Nic Doggett provides an overview of the key things to note on the racing front on Monday.
Three points of interest
Cracker in store at Naas
While Sunday’s initiative at Navan from sponsors Irish Stallion Farms to provide opportunities with good prize-money for horses from the middle tier should be applauded, it did leave me yearning for the little bit of quality that you tend to get from the Sunday cards in Ireland.
Fortunately, we don’t have to wait long for that as the opening race at Naas on Monday – the Bar One Racing '100% Acca Boost On Self Service Terminals' Beginners Chase (12.30) - features the second run over fences for Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner SLADE STEEL and the return of Rachael Blackmore in the saddle after a spell on the sidelines.
Hot on the heels of Saturday’s emphatic chasing debut from the imposing Triumph Hurdle winner Majborough (who did also have an entry in this race), connections of Slade Steel will be hopeful of similar fireworks, though the first aim may be a better round of jumping given the way Slade Steel appeared to lose confidence on his chasing debut after a mistake at the ninth.
Unlike at Navan, there is no rival like Better Days Ahead in the line-up, though it doesn’t look a penalty-kick either thanks to the presence of Mersey Novices’ Hurdle runner-up Staffordshire Knot, who shaped well when chasing home Impaire Et Passe on his chasing debut, Coral Cup third Shanbally Kid, Albert Bartlett fifth Lecky Watson, and Timeform Horse In Focus Blizzard of Oz.
This race has a strong roll-call of winners, including the likes of A Plus Tard (2018), Capodanno (2021), and Journey With Me (2022), while last year’s renewal was a much smaller field but was won in emphatic fashion by the then-four-year-old Blood Destiny (pictured below).
Whatever happens on Monday, the ante-post markets for Cheltenham are sure to experience a ripple or two.
History repeating at Plumpton?
The opening race at Plumpton on Monday – the Dawson Hart Gallop Novices' Hurdle (12.40) - features two promising five-year-olds who have already won races in clear-cut style.
However, while the likes of Epic West and Touquet are considered major players, this race could focus around the year-younger ANDASHAN.
A bumper winner at Kempton on his racecourse debut in February, when a little green late on having hit the front perhaps sooner than ideal, he coped well with the step up in grade when third on his next start in the Goffs UK Spring Sale Bumper at Newbury.
That contest was won by Regent’s Stroll – one of the leading domestic contenders for the Turners Novices' Hurdle in March – and the second Don’t Mind If I Do looked a winner in waiting when chasing home a Gordon Elliott odds-on shot at Warwick on his hurdling debut last month.
A glance through the previous winners of this race on Timeform’s racecard reveals that Andashan’s trainer Chris Gordon has won three of the last four renewals with a host of good horses and clearly targets this race with his better hurdlers.
The 2019 winner Highway One O Two (pictured below) went on to win the Grade 2 Dovecote at Kempton following another Plumpton win, while Annual Invictus won a year later and followed his own subsequent Plumpton win with an excellent fourth in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury.
The 2023 winner Goodwin hasn’t yet hit those heights, but did win under a penalty at Newbury later in the season and remains one to keep an eye out for over the next few months.
Andashan, who very much has the build for jumping, could be the latest off the Gordon production line.
Skelton show again?
A whopping 553 runners have provided Dan Skelton with 112 winners so far this 2024/25 season, with 36% of his 210 horses getting their head in front, a percentage that is only bettered by James Owen (48%), Peter & Michael Bowen (40%) and Kim Bailey (40%) of those trainers who have had more than 100 runners.
It’s no surprise, then, that Skelton has the Hot Trainers flag at present given that 58.5% of his runners have Run To Form (RTF) according to Timeform’s metrics that you can find on his trainer dashboard here.
Though promoting the game of golf may be a tough sell at this time of year, the Southwell Golf Club Handicap Chase (12.22) may be a good opportunity for Skelton to add further success as he saddles the top three in the handicap.
Heidi Palin knows Benny’s King well having ridden him to victory twice, though she wasn’t on-board for either of the horse’s brace of runner-up finishes in Aintree’s Foxhunters’ Chase over the Grand National fences.
Harry Skelton chooses to get back on board the returning Real Stone who looked held when falling at Hereford when last seen in March. He was due to return in a much better race at Newbury at the end of November but side-stepped that (unsuitable ground). If the going is deemed suitable here then he looks a major player, having shown his best form in the winter months previously.
Tristan Durrell takes the ride on Salamanca Bay who has left Lucinda Russell since racing too freely when down the field at Cartmel in May. He has had a wind op, has no problem with quicker ground, and isn’t one to take lightly on this stable debut.
Clearly this is no Skelton benefit, though, as Margaret’s Legacy and Zaidi are two others starting out for a new yard on a fair mark, while NO RISK DES FLOS gets the nod from the Timeform tipping team thanks to an eye-catching 10 lengths second to L'Eau du Sud at Stratford last time, where he finished with running left.
With recent Huntingdon winner William Cody and Bad - the one-time 5/1 gamble for the Fred Winter who has produced a couple of promising chase runs at Ascot recently - also in the field, it looks as if Southwell has an unexpected treat in store for a Monday afternoon.
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