Recommended Bets
1pt win Yala Enki at 20/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair, BetBright)
1pt win Fingerontheswitch at 16/1 (Betfair)
Paul Nicholls has won two recent renewals of Saturday's three mile handicap, currently going under the guise of the BetBright Chase.
Gungadu carried 11-12 and Rocky Creek 11-11 in winning from marks of 152 and 154 so it's reasonable to conceive that course specialist Tea For Two, a Grade One winner, could land this from the top of the handicap and a mark of 158.
That's certainly the view that the layers have taken as Nick Williams' eight-year-old is around the 6/1 market leader but that looks plenty short enough in a contest where only the aforementioned Gungadu has defied favouritism in recent years.
The shortest of Nicholls' three entries is Irish Saint but he has looked a non-stayer every time he has tackled this trip and this looks sure to be run at a searching gallop.
That will certainly be the case if Venetia Williams allows Tenor Nivernais to line up following his Ascot heroics but she has another front-running chaser to call upon in last year's Lanzarote Hurdle winner Yala Enki and he's worth backing at a best of 20/1.
His course form, albeit over hurdles, is a plus and he is unexposed over fences in this country having run out a ready winner in the Tommy Whittle at Haydock on his first attempt before finishing fourth in the Rowland Meyrick on Boxing Day.
He's been dropped by a couple of pounds for that run and has been given plenty of time to recover from those exertions and looks capable of making further progress.
The ground is currently riding faster than his optimum (although rain is forecast this week) and I think it's worth adding Fingerontheswitch to the ticket as well at a best of 16/1.
It's not all been plain sailing for Neil Mulholland's seven-year-old, who reached a high of 138 over hurdles, who was fairly soundly beaten on his first five starts over fences and almost a touch regressive.
The decision to fit him with a tongue tie as well as his regular cheekpieces reversed that trend at Wetherby as he ran out an impressive winner in such emphatic fashion that the handicapper dished out a 13lb rise. That still leaves him on a rating of 132 though and he's finished second over timber from 137 which suggests he could still be well treated and that's before factoring in further improvement.
He's always been well regarded so it's not beyond belief that he could climb the ranks and this looks a suitable opportunity to go for a valuable prize where he'll be in receipt of weight from plenty of his rivals although it is worth noting that he also holds an entry for Exeter on Friday.
