Ante-post tips: Five horses on our radar this spring

By Sporting Life

14:23 · THU January 12, 2023

In this week's Sporting Life Podcast the panellists each nominated a horse who is now more prominent in their ante-post betting thoughts than they were before Christmas.

Here they are...

Billy Nash - Ramillies

“I’m going for one from the week before Christmas – and surprise, surprise it’s trained by Willie Mullins. It’s a horse called Ramillies who won a novice chase over three miles at Thurles and beat a stablemate in Tenzing who had prior to that run close enough to Gerri Colombe, a good horse of Gordon Elliott's.

"Ramillies is a horse who has threatened a lot, he ran well enough in a Cheltenham bumper and well in the Albert Bartlett last year. He was always going to be better over fences and is owned by the same people who own Gaillard Du Mensil so I’m sure a lot will depend on what race they end up running him in.

“Ramillies could go for the Brown Advisory or the National Hunt Chase and at the moment he's 16/1 or 20/1 for both. At the moment he’s one I'd be interested in for either of those. He’s a good staying novice chaser."

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Ed Chamberlin - Blenkinsop

"I’d love Henry Daly to have a nice horse after what’s happened with Hillcrest and having gone a few years without one and I thought Blenkinsop was really impressive at Newbury despite doing too much too early in horrible ground.

“He's owned by the Nixon family whose horses I've followed for years and all originate from the same mare and the same family - it's wonderful. I thought Blenkinsop looked really good. He could have gone for the Challow and would probably have finished second in that and while he’s not necessarily a Cheltenham horse, there are plenty of nice races between now and then for him. I think he’s one to follow."

Value Bet selection Blenkinsop on his way to victory at Newbury

David Johnson - Ain't That A Shame

“I’m getting the Randox Grand National bet out and the one who caught my eye was Ain't That A Shame who finished fourth in the Paddy Power having looked very likely to win at one stage. He has some really strong form from last season in maiden chases including behind Galopin Des Champs and then cracking efforts in good handicaps this year.

“With a bit more luck he might have won both. He traded at 1.08 on the Betfair Exchange when beaten by The Big Dog in the Munster National and that horse has gone on to win the Troytown and finish third under top weight in the Welsh National.

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"The form looks rock solid and the way Ain't That A Shame travelled through the Paddy Power suggests he’s still a well handicapped horse and the Timeform report includes the phrase 'could hardly have shaped better in defeat'.

“Looking at the National, he’s going to get in, is lightly raced, unexposed over trips beyond three miles and is 40/1. That’ll do me anyway."

Graham Cunningham - Klassical Dream & Paisley Park

“All those big stars are priced as they should be with eight or nine weeks to go and I’m going to go at the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle with a pincer movement.

"I’m not sure Flooring Porter is hitting the heights he can do at the moment so I’m taking him on with Klassical Dream who didn’t run over Christmas. He didn’t quite get up the hill last year but I don’t think he was quite at his very best and I think he might be this time around.

"The other one, and it’s quite a strange one, is Paisley Park. He is eleven – and you have to go back to Crimson Embers in the mid 1980s for a horse of that age to win this – but he just seems in rattlingly good form. You know he’s going to run and you know he’s going to run well, because that’s what he does.

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"He wasn’t beaten very far last year or the year before, and just seems in a really good place at the moment based on that Kempton win. He’s 14/1 and Klassical Dream is 8/1 or 9/1.

"Look at the race, Allaho is favourite in one ante-post list, Home By The Lee in others, and he’s a cracking horse but I’m not sure he's good enough to head the market. Blazing Khal hasn’t been seen in over a year, as I say I’m not sure about Flooring Porter and my two horses, who are almost certain to have this as their big target, are both each-way prices and that might be the way into that race."

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