The weights for the 2020 Becher Handicap Chase have been unveiled and Matt Brocklebank has picked out 16/1 and 25/1 chances he likes the look of.
Recommended bets
1pt win Give Me A Copper in Becher Chase at 16/1
1pt win Smooth Stepper in Becher Chase at 25/1
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As will be the case for the majority of big, Saturday handicap chases throughout the National Hunt season, Paul Nicholls is pulling the strings when it comes to the weights for this year’s Becher Chase.
Nicholls has three entered in the Aintree race on December 5 and they include the top two on the list of potential runners, namely Black Corton and Yala Enki, who will have to try and defy lofty ratings of 160 and 159 respectively.
Yala Enki went down on his sword when second to Ramses De Teillee at Cheltenham over the weekend but the timing of that race means his new, 3lb higher mark has just kicked in and it clearly won’t be easy to overcome another rise.
The really interesting one for Nicholls is 16/1 shot GIVE ME A COPPER, who had to miss the Badger Ales Trophy at Wincanton after another small setback, but does go exceptionally well when fresh.
It'll be close to a year off since we last saw him by the time the Becher comes around but he's down 2lb from the lesser Ascot effort when last sighted and consequently only 4lb higher than when winning the 2019 Badger Ales from Soupy Soups on his comeback last season.
Reportedly the Grand National has been the big target for this horse for a while but it’ll be surprising, given his chequered past when it comes to niggly injuries, if he’s not absolutely tuned to the minute if taking up his engagement for this race before potentially being put away again with the spring in mind.
Given where it falls in the calendar, betting on the Becher over two weeks from the event means you’re playing a risky game if your selection doesn’t handle really bad ground and despite being a son of Presenting – whose progeny tend to appreciate a better racing surface on the whole – Give Me A Copper has always been happiest when the mud is flying, right through from his point-to-point and bumper days.
His lack of experience around the course at Aintree – Mildmay or National – is the one nagging doubt you’d have with the lightly-raced 10-year-old, especially considering he has unseated and fallen in big races in the past, but at the prices it’s a chance I’m happy to take about a horse whose prominent run-style has been highly effective in this race down the years.
There are plenty with claims elsewhere, but if you’re on the lookout for one at a big price who could conceivably go off very close to the top of the market (particularly if Harry Cobden ends up taking the ride), Give Me A Copper is very much the one to be on.
Others with mileage at their current odds include Ben Pauling’s Le Breuil who caught the eye when seventh in last year’s edition. He didn’t quite build on that promise and has since slipped 9lb in the ratings. There wasn’t quite enough in his comeback fourth at Kelso last month to suggest another win is imminent, although previous experience of the course is obviously in his favour and could spark a resurgence.
Something close to good ground on the day would bring Cloth Cap very much into play as he looks potentially ahead of his mark of 136, while Crievehill ran respectively on his return in the Old Roan Chase and has slipped to a mark just 4lb higher than when bolting up by 10 lengths at Haydock in November 2019. He’d probably be more likely to run in the Grand Sefton if there’s ease underfoot next month.
Positive mentions too for Crosspark and SMOOTH STEPPER, who contested the same veterans' chase at Sandown on November 8. Crosspark was second and appears in great form after he only just missed out to Present Man at Chepstow on his return.
He’s creeping up the weights as a result of the near-misses but isn’t handicapped out of things from 145, though at 25/1 I'm more interested in Smooth Stepper, another who will be having his first taste of the National course but also worth a bet.
He’d climbed to a mark of 146 prior to leaving Sue Smith for the yard of Alex Hales and looked to have lost his way a couple of years ago before showing far more encouraging signs last term.
He stayed on dourly to get the better of subsequent National Hunt Chase runner-up Lord Du Mesnil in Haydock’s Grand National Trial, where Yala Enki was third and Pobbles Bay sixth.
He was wrong at the weights when winning that day but looked perfectly suited to the bottomless conditions and if this year’s Becher turns into an out-and-out slog, as it did for Walk In The Mill two years ago, Smooth Stepper looks made of the right stuff.
The Sandown race earlier this month ended up being a bit of a dash for home as Step Back made all to hold Crosspark at bay, and I liked the way Smooth Stepper was finishing off up the hill having been tapped for toe.
He’s down 2lb for that to 142 and it’s the sort of mark he’ll be exploiting again before long.
Posted at 1500 GMT on 18/11/20
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