Recommended bets:
2pts win Peur de Rien in 1.00 Huntingdon at 3/1 (1pt at minimum price 2/1)
2pts win Humbert in 6.45 Newcastle at 12/1 (1pt at minimum price 8/1)
Je Ne Regrette Rien: Peur de Rien 1.00 Huntingdon
Peur De Rien had performed with a degree of credit without winning over hurdles but connections didn’t waste much time getting him over fences and that decision was fully justified with a ready win on his chase debut at Uttoxeter last month, the horse coming right away in the closing stages to win by 5½ lengths from Go As You Please. That form is working out well, with the second winning on his next start and the third Veiled Secret looking booked for second when unseating at the last at Warwick.
An 8lb rise for that win looks more than fair, then, and still leaves him on a mark that looks very much on the lenient side. Oliver Sherwood has had two winners from seven runners in October, so with stable form no concern, he should prove hard to beat.
One Fell Swoop? Humbert 6:45 Newcastle
Roger Fell is a trainer who blows hot and cold, but backing his runners blind this month has paid handsome dividends, with Pockley, Global Spirit and The Flying Ginger all winning at double-figure prices in the past week. He’s got a couple of interesting runners on Tuesday, and the safest of them is Humbert in the first division of the Free Tips Daily On attheraces.com Handicap.
Humbert is better on this surface than turf, and his lifetime record on the all-weather reads 11121703433, improving to 113 on Tapeta, with his best effort coming when landing the historic Seaton Delaval Stakes over this track and trip in 2018. He’s not had a chance to run here much since that win, but a drop in the weights sees him getting a rare outing in Class 4 company; he was a creditable fourth of 15 on his last outing at this level at Hamilton on his final start for David O’Meara. That came over nine furlongs, a trip he doesn’t quite stay on easy turf, but he was in front at the furlong pole and was not beaten far at the line. He again failed to stay on debut for Fell over further still at Nottingham, but the drop to a stiff mile and the return to Tapeta are big positives.
Fell also has Muntadab declared in the 5:00 at Leicester, but that horse ran poorly at Musselburgh today (Monday), and the expectation is that he won’t run. As such – and given we suffered a similar fate with the withdrawal of Peachey Carnehan at Leicester last week – we can’t make him a bet, but his handicap record when turned out within a week of a previous run is an impressive 1231110, with one of those wins being in this corresponding race last year. He is often a front runner, but was held up when well beaten at Musselburgh, and although he’s a rank outsider, he could easily cause a shock having fallen below his last winning mark.
Preview posted 1730 BST on 12/10/2020
