Having been pulled up four times in a row, Rigadin De Beauchene (3.50) may not exactly leap off the page for the Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter but there are several pointers in his favour and he looks great value at 33-1. He may be able to frustrate what otherwise looks a great opportunity for the Tony McCoy-ridden Catching On.
From the Venetia Williams yard that does so well with staying chasers, Rigadin De Beauchene has twice proved that he is the right horse for a race of this kind. He won Warwick’s Classic Chase in 2013 and added Haydock’s Grand National Trial last year. A Scottish National winner chased him home in the first of those, while he was followed by a Welsh National winner in the second.
His recent defeats have got him back down to a mark just 1lb above the one from which he won at Haydock. In that light, it is interesting that Williams has fitted him with first-time cheekpieces and opted for a change of jockey, putting up Alain Cawley, who once won an Irish Hennessy.
Perhaps Rigadin De Beauchene really has fallen out of love with the game, but the available odds are too big in light of what he has in his favour here.
Catching On is easy to like under a 6lb penalty for his recent Devon National triumph but odds of 4-1 barely compensate for the various things that can go wrong in a big field on ground as testing as this will be.
1.45 Kempton: Others have more recent form but this is a good chance for Art Mauresque on his chasing debut, fitted with a hood for the first time. Paul Nicholls is likely to have him sharp after a winter break.
2.05 Uttoxeter: Jaunty Inflight is improving and has proved his credentials for a slog like this.
2.20 Kempton: He’s been slightly forgotten but Katgary was a promising beast when narrowly beaten in the Fred Winter last year. He’s only 2lb higher now, gets his ground and is another Nicholls runner who may show the benefit of some time off in mid-season.
2.30 Lingfield: Unbeaten since switching to Polytrack, Godolphin’s Four Seasons looked very classy in the way he cruised through his recent return to action.
2.40 Uttoxeter: Bandit Country was disappointing the last time he tackled heavy going so Algernon Pazham makes more appeal. He doesn’t make any sudden moves but was grinding his way to the front when last seen and just ran out of time. An extra half-mile will help.
3.05 Lingfield: A fine collection of talents, though, as ever around this tight circuit, tactics will be key. From a handy draw, Frankie Dettori may opt to try settling Cloudscape from the front, a position from which the jockey is notoriously dangerous. The horse ran with promise on his comeback last time but did not seem to appreciate being started in midfield by another rider.
3.15 Uttoxeter: Beg To Differ had plenty in hand when scoring at Carlisle last month and can go in again from a 9lb higher mark for the O’Neill-McCoy combination.
3.30 Kempton: It’s been a long time since we saw Ruben Cotter but he used to appreciate this type of ground and is back on a very fair mark in a winnable contest.
