Our columnist goes through the week's entries with a fine-toothed comb and picks out several names to note over jumps.
Finally, rain.
Never so happy to see it as I have been this week, as I’m sure any of you with a garden have, too. I realise it’s barely scratched the surface as far as getting jump racing back to anything like normality but it’s a start. Austen and Boelo might sound like elephants from The Jungle Book (cue the old Morecambe & Wise joke: “Do you like Kipling?” “I don’t know, I’ve never kippled.”) but their trumpeted arrival at the weekend was actually quite welcome, at least as far as the rainfall went.
Anyway, despite the loss of Aintree's Old Roan card it really does feel like we’re up and running, and we’ve even got a few runners at Hereford on Monday. Things must be looking up.
Neither division of the juvenile hurdle makes much appeal for a bet, with Charles Darnay likely to be too short in the 13:48 (interestingly also has an entry in the Listed Wensleydale Hurdle at Wetherby on Friday…) but later on the card Lucy The Wire might be the one to beat in the Mares' Handicap Hurdle at 14:52.
Front-runner Hello Sweety would be the one to beat on the best of her form, but she looked very mulish on her latest start, barely getting out the starting gate and pulled up not long after. That’s got to be a concern, but even if she jumps off, I fancy Lucy The Wire, a winner on the all-weather at Wolverhampton three weeks ago, will track her and have her measure late on. She’s just more straightforward, two miles on good or quicker seemingly what she wants over hurdles, and she can record a third hurdles success.
There are one or two more likely winners in the field than Sandscape in the last at 16:00, but perhaps first time up is the time to catch him. He doesn’t do anything quickly, does Sandscape, but on his seasonal reappearance last year he split Tankardstown Diva (who went on to win another three times) and Seahouses, who won on his next start, reversing form with Sandscape in the process. His form went the wrong way after that, but he starts this season off from a 6lb lower mark, is going right-handed (which I think he needs to) and has his ground. A small, speculative bet to give Henry Daly his first winner this autumn.
Tuesday sees the first Venetia Williams runners of the season, with four entered up at Bangor-On Dee at the time of writing. Venetia never really got going last year, just 15 winners between November and the end of April. There were false dawns; we all fell into the trap of thinking she might be back more than once, but the kickstart never came. Despite all that, she had a winner at the Cheltenham Festival, proving you always keep the quality, even if the consistency fails you (something I parlay to Mrs M on a regular basis) and she’s simply too good to have another below-par season.
The upshot of that is, of course, she has a stable full of well-handicapped horses ready to go to war with this year. We’re probably a week or three away from what we’d (normally) term back-’em-blind season with her but it’ll be interesting to see how the Tuesday runners go. At present, then; Ramo in the 13:46, Col du Pre’ in the 15:16 (probably the most interesting of the quartet), Falco Des Pins in the 15:46 and Sole Solution in the 16:16.
Sole Solution might well come up against Babatunde in that stayers' handicap chase and those that read the column regularly, all four of you, will know that I’m quite keen on Richard Mitford-Slade’s seven-year-old winning a race or two over fences this autumn, so I’ll still have to lean that way if the pair are declared.
Babatunde was made a non-runner at Ffos Las late on last week, unsuitable ground given as the reason; it shouldn’t be as deep at Bangor and if that’s the case, I’ll be having a bet.
Somehow I’ve been conned into covering Nottingham on Wednesday as young Vicki Gibbins is off to cover some rodeo on the east coast of the Yoo Ess of Hay on Monday or something (Keen Land? Have I got that right? Can’t say I’m that keen on it myself) but there are a couple of bets elsewhere.
At Newton Abbot, Harry Derham’s Gallivanted (14:51) was well backed to score at Chepstow on his reappearance going off 3/1 favourite for the four-year-old handicap hurdle (and that despite being out of the handicap) but like a few from the yard, he looked like he needed his first start of the season, having been off since May, but he does look well handicapped on his Flat exploits, and it’s still fairly early days over hurdles for him. I'll give him another try.
Inside Man is another that’s had a previous mention but didn’t take up an engagement last week, so I’ll be giving him another try over at Newton Abbot (15:21) and with Joe Tizzard having winners for fun, Opening Bid (13:51), who might just have needed that first run of the year at Chepstow (shaped nicely) is worth a look too. I was expecting him to go up in trip slightly, but Joe keeps him to two miles for the time being. Tempting mark, and one that might prove too tempting for me.
Onto Thursday. At Stratford Calibos (14:50) went in the notebook after his third at Worcester a couple of weeks ago. Jo Davis was keen to get him straight into handicaps after a couple of minor placings and it wasn’t hard to see why, a mark of 93 looking fair enough on his Flat exploits for the Kublers. I thought that was a perfectly good first handicap effort, Calibos making most until fitness just gave way after the last. That was his first start since May so you’d like to think he might come on a bit for that, and Stratford is as good a place as any to try front-running tactics. There is an entry for him at Huntingdon the day before too, but I think this race might suit him better.
Bucksy Des Epieres has entries at both meetings and was actually one of Venetia’s winners last season, cheekpieces helping him to success at Ludlow last winter. He’s still well handicapped on old form, and back in the day when you could back Venetia chasers first time up with confidence, he was a winner at Ascot off a similar mark. See how it goes Tuesday, but he’s got to be of some interest.
Wetherby on Friday could be a good little card - we might see Albert Bartlett winner Johnny’s Jury in the Beginners Chase - but I don’t see a bet at the moment. Plenty of time for that to change. See you all there next weekend!
More from Sporting Life
- Free bets
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Full results & free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS & Android app
- Football & other sports tips
- Podcasts & video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
