Haadeeth and The Strig look good in Sprint Series Final
THE Blue Square Sprint Series has been a tremendous initiative over the past two months and tomorrow’s £15,000 Grand Final (2.15pm) looks a cracking contest. All the key protagonists from the Series are lining up and any one of the 12 runners could quite feasibly land the prize.
What seems certain is that there will be a tight finish and the sponsors are refunding bets if your horse is beaten less than a length.
Sulis Minerva is the 9/2 favourite and she is undoubtedly the class horse in the race. However, she is now up to a career high mark of 80, has to concede plenty of weight to her rivals and is drawn out wide in stall 12.
THE STRIG won round two of the Series and was then second behind Sulis Minerva in round three. He has a 6lb pull with that rival for a half-length defeat and is strongly fancied to reverse that form. The five-year-old had a recent pipe-opener over seven furlongs at Kempton and he has landed a decent draw in stall three. William Carson, the Series’ leading jockey, is in the plate and The Strig is worth a decent bet at 8/1 with Blue Square.
David Evans has already won the top trainer award, making it back-to-back successes. He has three entered tomorrow and the one that interests me most, and should also be backed each-way, is HAADEETH at 10/1.
The son of Oasis Dream won on his first start for Evans a fortnight ago and he has been rated as highly as 90 in the past. There’s no doubt that he’s still potentially well-in off a mark of 76 and Evans’ son Richard takes off a valuable 3lb.
Tomorrow’s highlight over the jumps is the Racing Plus Chase at Kempton (3.05pm). NACARAT won this back in 2009 and I can see him becoming only the second horse to win it twice. He finished a close-up second two years ago and was then third 12 months ago. Those two races were both run on softish ground, though, and tomorrow’s quicker conditions will suit much better.
He hasn’t run great in either of his starts this season, but this will have been the target all year and he’s now 1lb lower than when winning a Grade One at Aintree in April. Tom George’s horses are in top form and Nacarat has to be backed at a general 7/2.
Looking at today’s action and I was really impressed with Nicky Henderson’s BELLVANO at Ayr last time. He runs in the 3.35pm at Sandown this afternoon and is AP McCoy’s only ride on the card – his first since last Friday at Newbury when suffering a horrible fall.
We’re just 18 days away from the start of the Cheltenham Festival now and our ante-post portfolio is really beginning to take shape. For Non Stop and Montbazon both burst onto the scene last weekend, while Minsk is expected to make his belated hurdling debut tomorrow.
Now, the last race on the opening day has recently changed names to become the Pulteney Land Investments Novices’ Handicap Chase and Nicky Henderson saddles an interesting runner with a name almost as much as a mouthful. TRIOLO D’ALENE was making his British-chasing debut when winning at Ascot last month and overcame some negative market vibes to win comprehensively.
That particular contest was run over 2m3f and he was well on top at the line, showing a step up in trip will only help. The extra couple of furlongs of his Festival assignment are bang up his street and there is every chance he is still the right side of the handicapper off his current mark. He can currently be backed at 10/1 with Paddy Power and I’m sure he’ll trade around half that price come the day.
My other entry to the ante-post portfolio comes in the Christies Foxhunters’ Chase run immediately after the Gold Cup over the very same course and distance. Now, it’s not often that I have a view on an amateur riders race, but on my trip to Ireland last week I learnt that SALSIFY is extremely well-fancied.
The seven-year-old won both the prestigious hunter chases last season at Fairyhouse’s Easter meeting and the Punchestown Festival. The key to this horse is good ground and it would be a major surprise if he didn’t get his ideal conditions on Gold Cup day.
Our selection showed his well-being when running out a comprehensive winner of a decent hunter chase at Leopardstown earlier this month and the 8/1 freely available looks really decent each-way value as he’ll be a lot shorter on the day.
Finally, Epsom have announced this week that the Investec Coronation Cup will be renamed the Diamond Jubilee Coronation Cup and will be run on Investec Derby Day, Saturday 2 June, as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
You can follow me on Twitter @BillEsdaile.
POINTERS…
BELLVANO 3.35pm Sandown (today)
THE STRIG e/w 8/1 2.15pm Lingfield (tomorrow)
HAADEETH e/w 10/1 2.15pm Lingfield (tomorrow)
NACARAT 3.05pm Kempton (tomorrow)
TRIOLO D’ALENE 10/1 Pulteney Land Investments Chase (Cheltenham)
SALSIFY 8/1 Christies Foxhunters’ Chase (Cheltenham)