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Analysis by
.t.h.e. .r.o.o.k.
Whether it be "the race of the day" or a small prize round the gaffs, we will attempt to use our knowledge of the formbook to highlight the fancied horses participating each day and their characteristics and requirements. Hopefully this 'second opinion' provides you with a winner or two each day, or even reinforces your own view on a particular may even convince you to back some of those horses which we feel are the "ones to fear", or have decent eachway claims. whichever is the case, we hope the information is of use to you.
SELECTIONS - For each race, we have given you who, in our view, are the likeliest winners;
(1er _ THE WINNER?), as well as any runners who could run well at eachway odds;
(E/W
ALTERNATIVE) . Any runner from our features are shown before each race's analysis.
HUNTINGDON
Saturday 23rd November
(¯¯ Iª¯ HUNTINGDON¯¯¯)¯¯¯ »- 12:30 Setara And Terry Green H 'cap Hurdle £3000 added, 4yo plus, 3m 2f, penalty £2289, 18 runners.
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¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>- Eighteen runners line up for this long distance handicap hurdle which opens proceedings at Huntington. Of these, Veneguera, Blasket Sound, Mithak, Eileen Alanna, Lord Khalice, Michaelmas Daizy and Oxidor would be the one's I'd concentrate on. The current favourite is Veneguera who returned to something like his best form of last season when winning at Ludlow on his most recent start. He has run well on this course before and will not have a problem with today's trip. He makes plenty of appeal here and is preferred to Oxidor (who ran well at Exeter last time) and Mithak (who ran well on his reappearance at Haydock).
¦ 1er. _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>- Veneguera
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Oxidor
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- Mithak
(¯¯ IIª¯ HUNTINGDON¯¯¯)¯¯¯ »- 1:00 McCallum Corporate Consulting H 'cap Steeple Ch. £8000 added, 5yo plus, 2m 4f 110yds, penalty £5473, 14 runners.
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¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>- Mount Prague, In Question, Irish Option, Golden Rose, Clear Skies, Ingenu, Strong Arrow, Die Fledermaus and Glanmerin appear to have the best claims in the second. There is certain to be a strong pace here as both El Cordobes and Fard Du Moulin Mas are sure to set a searching pace. On their best efforts, they will be difficult to beat, however it may pay to look elsewhere for the winner. One that interests me is Irish Option who ran a really good race on his reappearance after missing last term through injury at Plumpton. He will have come on for that run and should go close with a clear round. Clear Skies (who was brought down on his reappearance at Newbury) would be my idea of the best each-way option.
¦ 1er. _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>- Irish Option
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Clear Skies (e/w)
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- In Question
(¯¯ IIIª¯ HUNTINGDON¯¯¯)¯¯¯ »- 1:35 mccallum-consulting.co.uk Novices' Steeple Ch. £8000 added, 4yo plus, 2m 4f 110yds, penalty £5642, 12 runners.
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¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>- Twelve runners go to post in the third. Krabloonik, Another Raleagh, Captain Zinzan, Minster Sunshine, Joe Crump, Supreme Catch and Parlour Game appeal most out of these. Krabloonik heads the market on the basis of a good reappearance effort at Sandown behind Tysou two weeks ago. That was a fair run, however, he is a second season novice who seems to always find one or two too good for him. Two who appeal in opposition are Another Raleagh and Parlour Game. The former is also a second season novice but would be more consistent than Krabloonik. He stayed on really strongly to finish only two lengths behind Monkerhostin on his reappearance at Warwick and in my view is more likely to perform. He is just preferred to Parlour Game (who would have gone close if she'd stood up at the second last at Stratford last month).
¦ 1er. _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>- Another Raleagh
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Parlour Game
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- Krabloonik
(¯¯ IVª¯ HUNTINGDON¯¯¯)¯¯¯ »- 2:05 QM Group H 'cap Hurdle £12000 added, 4yo plus, 2m 110yds, penalty £8326.50, 13 runners.
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¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>- Chaos Theory, Brooklyn's Gold, Mixsterthetrixster, Leatherback, Formal Bid and Bitter Sweet all have chances in this handicap hurdle which comes next on the card. Mixsterthetrixster will probably attempt to make most here. This former useful
juvenile hurdler ran a cracker (on his reappearance after a long absence due to injury) at Warwick ten days ago. Despite top weight, he would have a good chance of reversing placings with the eventual winner of that event, Bitter Sweet. However, I prefer Marigliano and Brooklyn's Gold as prospective winners here. Brooklyn's Gold did nothing wrong in defeat behind Dream With Me at Ascot last time out. However, course and distance winner Marigliano interests me with his rider's claim taking his weight down to 10st 4lbs. He ran well on his reappearance at Haydock behind Out Of The Shadows and should like the way this race should be run. He is the selection. One that might appeal to each-way punters is Cesaria who is a lot better than her last three starts suggest. This French import should be fully
acclimatised and could quite conceivably bounce back.
