Andrew Asquith returns with his ante-post column with two selections at Sandown and Musselburgh on Saturday.
Weekend View: Saturday January 31
1pt win Mambonumberfive in the Scilly Isles Novices' Chase at 7/1 (General)
1pt win Traprain Law in the Scottish Champion Chase at 7/1 (bet365, 6/1 General)
Storm Chandra is already playing havoc with the fixture list with Limerick passing by the wayside on Tuesday, while Exeter and Leicester have already been abandoned on Wednesday.
Further abandonments could be on the horizon, too, with Wincanton holding an inspection on Wednesday ahead of their Thursday meeting and, further afield, there is the possibility that Sandown’s Saturday card will be confined to races over fences only, with two precautionary chases declaring on Tuesday afternoon.
With that in mind, I won’t be scouring through the hurdle declarations, as they could be abandoned on Thursday morning.
The ground is already saturated in places at Sandown, mainly on the hurdles track, but with a drier outlook until later in the week, there is hope the meeting will survive.
The Virgin Bet Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase has attracted three Irish-trained horses in the shape of Jimmy du Seuil, Kala Conti and impressive winner of the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase Kitzbuhel, and all command maximum respect.
However, the Ben Pauling-trained MAMBONUMBERFIVE has really impressed me this season, and he looks ready to make the transition into Grade 1 company.
He’s three from three over fences, his first two wins coming in handicaps at Aintree and Newbury, both coming in comfortable fashion, supported by very good timefigures, and the form of both those races has worked out well.
Mambonumberfive confirmed himself on a steep upward curve when completing a hat-trick in the Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase at Kempton over Christmas, having no issue with the step up in class, and producing his most impressive display to date.
That was over two miles on good ground and he briefly looked like everything was happening too soon for him in a strongly-run race, his jumping not as assured as previously, and he still had plenty to do four from home.
Jockey Ben Jones was never in a rush with him, though, and the ground he made up from the top of the back straight was very impressive, produced to lead on the bridle at the second-last and then it was just a matter of how far he wanted to win by, readily moving clear on the run-in.
The bare form was slightly down on some of the more recent renewals, but the time stood up well to the Desert Orchid run over the same course and distance (just 0.2 seconds slower) won by Thistle Ask, one of the most progressive horses to emerge this season, and he ran an absolute cracker in defeat in the Clarence House when arguably outstayed by a back-to-form Jonbon.
His main target at the Cheltenham Festival is the Arkle, but there is a very strong chance he can take his form to new heights now stepping up to two and a half miles for the first time, and he’ll have no problem with the forecast ground. He's been doing well to win over two miles so far, and jockey Jones stated in a post-race interview after his Kempton win he'll be well suited by three miles in time. Mambonumberfive isn’t that far behind those towards the top of the betting on Timeform’s scale and, with the likelihood of plenty more still to come, the general 7/1 on offer is enough to tempt me in.
Conditions shouldn’t be as bad at Musselburgh on Saturday, the ground currently described as good to soft, and there isn’t too much rain forecast at the time of writing.
The bet365 Scottish Champion Chase is the race which interests me most on the card, with last year’s winner The Kalooki Kid set to return to defend his title, but he is 7lb higher this time around, and his progress has somewhat stalled in two starts this season.
He finished behind Insurrection and Tommy’s Oscar on his latest start over this course and distance earlier this month and he looks opposable, for all he has likely been aimed at this race.
The one at the top of my shortlist in TRAPRAIN LAW, who was six lengths adrift of The Kalooki Kid in this race 12 months ago, but he will race from a 3lb lower mark and is also 4lb better off at the weights with that rival.
He wasn’t at his best last season, either, drawing a blank and not quite matching the form of his novice season over fences in which he was a two-time winner.
However, he’s gradually worked his way back to form this campaign, and he proved at least as good as ever when belatedly taking advantage of a reduced mark over two miles at Wetherby last month.
That was a useful handicap in which he recorded a good timefigure, and I liked how strong he was at the finish, responding well to pressure, and even though he brushed through the last which halted his momentum slightly, he still was going further clear of his rivals on the run-in, hitting the line strongly.
His sole try at this trip came in this race last season, but he didn’t jump as well as he can on that occasion, which didn’t help his cause, and he was the only one that day to make an impression from off the pace.
There will potentially be some pace on in this year’s renewal if the likes of Briezh River and O’Faolains Glory both take their chance, but it JPR One turns up, both will be racing from a fair bit out of the weights.
Therefore, this might not be so strongly run, which will place the emphasis more on speed, and that scenario will play to his strengths, especially round this sharp track on ground which will potentially still have some good in it.
Traplain Law is a horse who has always left the impression he has more ability than he’s shown so far and, from what still looks a lenient mark following a 4lb rise for his latest success (he was officially rated 143 when fourth in the Desert Orchid just over a year ago), he should be bang there at the finish if putting it all together, with his confidence sure to be high following his win at Wetherby.
Preview posted at 1500 GMT on 27/01/2026
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