Kempton Park races for the first time on Wednesday since the sudden announcement on Tuesday that the Jockey Club, its owner, feels compelled to sell it off for housing to fund a new all-weather track near its HQ in Newmarket. But there will be several hundred more chances for racegoers to visit the historic track, which opened in 1878, before the earliest possible date for its demise in 2021, and the seven races on a floodlit all-weather card are unlikely to tempt too many extra visitors to Sunbury on a cold January evening.
If there is a decent bet to be had on the card, it is probably Thahab Ifraj (5.45) in the 11-furlong handicap. Ismail Mohammed’s four-year-old is still a maiden, but is also still quite lightly raced compared to most of his opponents, with just eight starts in the book. Wahiba, the likely favourite, is an exception as he is moving up to handicaps after three runs in maidens, but Thahab Ifraj put up a very solid performance on the clock last time out and looks a better bet at around 9-2 in a race with little depth despite a 14-strong field.
Calett Mad (2.10) is the pick of the other meetings in the £13,000 handicap chase on a decent card at Taunton. The good prize has attracted a strong field to the West Country track, including Paul Nicholls’s Qualando, who was rated 143 at the end of his hurdling career last season and could yet prove up to a similar level over fences.
His two starts to date over the bigger obstacles have been a slight disappointment, however, most recently when he finished last of four in a beginners’ chase at Ascot in November. Qualando was up against Nicky Henderson’s Different Gravey there, but Calett Mad is another very promising opponent and was only five lengths behind the winner in a well-run handicap at Ludlow last time out. He finished third in a Listed hurdle at Auteuil in November 2015 before being sold to join Nigel Twiston-Davies, and should be good enough to add to his debut win over fences in November this afternoon.
Nicholls rarely leaves Taunton without a winner, however, and has saddled 48 winners at the track in the past five seasons, a total exceeded only by his record at Wincanton and Cheltenham. His Volpone Jelois (2.40) will be hard to beat in the handicap hurdle, while Sir Will (2.50), who is making a big step up in trip on his handicap debut, could be the best bet on the day’s other jumps card at Hereford.