¦ 1er. _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>- Marigliano
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Cesaria (e/w)
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- Brooklyn's Gold
(¯¯ Vª¯ HUNTINGDON¯¯¯)¯¯¯ »- 2:35 betfair.com Juvenile Novices' Hurdle £15000 added, 3yo only, 2m 110yds, penalty £10374, 9 runners.
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¦ [ONE TO JUMP 2003] _ are there any horses from "one to jump 2003" our feature which; each season, provides a list of horses to follow during the national hunt season? ¦:¬>-Le Duc
¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>- An interesting conditions event comes next. I'd be disappointed if Tunstall, Le Duc, Ken's Dream or Cereus didn't win this. I can't see where the pace will come from here so I have to hope that this doesn't degenerate into a tactical farce. Whilst I think Ken's Dream has more to offer later on in the season, the race is there for either Tunstall and Le Duc to claim. These are two totally different types: Tunstall is a winner over hurdles and has form on the flat whilst Le Duc is a big unfinished non-thoroughbred who
judging by the times I've seen him is still physically weak. Le Duc is
definitely the long-term prospect and at these weights is preferred...but literally only by a hair's breadth.
¦ 1er. _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>- Le Duc
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Tunstall
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- Ken's Dream
(¯¯ VIª¯ HUNTINGDON¯¯¯)¯¯¯ »- 3:10 McCallum Corporate Consulting Peterborough Steeple Ch. (gr. 2) £55000 added, 5yo plus, 2m 4f 110yds, penalty £32725, 5 runners
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¦ [ONE TO JUMP 2003] _ are there any horses from "one to jump 2003" our feature which; each season, provides a list of horses to follow during the national hunt season? ¦:¬>-Douze Douze
¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>- All eyes will be on Best Mate here as he bids to keep this prize with the
Biddlecombes for the fifth year running. There are many who think he has a straightforward task here, however history tells us how difficult retaining your crown has been for previous champions and to be blunt, whilst I am in no doubt that this is an exceptional talent, a two length defeat of Commanche Court with an over-the-top former champion not far away doesn't equal the lofty praise that is aimed in his direction. Such is the current vogue of racing pundits - but that's another article for another day. One of the beauties of this sport is that a champion has to come out and prove himself each year and it is by no means a foregone conclusion that he will dispose of Geos, Douze Douze and Tresor De Mai readily. Geos showed last year that he is capable of translating a lot if not most of his hurdles ability to the larger obstacles whilst Tresor De Mai won the Grade 1 chase that connections thought he might when they bought him over from France all those years ago. Then, of course there is Douze Douze,
reputedly the best Steeplechaser Guillame Macaire's ever had in his care, who (if you've read our Focus On France feature) was an exceptional four-year-old chaser two years ago and was nursed back to health to win over hurdles Cholet last month. He is being aimed at the King George and connections will be hoping that he gets round in one piece.
How do you pick the winner? Realistically, only three of these can win, however I have to dismiss Geos, because he has
consistently proven that he needs his first engagement and he has yet to win at this trip. This leaves a straight choice between Douze Douze and Best Mate. If you use (as many will) Chicuelo as the gauge, then you may be tempted to lump onto Best Mate, however a word of caution - translating foreign form is literally a recipe for disaster
(Chicuelo has yet to translate the level of form shown in France and still hasn't adapted to our fences). More importantly, Douze Douze won with a lot of authority, far more than the actual distances suggest. He is capable of beating Best Mate, however I think he needs to be fully wound up to be so and I can't believe that he will be here. With the King George in mind, I'd be quite happy if he sets a strong pace until tiring somewhere on the straight. That'll put him just right for Kempton.
However I do expect Best Mate's better conditioning to prove ultimately decisive.
¦ 1er. _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>- Best Mate
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Douze Douze
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- Geos
(¯¯ VIIª¯ HUNTINGDON¯¯¯)¯¯¯ »- 3:40 betfair.com H 'cap Steeple Ch. £12000 added, 5yo plus, 3m 6f 110yds, penalty £8014.50, 7 runners.
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¦ .t.h.e. .r.o.o.k. ¦:¬>-A stayers handicap chase ends the card. You can make a case for each of Suntas, Fasgo, Lord Seamus, Russell House, Sir Valentine, Fandango de Chassy and Buccaneer Boy. Despite top weight, I like Fasgo here. He ran a great race on his reappearance at Market Rasen where he was just touched off by Courage Under Fire (who has franked the form since). He should appreciate the extreme distance and may be too strong for his pursuers.
¦ 1er. _ THE WINNER?¹ ¦:¬>- Fasgo
¦ 2nd place?² ¦:¬>- Russell House
¦ 3rd place?³ ¦:¬>- Buccaneer Boy
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