Our form expert has three selections for Saturday's Festival Trials Day card at Cheltenham and the Great Yorkshire Chase at Doncaster.
The Verdict: Saturday January 25
1pt win Guard Your Dreams in 12.40 Cheltenham at 11/1 (General)
0.5pts e.w. Grandeur d’Ame in 1.50 Cheltenham at 14/1 (1/5 1,2,3,4 bet365, Sky Bet, Betfair)
1pt win Snipe in 3.15 Doncaster at 9/1 (bet365, 8/1 General)
1pt win Ga Law in 3.35 Cheltenham at 9/1 (NON RUNNER - ground)
Take aim with Snipe at Doncaster
Dan Skelton can strike in the Virgin Bet Great Yorkshire Handicap Chase at Doncaster with SNIPE on Saturday.
There looks a likely strong gallop on here and that can play into the hands of Snipe, a perennial hold-up merchant who is in the groove.
The stiff finish at Carlisle hasn’t really suited him the last twice but he has run two cracking races in second, just being outpointed by the subsequent Welsh National winner Val Dancer last time out.
He has nudged up the ratings for those efforts, but he still looks competitively treated off a mark of 128 and the return to a flat three miles (his best form last season was here and at Aintree) can really suit.
The Verdict: Back SNIPE in the 3.15 Doncaster
Dream selection in the Timeform
The Cheltenham Trials Day card kicks off with the always-informative Timeform Novices’ Handicap Chase and this looks another good race to play in with the Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero pair, Jagwar and Billytherealbigred, taking plenty out of the market.
They look to have been very well found as I’m not convinced by either of them at their fences at this stage of their development and Resplendent Grey, another towards the top of the betting, probably wants further.
Masaccio was considered but I think he might be seen to better effect in a big field handicap where a strong gallop looks more likely – certainly, this has the potential to get a bit tactical with Billytherealbigred most likely to push forward.
I don’t think Nigel Twiston-Davies’ GUARD YOUR DREAMS will be far behind him, though, and at double-figure prices he’s worth getting on side.
He ran well in the December Gold Cup last time out, shaping very nicely for a novice, just outgunned by a trio of horses with a wealth of top handicap experience and he can put that effort to good use here.
On his best hurdling form he is well treated off a mark of 136 and his last two runs off that mark at this track have hinted he’s building towards a winning day.
With four chase runs under his belt I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sam Twiston-Davies ride him a touch more prominently, especially looking at the likely pace in here, and back in novice company this could well be his day.
The Verdict: Back GUARD YOUR DREAMS in the 12.40 Cheltenham
A small bet on King’s Grand plan
The Betfair Exchange Handicap Chase looks competitive but with plenty of bookies going four places I thought Alan King’s GRANDEUR D’AME was worth a small each-way bet at 14/1.
He might be best first time up and he has to cut out the early mistakes, but he’s a tempting price as he has the ability to win a race like this when he puts it all together.
The form of his seasonal reappearance win at Chepstow worked out really well with the Paddy Power Gold Cup one-two in behind as well as subsequent winners like Saint Segal and Homme Public, while his December Gold Cup fifth wasn’t bad seeing as he made an error at the first which put him on the back foot.
King has a superb record on this day, winning the Great Yorkshire Chase at Doncaster twice, while his record on Trials Day at Cheltenham is a very good 14 wins from 68 runners at 20.6% over the years.
It's interesting he runs here when he had the option of the Great Yorkshire on Town Moor, King opting to give him another chance over this familiar course and distance.
It might just all click for him here if he gets the box seat tracking a likely strong gallop and he looks a tad too big to me at 16/1.
The Verdict: Back GRANDEUR D’AME in the 1.50 Cheltenham
Love is the Law in the Cleeve (NON RUNNER)
Festival Trials Day very rarely lets the side down when it comes to finding Cheltenham Festival winners and the Betfair Cleeve Hurdle has an outstanding record at unearthing heroes for the March meeting.
This year’s renewal does not have an obvious Festival winner-in-waiting among its number, but there’s a chance something will throw their hat into the Stayers’ Hurdle ring and the usual steeplechasers are worth keeping an eye on, too.
As for punting on the Cleeve itself, it looks a good race for a bet. Crambo is likeable but no superstar and Strong Leader has something to prove after his Ascot flop and subsequent wind operation.
Those two dominate the betting but they are not miles clear on ratings and there’s a question mark about the suitability of Cheltenham for the pair of them.
I think we can get them beat and the one I keep coming back to is Jamie Snowden’s GA LAW (non runner - ground) who loves Cheltenham, even if all of his form is over fences.
His three hurdle runs include one in France, his British debut at Stratford and one last-place finish at Wetherby, but this looks the perfect race for Ga Law to try three miles again as they rarely go hell-for-leather in these staying hurdles and he could have too much zip and class for them in this.
We’ve seen a few chasers switch successfully to hurdling in the Cleeve over the years and his Wetherby hurdle is worth forgiving as it came on his seasonal reappearance. This is not a getting-fit exercise after his three chase runs this season and if the ground dries out a bit that will be perfect.
I’ve no idea if he can run to his chase mark back over hurdles, but if he does he has as good a chance as anything in the race and even at the nibbled-at 9/1 he’s a bet.
The Verdict: Back GA LAW in the 3.35 Cheltenham
Preview posted at 1545 GMT on 24/01/25
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