Timeform TV Focus: ITV racing tips on Saturday

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Cheltenham

1.50 1 pt – 11 Grandeur D’Ame

Finding value amongst the picked-over prices for handicaps such as this tends not to be the easiest these days, but there is a case for saying Grandeur D’Ame is maybe a few points longer than he should be. The resurgence of the Alan King yard in recent months has been noteworthy, Grandeur D’Ame himself better than ever when making a successful return at Chepstow in October. That form stands up to close scrutiny and there’s a definite case for suggesting a mere 4 lb rise is on the lenient side. He’s almost certainly been kept fresh for this since, scrapes in at the foot of the weights and is just the type of prominent-racer that will be suited by the demands of this.

2.25 No Bet Advised

It’s hard to argue too much with the way the market looks for this on Friday afternoon. From a handicapping point of view, it’s obviously possible to make cases for both Third Time Lucki and Triple Trade, the pair having slipped in the weights after several below-par efforts, but whether either is in sufficiently good heart to take advantage is another matter. For us, the two at the top of the weights that dominate the betting are the correct ones, with slight preference for the reappearing Libberty Hunter, who progressed into a near-smart handicapper last season and has a fine record when fresh. It’s hard to argue a case for him necessarily being overpriced, however, and as a result it’s a race we’re content to sit out.

3.00 2 pts – 1 Jet Blue

It makes sense that the prolific Skyjack Hijack has been put in favourite for this, but dominating this higher grade of opposition will surely be much harder and his dominance in the market on Friday afternoon means we’re getting better-than-expected odds about the French-raider Jet Blue. He’s spent most of his career to date running in shorter-distance bumpers, but he’s shown steadily progressive form in three completed outings over hurdles, narrowly failing to concede 9 lb to Ain’t Got Wings – who ran to a Timeform rating of 140 when winning a listed chase next time out – in an Auteuil minor event on his most recent outing. Jet Blue has yet to race beyond 18 furlongs so far, but his sire Martaline is a noted influence for stamina and, as we saw on the first day of the meeting, underfoot conditions aren’t especially testing for this time of year.

3.35 1 pt – 2 Joyeuse

Tipping a horse at such a short price in a 13-runner handicap is much harder to do than siding with one at long odds, but it’s really hard to ignore the likelihood that Joyeuse has surely got in lightly from a BHA mark of 119 on her handicap debut. She cost a tidy sum after winning a bumper in France at the back-end of 2022 and has shown plenty on both start over hurdles for present connections, impressing with the fluency of her jumping when making a successful debut at Taunton last season and beaten only by a couple of good prospects in a minor event at Ascot on her return to action last month. She was found wanting for a turn of foot over a distance that wasn’t even a full 2m that day and it’s highly likely this longer trip will suit. In short, she has every right to be a short price as she attempts to repeat the success of another ex-French trained mare in this race for the same connections in 2019.

Doncaster

2.05 0.5 pt ew – 9 Straw Fan Jack

There are some solid options near the top of the betting in this handicap, including last year’s winner Forward Plan and Gaboriot, but none looks wildly overpriced, and this could be a race worth tackling each way considering bookmakers are paying out on four or even five places. There’s a bit of guesswork when it comes to recommending Straw Fan Jack, but there’s form in the book to give him a chance and it’s possible trying something new here could spark him to life. It’s easy enough to overlook a down-the-field run in the Paddy Power on his return, considering there wasn’t much to recommend him from 6 lb out of the weights, and he should be sharper for that, anyway. It was only at the Festival back in March that Straw Fan Jack finished an excellent third in the Plate, from a mark just 1 lb lower than this one, and that’s some of the strongest recent handicap form on offer in this field. He’s never tried three miles before, but he’s bred to stay and it’s possible that he’ll find things come a bit easier to him at the new trip, especially now faced with a more realistic task than some he’s been set over the last year.

2.40 1 pt – 4 Wyenot

There’s an easy case for opposing West Balboa at odds on in this, as she hasn’t set the pulse racing in two tries over fences this autumn and now reverts to hurdles in a race that promises to be muddling. Gale Mahler and Ottizini are the next two in the betting, but neither ran especially well last time either and it’s Wyenot that makes the most appeal. She’s built up a fine strike rate, including a handicap win at Cheltenham on her return, and there was nothing wrong with her fourth in a similar event at the same track last time. She gives the impression she’ll stay this trip in a race unlikely to be a slog, and she might even get the run of it if ridden from the front as usual. It’s a negative that Alice Stevens is unable to claim, but she has at least won both times she’s ridden Wyenot, and the Henry Daly yard is very much among the winners, too.

3.15 1 pt – 3 Altobelli

Altobelli’s profile suggests fragility, but his best form suggests he could take a lot of beating in a weaker handicap than the ones he contested last season. There’s real substance to his placed efforts at Ascot on his first two outings of 2023/24, in both cases when not far behind horses that have franked the form since, and he’s lower in the weights now than for either of those performances. He’s missed 10 months since finishing down the field in the Betfair Hurdle, but fresh looks a good time to catch him – his first-time-back form figures read 112 – and if he returns in the same form as he did last season then he’ll surely be hard to beat.

You can access the TV Focus selections and rationale at 5pm the evening before racing for £7.50 on the Timeform website.

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