Our form expert has four selections for Haydock's Betfair Chase card live on ITV on Saturday afternoon.
The Verdict: Saturday November 23
1pt win Bowenspark in 1.15 Haydock at 12/1 (bet365, William Hill)
1pt win Patriotik in 2.30 Haydock at 10/1 (General)
1pt win Ahoy Senor in 3.05 Haydock at 6/1 (William Hill, Coral, Ladbrokes)
1pt win Hititi in 3.40 Haydock at 8/1 (General)
See Senor in Betfair Chase
The Grade 1 Betfair Chase takes centre stage in the UK on Saturday and Dan Skelton’s Grey Dawning bids to justify favouritism on his first run outside of novice company.
I’ve been thinking about how to tackle this horse all week and I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s worth taking on given the size of his task on his first run for over seven months, for all that he’s an exciting prospect in this division.
Lots of rain is forecast at Haydock and I’d expect the ground to be soft by the time they’re off for the Betfair, which has to bring last year’s winner Royale Pagaille into the equation.
My problem with him is that he’s been well found in the betting for a horse coming off a 10-month break and a fractured shoulder and I'm not sure it can be guaranteed the Royale Pagaille that you can normally set your watch by at Haydock will turn up – he turns 11 in January, after all.
Bravemansgame was considered given Paul Nicholls has reached for the first-time blinkers, as his record with his top staying chasers when resorting to first-time headgear is excellent, but the amount of rain forecast puts a serious spanner in the works.
So, with all this in mind it’s to AHOY SENOR we go and while this horse is a tough one to catch right, everything could fall nicely for him on Saturday.
For starters he's got a run this season under his belt, unlike Grey Dawning and Royale Pagaille, and it was a somewhat eye-catching one to say the least as he finished well for a close-up third off a mark of 169 in Aintree’s Old Roan Chase over 2m4f.
You can dissect the ride and the performance as much as you like but there’s no getting away from the thinking that it was a perfect tee up for the Betfair Chase, while his jumping was noticeably more polished than it often has been.
Ridden with plenty of restraint at Aintree, if Ahoy Senor can use that outing as a platform to improve again we could be looking at a career-best performance and that would arguably make him the one to beat here.
Connections stated they were hoping for decent ground but his record when the ground turns soft stands up well, with two of his top three career-best efforts coming on such conditions.
Getting him into a rhythm will be the key, but that Aintree run could’ve worked wonders on that score and this could finally be the day he wins his third top-level race – and first of any kind for almost two years.
The Verdict: Back AHOY SENOR in the 3.05 Haydock
Patriotik punt in the Stayers'
Earlier on at Haydock the Betfair Stayers’ Handicap Hurdle, the artist formerly known as the ‘Fixed Brush’, offers Doyen Quest the chance to supplement his Cheltenham win under a 5lb penalty.
Dan Skelton’s horse is 5lb well in and therefore a likely solid favourite, but he does have a seven-day turnaround to contend with in a better race so there is hope for his opponents.
The one I like against him is Evan Williams’ PATRIOTIK from the bottom of the handicap, as he gets a 9lb pull at the weights with the Skelton horse for being beaten 11 lengths at Chepstow on his seasonal reappearance (watch the free video replay below).
That was over the extended 2m3f of the Silver Trophy Handicap Hurdle, but Patriotik will be well served by stepping back up to three miles and he won’t mind the forecast rain.
The trip looks the key, though, this former point-to-point winner looking well suited to a test of stamina when he stayed on for second over 2m6f at Ffos Las, while all his best work at Chepstow came late on.
Williams won this race with Dans Le Vent three years ago, a horse who also prepped in Wales over an unsuitable distance, and the Welsh handler often targets this meeting with the likes of Cappa Bleu, Clyne, On Tour and Bold Plan also winning at this fixture over the years.
The Verdict: Back PATRIOTIK in the 2.30 Haydock
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Hititi can shine / Daly profit
The Haydock card closes with the Best Odds On the Betfair Exchange Handicap Chase over the extended 3m1f and Robert Walford’s HITITI looks a big player here.
He's rated 7lb lower over fences than he is hurdles and he improved over timber last season over three miles in testing ground, running second three times consecutively in such scenarios.
With that in mind his first run over fences for 22 months was hugely encouraging at Chepstow last time, over an inadequate 2m3f, as he jumped well and kept on nicely to be beaten just a length in first-time cheekpieces.
He's up 3lb for that but still looks well handicapped compared to his hurdles mark and Brian Hughes taking over in the saddle looks a serious positive around Haydock.
The ITV coverage begins with the Betfair Racing Podcasts Handicap Hurdle at 1.15 and I'm drawn to the claims of Timeform 'squiggle' horse BOWENSPARK.
He has been allotted the dreaded symbol thanks to a high head carriage but I thought he ran really well on his reappearance at Aintree with a view to stepping slightly back in trip on more testing ground.
Held up by Harry Cobden, he did well to get involved as much as he did over the intermediate trip on lively ground and the form got a boost when the runner-up, Long Draw, beat everything bar the lobbed in Hamsiyann at Cheltenham last week.
Trainer Henry Daly is in good form and it’s interesting he has stuck a first-time visor on this slightly quirky type, especially considering his form figures with the v1 the last three years read 1-1-2-2-P-2-P-1.
The six-year-old is basically an embryonic staying chaser, but that’s the sort of horse you might need on a wet and murky Saturday on Merseyside.
The Verdict: Back BOWENSPARK (1.15 Haydock) and HITITI (3.40 Haydock)
Preview posted at 1500 GMT on 22/11/24
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