"Chac du Cadran has presumably been held back for this since winning the North Yorkshire National in January..."
It mightn't be the Cheltenham Festival (at which, I should point out, my colleague Matt Gardner landed a slice of the Friday pool), but Saturday's Uttoxeter card is a very good one for the track and it's there we're heading for Saturday's Placepot...
14:05 - As you might expect of a decent Saturday card, this opening novice handicap hurdle contains some interesting sorts, few more so than Tresor de Bontee, whose Hereford win in the autumn looks to have been underestimated. He failed to do himself justice last time and has been off another two months since, but if on song he's bound to go close. Rocky Elsom provides a marginally more solid option, being on a hat-trick and having the benefit of a recent run. Although probably not as well handicapped as Tresor de Bontee, Rocky Elsom should be up to putting on a bold show.
14:40 - Most of these novice chasers would be of above-average interest under different circumstances, though here we have a pair with form in better races and it's that pair we'll be taking. Hunters Lodge has been holding it together in decent races since winning an amateur riders' event at Cheltenham in the autumn and will look an increasingly attractive prospect the more testing conditions become. Savant Bleu was a clear second at Newbury last time behind another most unexposed chaser. He won't be inconvenienced by this longer trip for a yard that's been among the winners of late.
15:15 - We're sticking with the theme of horses dropping down in grade for the third race. Kaylif Aramis was beaten two necks in a race at Kempton on Racing Plus Chase day and before that had beaten the well-touted The Bear Trap at Ffos Las. Hold Court was only sixth on his handicap debut at Ascot last time, but he'd been held up in a race that didn't suit such tactics and certainly shaped well enough to suggest that he'll be highly competitive from a slightly lower mark in a lesser race.
15:50 - It's an unusually competitive renewal of the Midlands National; normally most of the field are exposed old plodders, but today sees several young chasers stepping up and a there would be cases to be made for most of them in terms of our perm. However, mindful of what's to come we can take only two. Fill The Power has been consistent throughout the season, yet all the while he's been crying out for a try over an extreme trip. This is the first time he's been granted such a test and therefore he makes the cut. Second in is Chac du Cadran, who has presumably been held back for this since winning the North Yorkshire National in January. He mightn't get an easy time of it up front, but he's a sound jumper and more of a reliable proposition than a number of others who'll try to lay up with the pace.
16:25 - We're in need of a banker, and this handicap chase looks the best opportunity. Galway Jack is the only established front runner in the field, is top on adjusted Timeform ratings and has the style of one that's good for Placepots, being a strong-travelling sort. What's more, this trip and slightly less testing conditions might help him see things out a bit better than he has been of late.
17:00 - This is easily the worst race of the six, being a low-grade handicap hurdle thin on consistent, let alone interesting, runners. We're reduced to plumping for Mr Robinson, who has run well on three of four starts for his current yard and may find a testing two and a half miles to be an agreeable compromise in terms of trip. We're having to take a risk with our second selection whatever it is, so See You Jack, who has more going for him than most, sneaks in. Well handicapped on the pick of his chase form, See You Jack ran an encouraging race on his return to hurdles last time, finding only one too good. If he can belatedly bring his hurdles form in line, he could go close.
Selections:
14:05 - 2, 5
14:40 - 3, 4
15:15 - 2, 9
15:50 - 6, 10
16:25 - 3
17:00 - 1, 10
= 32 lines
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