It is not every day one gets the chance to back a top-class chaser, unbeaten over fences, at 2-1 but that is the situation with Coneygree (Haydock, 3.00), who can make a winning return to action in the Betfair Chase. There are certainly risks involved in supporting him for this first run in a year but I am inclined to be positive about his chance of leaving last year’s hock injury behind him.
Mark and Sara Bradstock, his trainers, have said they would like another week to get some more grass work into him but he pleased them and Nico de Boinville, his usual rider, in a spin round Haydock last week. If he is as fit as he was for his Sandown reappearance last autumn, his powerful front-running will be a real problem for his rivals.
Cue Card has won Grade Ones on soft going but he does not appeal as the type to relish bottomless going of the kind possible at Haydock, judging by Friday’s action there and the continuing wet weather. He will be sharper for his reappearance run but it was a concern to see him finishing quite so tired that day, only three weeks ago.
Seeyouatmidnight’s chance is maximised by this heavy going. Even so, he has not done enough in his seven runs over fences to suggest he can live with Coneygree or even Cue Card if either was somewhere near his best.
At 8-1 a better alternative to the market-leaders might be Silviniaco Conti, seeking a third success in this race. The form of his recent Down Royal second might suggest he is no longer good enough but he ran to a very similar level on his reappearance in 2014 before landing this.
Irish Cavalier’s win in the Charlie Hall suggests he has been underestimated but he is unlikely to want the ground as testing as he will find it this time.
1.50 Haydock: My Tent Or Yours is the biggest talent here but deep going is not his thing and he has found a variety of ways to maintain his losing run since early 2014, making him an unattractive favourite. Melodic Rendezvous used to love this ground but is also on a long losing run while Old Guard is here mainly because his conversion to fences is not going smoothly. Ch’Tibello has something to prove in this company but this looks a good opportunity, since he should cope with the ground and will be sharper for his comeback run, so 8-1 looks on the big side.
2.05 Ascot: Paul Nicholls has a strong hand in this race, which he has won three times from the past five runnings. Vibrato Valtat will be fitter than when fading close home at Aintree and is 10lb better off with Third Intention, who won that day. But Dodging Bullets might be the better bet, as a former champion chaser who gets 6lb or more from all but one of his rivals. That is a consequence of his having failed to win last season but he had his excuses and this step up in trip looks the right decision. He can improve on his Exeter third, when he was giving lumps of weight to the first pair.
2.25 Haydock: Nick Gifford’s yard is short of stars but Theo’s Charm gives the Sussex trainer a chance at 14-1 here. He looked promising when slogging through the Plumpton muck to win a couple of novice contests last season and was still learning about the game when well held in a couple of handicaps later on. He seems on a fair mark if this is the right time to catch him and the first-time fitting of cheekpieces suggests that connections mean business.
2.40 Ascot: The six-year-old Yanworth ought to be a cut above the other four here and is probably better than the bare form of his Festival second to Yorkhill. This is his reappearance but the Alan King yard is going well and he should be fit. Zarkandar is likeable and was putting up a fine effort when unseating at the last at Aintree but this is tougher.
3.15 Ascot: Despite several excellent runs over fences last winter Vaniteux still looks on a workable handicap mark. Remarkably he is only 7lb higher than when second in the Greatwood a couple of years ago, his most recent handicap outing, when he came out as the best horse at the weights. This might be the right time to catch him, as his first run has been his best or close to it for the last two seasons.
3.35 Haydock: Some of Venetia Williams’s horses are needing their first runs but Saroque scored on his reappearance a year ago and is only 2lb higher for what looks a good opportunity here.
