Today’s best bets, by Chris Cook
“I think we’ve done that enough now.” These were my favourite words of yesterday’s session in the BHA v Jim Best case, although there was not a great deal of competition.
They were uttered by the panel chairman, Sir William Gage, who is showing impressive reserves of patience and humour in the face of witnesses who will not answer the question and other provocations. At the moment of his utterance, the BHA’s barrister was suggesting that a jockey had moved his right hand as his mount approached a hurdle, while Tom Morgan, expert witness, did not agree.
Now that I’ve typed that, it seems a simple exchange, but it took endless back and forth before the pair talked their way to a standstill on the point after about a year or so. In the circumstances, “I think we’ve done that enough now” was a small miracle of understatement that nearly brought the watching press to its feet in admiration.
Those of you not chained up in the BHA’s dungeon for the week may be able to watch some Hereford action this afternoon, when Midnight Tour (2.45) can win a mares’ handicap hurdle on her first outing for Alan King. She made a bright start to her hurdling career with David Loder last season, winning at Bangor and Ludlow, but her rating still looks realistic for this handicap debut.
I think it’s reasonable to expect that King will bring her on, especially as she was still reportedly green when winning in May. She’s 5-2 to beat five others.
If you’d rather chuck the ball downfield, there’s always Caprice D’Anglais (3.50) at 33-1 in the closing handicap hurdle. This grey didn’t achieve much in his native France but, after all, he’s still only four.
His first British run, at Huntingdon a fortnight ago, had some promise to it. In a big field, he was prominent to the eighth obstacle of 10 before getting tired, as he was entitled to do on his first start for half a year, having switched countries in the interim.
He’s been dropped 5lb for that and I’m prepared to take a flier on an improved showing here, especially since this much softer surface ought to be more to his liking. The cheekpieces he used to wear in France are fitted, having been absent last time. He comes from the Richard Hobson yard that has won with two of its last three runners in Britain and has a 16% record in hurdles races.
Spot the outlier in this sequence: 2, 1, 3, 10, 4, 5. That was the finishing order, by starting stall position, for a five-furlong handicap at Wolves 11 days ago. Worked out pretty well for those drawn near the inside rail, I’d say. Looking at the layout, the only surprise is that that doesn’t happen more often.
Anyway, Noble Asset (4.10) was the overachiever who nicked fourth from stall 10 of 11 runners, staying on well but too late. Today he’s drawn in stall one!
Given that he’s got his best results by racing prominently, there’s a good chance this will work out for him and he’s fair at 5-1. He’s on a long losing run but that was his second encouraging effort this autumn and his mark has dropped by more than a stone since May.
At Kempton tonight, For Ayman (6.25) appeals at 8-1. He nearly always runs well over this six furlongs and I’m at least interested by the switch from his regular rider (3/49 in his career) to Josh Doyle, a promising claimer (7/32 since 1 October). For Ayman is trained by Joe Tuite, who is having a fair autumn and might be described as on fire, having won with his last three runners in Britain.
