Find out which horses have caught Ben's eye this week

Weighed In: Highway to profits | Statistical insight and horses to follow

By Ben Linfoot

Horse Racing

Tue December 03, 2019 · 6y ago

Three 'Weighed In' eyecatchers have run so far and all three have won, including at 9/2 and 3/1, so don't miss Ben Linfoot's horses to follow from Newbury.

My Stable Eyecatchers

DEYRANN DE CARJAC (Alan King)

It was a thrilling Berkshire Novices’ Chase at Newbury on Friday with Champ getting the better of Black Op despite almost colliding with the dividing rail at the elbow of the run-in.

By then Tom Cannon was resigned to his fate on DEYRAAN DE CARJAC, a creditable third, but that doesn’t tell the full story as he moved up with a menacing challenge two out.

At that point he was considered the most likely winner in-running on Betfair, trading at 1.42 having been sent off at 16/1, but he reached for the second last and that didn’t help his cause.

This was further evidence that he’s a seriously good novice chaser, though, and there could be mileage in his new handicap mark of 146 (up 3lb) if Alan King chooses to go down such a route.

Either way, he’s been underestimated by the market on both of his chasing starts this season, and, while that is unlikely to continue as the this-is-a-good-horse evidence stacks up, he’s still worth following such is the impression he’s making over fences.

HIGHWAY ONE O ONE (Chris Gordon)

The Sir Peter O’Sullevan Memorial Handicap Chase always seems to be a good race and this year’s renewal looks no exception with Dan Skelton’s Bennys King seeing off the gambled-on Sametegal.

However, the one I took out of the contest was Chris Gordon’s HIGHWAY ONE O ONE who ran with great credit on what was effectively his first completed big test of the season.

He’d had a spin over hurdles at Fontwell in October and unseated after six fences in the BetVictor at Cheltenham, so it was good to see him put in a good round of jumping on Saturday.

I think he can come on from this and improve again next time – and if he does he can be a big player off his new mark of 143 (down 1lb).

He ran off a big weight at Newbury, but he’d be interesting getting weight from better horses in the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup (where he’d run off 144) or a similar contest at the same track in January, as we know he goes well at Cheltenham despite his blip last time.

ONE FOR THE TEAM (Nick Williams)

ONE FOR THE TEAM looked a likely improver for the switch to a staying handicap in the Ladbrokes Handicap Hurdle at Newbury on Friday and so it proved.

Well backed into 4/1 from 8s before drifting out to 13/2 on the off, Nick Williams’ five-year-old ran by far a career best when running on for second from off the pace, splitting a pair of horses that had been one and two from the outset.

His effort can be marked up and he might’ve even won with a better ride.

Up just 2lb to 128 he’s going to be of major interest in a three-mile handicap hurdle in the short term (and in the long term he could be a lovely chasing prospect being from the family of Rule The World).

Nick Williams is superb at placing his staying handicap hurdlers at this time of year (he has won seven from 29 handicap hurdles in excess of 2m7f at 24.14 per cent in November and December in his career, with a healthy 66.39 per cent of rivals beaten) and this one will be very much on the radar next time out from his lowly mark.

Weighed In: My Stable Horses To Follow

Chambard (added 12/11/2019)
Deyrann De Carjac (added 03/12/2019)
Happygolucky (added 19/11/2019)
Highest Sun (added 26/11/2019)
Highway One O One (added 03/12/2019)
Lisp (added 05/11/2019)
Midnightreferendum (added 12/11/2019)
Old Rascals (added 05/11/2019)
One For The Team (added 03/12/2019)
Sky Pirate (added 26/11/2019)

It’s been a good start for the ‘Weighed In My Stable’ with three horses running so far and three winning including Dorking Boy at 9/2 and the gambled-on Magic Saint at 3/1.

Lisp got some jumping experience under his belt when winning at Plumpton at 2/13, too, while also qualifying for the £60,000 bonus if he wins any chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

He’s worth keeping in the list for that very reason, but it’s a case of job done for the other two.

With Dorking Boy up 8lb to 123 for his Taunton success and Magic Saint up 7lb to 154 for that Newbury win, it’s time to wave goodbye.

As for upcoming entries, Chambard has options at Sandown, Exeter and Aintree this weekend so expect to see him line-up soon, while Happygolucky is in the Grade Two at Sandown on Friday.

Weighed In Winners

DORKING BOY (added 05/11/2019), Won 9/2, Taunton (28/11/2019)
LISP (added 05/11/2019), Won 2/13, Plumpton (2/12/2019)
MAGIC SAINT (added 19/11/2019), Won 3/1, Newbury (30/11/2019)

(3 wins, 4 runs +6.65 to level stakes at SP)

Statistical Insight - Aintree Fences

Finally, a look at the record of some selected trainers over the Grand National fences at this time of year ahead of the Becher Chase and Grand Sefton at Aintree on Saturday.

Nicky Henderson has two of the top three in the betting for the Grand Sefton and he rarely brings a horse to the Grand National course at this time of year, so make of that what you will.

Paul Nicholls and Nigel Twiston-Davies target these races more than others and have been rewarded with 12 victories between them in the two races over the last couple of decades.

Twiston-Davies has recent Ascot winner Flying Angel in the Grand Sefton, with Nicholls likely to saddle Fakenham winner Touch Kick in the same contest.

The pair have a couple of intriguing options in the Becher Chase, with Twiston-Davies entering recent Betfair Chase fourth Ballyoptic, while Nicholls relies on As De Mee, a horse that won the Grand Sefton back in 2016.

Paul Nicholls has a good record over the Grand National fences at this weekend's meeting

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