Take Monetaire and Attaglance to shine in the Plate
DAVID Pipe has an enviable record in the Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate (4.00pm), winning it three times in the last six years. His father Martin won it four times in just six years and it’s clearly a race that Pond House target.
Their sole representative this year is MONETAIRE, owned by Alan Stennett, who has won two of the last three renewals with Ballynagour and Salut Flo.
This nine-year-old has only had two runs for Pipe, initially finishing an extraordinary fourth at Cheltenham after making a shuddering error at the first fence. He then went to Newbury and bolted up, beating Solar Impulse comfortably.
That win moved him up to a rating of 138 and he has just managed to sneak in right at the bottom of the weights with Tom Scudamore riding.
This has all the hallmarks of a Pipe plot and, although he is Betway’s 8/1 favourite, he just has to be backed as he is surely very well handicapped.
Venetia Williams has also won this race three times, so you have to respect her sole entry Dare Me, but he fell last time out and I’ve never really been convinced by him.
Buywise could run well for Evan Williams, as should Kim Bailey’s Un Ace, but they are both single-figure prices and instead I’m going to have a few quid on my old friend ATTAGLANCE, at 14/1 with Paddy Power.
Malcolm Jefferson’s runner has some excellent form at the Festival and even though he is yet to win over fences, that didn’t stop Cause Of Causes in Tuesday’s four-miler.
The key to Attaglance is decent ground, so it will be a worry if the rain comes. However, he is just too well handicapped to leave out of calculations and he could also be one to buy on Sporting Index’s win index.
Paddy Power Gold Cup winner Caid Du Berlais is another with claims, but he has to carry 11st8lb and the last six winners were all below the 11st mark.
■ Pointers…
MONETAIRE e/w Cheltenham 4.00pm
ATTAGLANCE e/w Cheltenham 4.00pm