I’ve three rides at Kempton on Saturday afternoon and the best of them would be BALLYKAN in the 32Red.com Handicap Chase at 3.15.
The key thing with him is that he’s dropped down the weights to a mark of 134 having been in the 140s and that gives him a good chance on his best form.
One of his best runs came at Kempton in the February of last year when he was a close enough fifth off a 6lb higher mark in the BetBright Chase.
A similar run would give him a really good chance on Saturday and he seems in pretty good form. Certainly, his run at Ludlow last time was okay considering the ground would’ve been tacky enough for him.
If it dries out at Kempton the better it will be for him and he should be fine in the small field. I’m looking forward to riding him.
I wouldn’t be as confident about my other two mounts and it will be tough for BALLYBOLLEY in the Listed 32Red Casino Chase at 2.05.
He’s up against it at the weights against the likes of Waiting Patiently, God’s Own and Smad Place, but he has limited options off his current mark, so we’ll try and nick as much of the prize money as we can.
The feature race at Kempton is the 32Red Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle at 2.40 and it looks a really hot renewal.
With that in mind it’s no wonder EL TERREMOTO is an outsider, as the handicapper killed him for winning at Stratford when he put him up 12lb.
He’s a nice horse and I’m looking forward to riding him, it’s just a case of seeing what he can do off a rating of 142 now before he goes chasing next season.
On Sunday I’m flying over to Ireland to ride Willie Mullins’ POLIDAM for Simon Munir and Isaac Souede in the Grade A Bar One Racing Dan Moore Memorial Handicap Chase.
He looked very good when bolting up on his seasonal reappearance at Navan but then didn’t run quite so well off his new mark when stepped up in trip at Leopardstown over Christmas.
That was a hot handicap won by Anibale Fly and he drops drastically in trip from three miles to just over two on Sunday, so we’ll see what he can do off his new mark now he tackles a completely different distance.
Finally, it was great to get another Grade One in the bag last weekend when WE HAVE A DREAM won the Coral Future Champions Finale Juvenile Hurdle at Chepstow.
He feels like a Triumph Hurdle horse to me. He’s quick, a good jumper, likes better ground and has all the credentials to run a big one at Cheltenham in March.
He’s had three quick races and last weekend was his toughest test to date, but we rode him a bit differently to educate him and I always felt he was going to have the measure of Sussex Ranger.
Yes, he’s a hardy horse and I felt I had plenty in the tank. He’s definitely one I’ll be looking forward to at Cheltenham in a few months’ time.
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