It is 29 years since Playschool, with Paul Nicholls in the saddle and a total of 10st 11lb on his back, took the Hennessy Gold Cup and Welsh Grand National in the same year, and a quarter of a century since Carvill’s Hill became the last top weight to win the feature event of Chepstow’s season.
Native River will start favourite at around 4-1 on Tuesday afternoon to snap both sequences in the Welsh Grand National, and deserves to head the market after fighting off a series of challenges to win the Hennessy at Newbury last month. He is up another 4lb in the weights and will need to improve again over an extra three furlongs and giving weight to the entire field.
Carole’s Destrier closed rapidly on Native River after the last in the Hennessy but the winner was idling and probably had more in hand than his winning margin might suggest. Vicente (2.40) was well beaten when he fell at the second-last but he was making his seasonal debut and had travelled noticeably well until he started to tire at the top of the straight. At around 16-1, last year’s Scottish National winner is an attractive price to give Playschool’s jockey his third Welsh National as a trainer.
Chepstow 1.25 Rolling Dylan finished eight lengths behind the winner off Tuesday’s mark of 124 on his only previous start in a handicap, at Uttoxeter in March. That was over two and a half miles and all his form over timber to date, which includes a seven-length victory in an 18-runner maiden hurdle last time out, has suggested he will find plenty of improvement now he steps up to three miles. Shantou Bob, who is proven at the trip, is probably the pick of the opposition, but he must give 13lb and three years to the up-and-comer from Philip Hobbs’s stable, and that will probably be beyond him.
Kempton Park 1.45 Altior will go off at long odds-on for the third race in a row after his switch to chasing at the start of the season, and while he was a little scratchy over a couple of the obstacles in the Henry VIII Chase last time out, it will be a huge surprise if he fails to maintain his unbeaten record over fences.
Chepstow 2.00 A five-runner renewal of this Grade One event which may crystallise into a match between Defi Du Seiul and Evening Hush. The former is already at the top of the market for the Triumph Hurdle in March after a Grade Two success at Cheltenham earlier this month but the filly Evening Hush gets a useful 7lb from Defi Du Seiul and has looked like a very useful recruit to hurdling herself. Her jumping was slick and efficient as she made all the running to win by 21 lengths at Aintree last time, and she may be the value bet at the likely prices.
Kempton Park 2.20 Sire De Grugy looked like he might be a spent force when he finished last of seven on his seasonal debut in October but has since taken a competitive handicap at Ascot off a mark of 160 and finished a good second behind Un De Sceaux in the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown. He is required to give 10lb to Special Tiara here and that could put another popular victory out of reach. Henry de Bromhead’s gelding is very useful himself at the minimum trip and should be fit and ready to adopt his familiar front-running role after a solid seasonal debut at Cheltenham last month.
Chepstow 3.15 Seven runners is a disappointing turnout for a handicap chase with £40,000 in the prize fund, and the presence of Aso in the field will not do much to stimulate betting turnover either. His strong-finishing second place behind Frodon in an even more valuable race at Cheltenham earlier this month is the outstanding piece of recent form in the field and he should make the most of what looks a good opportunity.
Kempton Park 3.30 Go Conquer still has scope for progress over fences, but a fall at the first last time out tempers enthusiasm a little and Bally Longford looks like a solid alternative. Part of the 15-strong cohort owned by Alan and Ann Potts which switched to Colin Tizzard’s stable from Henry de Bromhead at the start of the season, the eight-year-old appeared to strike for home a little early at Cheltenham last time and paid the price in the closing stages. He drops back a couple of furlongs here and that could swing things his way.
