Marracudja looks primed to go well

Free horse racing betting preview and tips from Simon Holt

17:21 · SAT November 04, 2017

Racing commentator Simon Holt is backing Definitly Red in Saturday's feature at Wetherby, while Marracudja gets the vote at Ascot.

Saturday's Bet365 Charlie Hall Chase looks one of the strongest-ever renewals of this first major staying chase of the jumps season and DEFINITLY RED is taken to lower the colours of Coneygree and Cue Card.

The selection could well be the value here as he made great strides last season and, at the age of eight, can be expected to improve again this time around.

Brian Ellison's gelding, who has twice won first time out in the last three years, also has a good record at Wetherby, winning the Rowland Meyrick Chase over this course and distance last December having earlier split Blaklion and Native River on a previous visit.

After a runaway win at Doncaster last March, Definitly Red was a leading fancy for the Grand National only to be badly hampered at Becher's first time round, after which he was soon pulled up.

Victory here will require a career-best performance especially as, on some bits of form, he has something to find with Blaklion and Bristol De Mai at these weights, but first time out at a course he likes and on ideal ground encourages confidence.

Definitly Red (near) can go well at Wetherby

Definitly Red (near) has plenty in his favour

Of course, the popular vote will be behind former Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Coneygree and the evergreen Cue Card.

The fragile Coneygree ran his heart out when a close third behind last season's Gold Cup winner Sizing John at Punchestown in late April and has been kept on the go since with his connections waiting for their preferred ground conditions.

That was the ten-year-old's first run since being well outpointed by Cue Card in the Betfair Chase, his first appearance for a year, at Haydock six months earlier.

On ratings, Coneygree is well favoured by these weights but I just wonder if he can go fast enough now to stay in front all the way on this flat course, and he could be vulnerable to a younger horse.

Now an 11-year-old, Cue Card is at an age when most steeplechasers begin to deteriorate, though this remarkable horse ran some great races again last season, finishing second to Thistlecrack in the King George at Kempton following his Haydock victory and later going down by a neck to Tea For Two at Aintree having previously looked beaten when falling in the Gold Cup.

In this race last year, Cue Card was perhaps too aggressively ridden before finishing third behind Irish Cavalier with Blaklion (now 1lb better off) five lengths behind him in fourth.

Blaklion's effort that day was of a horse who was just below the top level and, given his excellent effort in the Grand National in April, it wouldn't be a surprise if he comes on for the outing once again with a return trip to Aintree very much the main aim.

Stable-companion Bristol de Mai is capable of a big show if producing his best, but the grey's standout performance last term was in very testing ground at Haydock in January (Definitly Red under pressure when unseating rider three out) and he failed to reproduce the effort subsequently.

Moreover, along with Cue Card he has to concede a fair bit of weight all round here.

Although facing a stiff task at the weights, Double Shuffle has the advantage of a recent run having chased home the impressive Romain De Senam over an inadequate trip at Chepstow last month while Vieux Lion Rouge also looks up against it on ratings and is probably being aimed at next month's Becher Chase, which he won last year before going onto finish sixth behind One For Arthur in the National.

The other two feature races at Wetherby, the OLBG.com Mares' Hurdle and the bet365 Hurdle, are set to feature strong favourites, but both Le Bague Au Roi and Lil Rockerfeller should both take a good deal of beating.

In particular, the latter appears to have an outstanding chance of improving on his third place to Silsol and Native River in the staying hurdle last year (when attempting to concede 8lb to the first two) whereas this time the conditions are much more in Lil Rockerfeller's favour, especially in light of his fine efforts behind the likes of Yanworth, Unowhatimeanharry and Nichols Canyon (at the Cheltenham Festival).

Meanwhile, at Ascot, MARRACUDJA looks sure to go well in the Byrne Group Handicap Chase on fast ground that should suit him well.

This is the time of year to catch Paul Nicholls' enthusiastic gelding - he has won four times between September and early November in the past two seasons - and, under a big weight, ran pleasingly when going down by a length and a half to Oliver's Hill at Kempton first time out when the two-and-a-quarter mile trip might just have stretched him.

Well handicapped on his best form, Marracudja will take some catching here while THOMAS BROWN might be worth chancing to produce his best first time out in the Sodexo Gold Cup.

The Harry Fry-trained eight-year-old is not the most reliable but he has won on his seasonal debut for the past two seasons, is just 1lb higher than when scoring at Aintree last November and has performed well on two previous visits to Ascot. Three miles on good ground could just suit him well now, but he needs to be in the mood.