"Alfie Spinner has long looked like one who’ll benefit from a real test of stamina... and now 4 lb lower than at Sandown he looks very interesting among a field in which only five of the dozen entered are in the handicap proper."
There's a SmartPlay from each of Saturday's three National Hunt cards.
We start at Wetherby, in their first race at 13:00. It's a handicap hurdle that contains a fair number of horses in good heart, but there's every chance that none will be able to live with Renoyr. He looked very much a reformed character when easily winning a similar event at Doncaster on his first start for Malcolm Jefferson little over a month ago. On the bare facts, you might say that a rise of 10 lb looks fair enough, but when you consider that runner-up Blackwater King was a handicap debutant from a top yard and third-placed Party Rock was also starting out for a new yard there has to be the possibility that the form is well above average. Renoyr is accordingly well ahead on the adjusted Timeform ratings and will take plenty of stopping here if he's in anything like the same form.
We travel to Ffos Las for our next bet, in the West Wales National at 14:40. Much like in the case of Renoyr, we're basing our case partly on those our selection has been racing against as much as their bare form, as Alfie Spinner looked to suffer for trying to live with Katenko at Sandown on his latest start. That rival has since won a competitive race at Cheltenham in fine style and now looks bound for the Gold Cup, while Fruity O'Rooney, the other pace-setter at Sandown, was a fine second in the same contest. Alfie Spinner has long looked like one who'll benefit from a real test of stamina, albeit finding four miles just beyond him at the Cheltenham Festival last year, and now 4 lb lower than at Sandown he looks very interesting among a field in which only five of the dozen entered are in the handicap proper.
Finally, it's Sandown's all-chase card for SmartPlay number three, in their very last race at 16:40. It's a handicap which, quite frankly, looks out of place on a big Saturday card, but that only helps us out where selection Christopher Wren's concerned. He's far from bombproof, his jumping over fences looking none too assured thus far, but then again his whole chasing career up to now looks to have been about gaining experience (given an easy time when third at Warwick on his latest start) and he's now very well treated on his hurdles form. If he's able to step up again following a two-month break there's every chance Christopher Wren will have too much for his rivals.
Timeform UK SmartPlays
Back Renoyr @ 5.04/1 in the 13:00 Wetherby
Back Alfie Spinner @ 4.77/2 in the 14:40 Ffos Las
Back Christopher Wren @ 4.1n/a in the 16:40 Sandown
All-Weather Race Cards only £2 at timeform.com. That's less than half price! Download yours now.
There are no comments on this article.
No comments:
Post a Comment