Chris Day's Weekend View: Barts the bet at Uttoxeter
Chris Day takes a look at the weekend's action at Kempton and Uttoxeter with one of Philip Hobbs' making plenty of appeal in the Midlands.
Weekend view betting tips: Saturday, March 20
2pts win St Barts in 2.25 Uttoxeter at 3/1 (General)
1pt win Switch Hitter in 2.40 Kempton at 5/1 (Hills)
2pts win Wilde About Oscar in 3.00 Uttoxeter at 7/2 (General)
1pt e.w. Calett Mad in 3.35 Uttoxeter at 33/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4,5)
2pts win Tommy Rapper in 3.35 Uttoxeter at 12/1 (General)
Uttoxeter stages its traditional end of Festival week card with the centrepiece the Marstons 61 Deep Midlands Grand National over four and a quarter miles.
Jonjo O’Neill’s eight-year-old, Time To Get Up looks a worthy favourite on his Wincanton victory last month for which he’s been given an 8lb rise. That was only the sixth race of his career and a significant improvement on anything he’d previously shown, although he did once go off 9/2 to beat Monkfish in a novice hurdle when trained in Ireland.
He looked to have tonnes of improvement there and ought to go well but is very inexperienced for this type of test and can be passed over at 5/1.
Achille, second in both the Classic Chase at Warwick and Haydock’s Grand National Trial, is next in the betting and also has an obvious chance, although I believe it’s a big ask of him to go to the well for the third time in three months in such tough company.
Paul Nicholls, who won the race last year with Truckers Lodge, runs the former Lucinda Russell-trained Highland Hunter, who failed to carry his 8lb penalty for a Carlisle victory at Exeter last time. He looks the type to need extreme distances but whether he’s good enough is a different question.
Truckers Lodge also returns to defend his crown but is 12lb higher than last year and has not been in the same form has he had been in the run up to this race last year. He made no impression in the Welsh National last time and is comfortably held by The Two Amigos and Captain Drake on that running.
Captain Drake was runner-up 12 months ago and is just 2lb higher plus showed his affinity for the track when landing a handicap hurdle here in October. My main doubt here surrounds the form of the yard who had a disappointment with a fancied runner at Cheltenham on Tuesday and has been rather inconsistent this season as a whole.
After the results at Cheltenham this week, every Irish-trained runner in Britain deserves the utmost respect and the 10-year-old Screaming Colours, runner up in his last three runs including the Punchestown Grand National Trial last time to the well backed The Big Dog, is their sole representative.
That is likely to be very strong form and Irish trained runners have done well here over the years.
Daryl Jacob will be on board the Nigel Twiston-Davies trained CALETT MAD, who was returning from a break off over 22 months when unseating at Aintree last time and he’d previously seemed to have no problem with extreme distances when just failing to concede 21lb to Harry The Viking in the Borders National at Kelso.
He also finished second in a Warwick Classic Chase and should be fresh and well so is worth an each-way play at his current price of 33/1 against some rivals who have had tough races this season.
For win purposes though I fancy the Skeltons, who do so well at the track, to have the answer with TOMMY RAPPER, who returned from 14 months of the track, in an Exeter hurdle early last month.
His finishing place of second does not tell the whole story, as he travelled like the best horse in the race until finding race fitness against him on the run in and giving best to Brinkley, an improving young hurdler who took his chance in this week’s Pertemps Final. It was a run which confirmed he retains all his ability.
Three runs ago he was second to Aux Ptits Soins in a £75,000 hurdle at the Aintree festival and followed that with a cosy victory over fences at Fontwell from Darlac so he should easily possess the early race pace to hold his position here and I think he’s great value at 14/1.
At 2.25, there’s a really good renewal of the Class 2 1834 Novices’ Handicap Chase won by De Rasher Counter two years ago and I see parallels with Philip Hobbs’ ST BARTS, who won nicely at Newbury last time for which he has been raised 8lb in the weights.
He made all over one of the most difficult jumping tracks around and saw off every challenger who tried to take him on with his slick jumping and determination up the long straight marking him down as having plenty in hand and should take some stopping here. 3/1 looks a price worth taking.
If he is impressive here I’d have him near the top of my shortlist for Newbury in late November as a likely sort to follow De Rasher Counter in the Ladbrokes Trophy.
The Burton Union Handicap Hurdle over two and a half miles miles looks a strong contest but I think Dan Skelton has the answer here with the top weight WILDE ABOUT OSCAR, who swerved Cheltenham’s Ballymore Hurdle to wait for this from a mark of 146 after giving weight and a beating to The Glancing Queen at Exeter.
He has several pieces of strong novice hurdle form, is highly rated by his in form trainer and ought to outclass this field if he was considered good enough for a Festival Grade One so he’s another I want on my side at 7/2.
Kempton’s card which houses several races for horses balloted out at Cheltenham, has not attracted its traditionally strong fields but the one bet I could see in the 2.40 Virgin Bet Handicap Hurdle was the Paul Nicholls-trained course and distance winner, SWITCH HITTER, who won here on good ground in the autumn but disappointed when well fancied over Christmas.
Under ideal conditions he has to be interesting at 6/1 on a card where Nicholls has traditionally done well.
Published at 1120 GMT on 19/03/21
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