The usual comedown from Cheltenham is hard to take, but Saturday is packed full of racing action of all types.
Uttoxeter hosts its hugely popular Midlands Grand National day, there is action on the all-weather, we sneak over to France for one bet and for those interested there is a huge morning of Group 1 racing down in Australia.
We begin in Staffordshire with a handicap hurdle wager.
1.50 Uttoxeter (Handicap Hurdle) – SERIOUS CHARGES
Anthony Honeyball brings a small team of three horses to Uttoxeter on Saturday afternoon, his Serious Charges coming into the three-mile handicap hurdle on a hat-trick.
I think he can land the three-timer under Rex Dingle as well, given the way he scored at Exeter and Fontwell earlier in the year.
Beautifully trained, Serious Charges has been given plenty of time between his races in order for him to recover, strengthen up and improve. He comes into his first handicap off a mark of 120 and he looks better than that to me.
He should handle the surface, he stays very well and he looks to have enough in his locker to take care of No Word Of A Lie and Pulling Stumps.
2.50 Saint-Cloud (Prix Omnium II – Listed Race) – MR PROFESSOR
Interestingly, Newmarket trainer Alice Haynes has sent Mr Professor over to Paris for the €55,000 Prix Omnium, a Listed contest run over a mile.
Mr Professor is a tough type. He ran eight times as a juvenile last year and has already run three times in Dubai since the start of the year.
Such types still improve with time and not just with racing though as they grow, so there is room for improvement yet and it may well be that he has now got his ideal soft ground conditions for the first time since winning a Listed race at Pontefract last October.
Despite conditions probably being a little quick for him in the UAE, he has remained consistent and has got to within 1¼ and 1¾ lengths of Sovereign Price in two runs, a nice horse potentially going into big Group races.
From the evidence I could gather, it seems that on this sort of ground he has a better turn of foot than the locals and he has the assistance of Christophe Soumillon up top.
I got excited when I saw a tissue price of 25/1, but I noted that at least one French bookmaker was going 4.6 (36/10) on Friday and that is much more realistic.
Dreamflight is the local favourite and he is next on my list too, ahead of My Fancy.
3.00 Uttoxeter (Handicap Hurdle) – BOOTHILL
Rider Sean Bowen has a fairly busy day ahead of him at Uttoxeter, but his best chance is surely on Harry Fry’s Boothill.
The seven-year-old comes into this two-and-a-half-mile handicap hurdle having been highly tried in two runs since his debut success at Taunton back in December.
Such was his dominance at the Somserset track that he was sent off 5/2 favourite for the valuable Bateaux London Gold Cup, eventually running a solid race in third behind subsequent Christmas Hurdle third Soaring Glory.
He was then sent to Newbury for the Betfair Hurdle in which he took a strong hold before understandably weakening, but he’s down in grade now and should be all the better for his experiences.
He’s been dropped back down to a mark of 132 off which he would likely have won the London Gold Cup, so given natural improvement he has to have an outstanding chance in a race which is nowhere near as deep.
3.35 Uttoxeter (Midlands Grand National – Listed Race) – HEWICK
At £84,000 to the winner, this race is more valuable than a number of races at the Cheltenham Festival this week.
Last year’s stylish winner Time To Get Up is back for more, but if he’s backed and he is to win then it will have to have been some plot by JP McManus and Jonjo O’Neill.
He remains favourite, but he was in better form before last year’s renewal and he’s now 4lbs higher in the handicap.
De Young Warrior is too big a price given that he stays well and handles soft ground, but the most interesting runner is the Irish trained Hewick.
The excellent Jordan Gainford has been booked to ride and it may well be that he is full value for his 3lb claim which could make all the difference in the end.
Hewick was sent to Perth in September where he finished second, but much better was his comfortable win in the Durham National at Sedgefield and that run should not be underestimated.
3.43 Newcastle (Handicap Hurdle) – KAYF HERNANDO
This 2¾-mile novices’ handicap hurdle is just a four-runner affair, but it is worth £18,000 and is run at Class 2 level so should draw out one or two decent performances.
It’s been breezy, fairly warm and sunny all week in Newcastle and that has had an effect on the ground. It’s officially ‘good’ going into the weekend, and so on that sort of surface and in a potentially tactical race perhaps not run at a strong end-to-end gallop a turn of foot could prove to be crucial.
The one I reckon has the best speed on offer is Dan Skelton’s Kayf Hernando. He won at Carlisle on good ground back in October but hasn’t been too hot since.
He’s been given a wind operation and the team have certainly not lost faith in him; in fact he is the only horse making the 454-mile round-trip from Warwickshire on Saturday.
Jack Andrews takes 5lbs off him too and he is around a 7/2 chance on Friday which is more than fair.
6.30 Wolverhampton (Conditions Stakes) – HIGHFIELD PRINCESS
This five-furlong conditions race is a Class 3 event, but that does not tell the full story.
Horses rated 95, 99, 103, 105 and 106 take part and in fact it could be that we see a big performance from the filly Highfield Princess.
John Quinn’s horse is dropping right down from last week’s seven furlongs to the minimum trip now, but she has the speed and in fact finished a very impressive 3¼-length sixth to Creative Force in the Group 1 sprint on Champions Day at Ascot last backend.
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