Morgs the one most likely to capitalise should stablemate Dusart fluff his lines off what may turn out to be a bit of a gift of a mark (150), providing he’s ready to rock first time back after the breathing operation.
However, the Catesby Estates Handicap Hurdle is a lot more enticing and I’ll roll the dice with bottom weight IONTACH CHEVAL, whose form continues to work out quite well.
The six-year-old can be a bit of a monkey mid-race but I’m certain Sean Bowen – who rides for the first time in public on Friday – will have done his homework as Iontach Cheval tends to hit a mid-race flat spot, though it’s not hard to envisage this track really playing to his strengths as he’s going to be doing his best work late in the day.
Having won a Bangor bumper at 40/1 in April 2021, he made a winning start over obstacles around this time last year, successfully seeing off short-priced favourite Sayadam who is now rated 128 having won twice since.
The selection couldn’t add to his tally in three more outings last season but made a fine start to the current campaign when again defying a bit of a market drift in a Warwick handicap early last month. With runner-up Opening Bid and fourth home Big Boy Bobby both successful since, I’m far from convinced a 4lb rise (to 114) for the winner will be sufficient to prevent him following up if they go a decent gallop here.
There’s lots more to come from the son of Dunaden and if the ground doesn’t become too testing once the frost covers are removed, he can definitely outrun his odds once again.
ITV4 also squeeze a race from Bangor into the Friday schedule and CAPTAIN TOMMY is the bet in the three-mile Alfa Aggregate Products Golden Spurs Handicap Chase.
Previous trainer David Bridgewater referred to the ‘change of scenery’ being a key factor behind this horse making a winning start for his yard in May 2021 so getting the now eight-year-old on side ahead of his first run for Ian Williams looks a wise move.
With a BHA rating of 118, he’s competing from his lowest ever handicap mark, 4lb below the one from which the aforementioned Uttoxeter success was achieved and fully 17lb lower than his career-high hurdling perch of 135.
Williams has always been something of a master at sweetening up horses from elsewhere and it’s probably worth stressing that Captain Tommy hasn’t been sold, his owner is no doubt simply seeking to reignite the fire with another stable switch as he also scored first time out in 2019 having left Sam Thomas to join Harry Whittington.
He’s got some rock-solid Bangor form in the book already too, finishing second to good yardstick Manofthemountain here before filling the runner-up spot again behind Notachance in valuable handicaps here when still a novice in 2020. Last season he was also a respectable sixth behind Snow Leopardess in a race that threw up five subsequent scorers in total, including the likes of Sky Bet Chase winner Windsor Avenue.
David Pipe’s new recruit Only The Bold is the obvious one to beat on Friday but he’s gone up 10lb in the weights and clearly needs the cheekpieces to have the same effect as when first wearing them here last month. The value lies with Captain Tommy.
Published at 1355 GMT on 08/12/22
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