Newbury Saturday

1:15 Set Your Own Odds On Betfair Exchange Novices’ Hurdle 2m 69y

Chantry House is likely to take the beating in a race dominated by Nicky Henderson this century, but the Cheltenham winner will be short, and it’s more appealing to back each-way against him.

The suggestion is Tremwedge, who has shaped really well in a couple of juvenile hurdles for Ellmarie Holden before being sold at the Cheltenham Sales in December for £80,000.

Tremwedge was just a poor maiden on the flat, and for him to perform so well on his first two starts over hurdles, despite tending to race freely, gives hope that he will do even better when adapting fully to his new role.

His new trainer is adept with juveniles as he’s shown with the likes of Franchoek and Katchit in particular, and the four-year-old is of some interest in receipt of a healthy 16lbs from the race favourite.

1:50 Betfair Bet In-play Handicap Hurdle 3m 52y

Vive Le Roi goes well here, and with the ground riding primarily good on the hurdles course here, he looks poised for another big run.

The winner of a course and distance handicap hurdle at the Winter Festival here last season, he made a bold bid to take the same race this term, and went under by less than a length by Champers On Ice.

He was conceding 5lbs (not including riders’ claims) to fourth-placed Dolphin Square that day, and despite finishing 2¾ lengths in front of that gelding, they renew rivalry with the selection fully 6lbs better off.

That is despite Vive Le Roi finishing a creditable second in the Lanzarote Hurdle last time, where the trip was on the sharp side for Tony Carroll’s stayer.

Not only does Vive Le Roi have excellent claims at the weights of confirming course and distance form with Dolphin Square, but he’s somehow a much bigger price than that rival, who has admittedly won a lesser-class handicap at Ludlow subsequently.

2:25 Win Bigger On The Betfair Exchange Chase (Game Spirit) (Grade 2) 2m 92y

It would be pleasing to see Altior back to his best here, and the return to quicker ground and a left-handed track are both positives, not to mention the trip, so he ought to get back to winning ways.

But comments about his jumping made before and after his defeat at Ascot still hold true – that is that notions of him as a superb jumper are coloured by a belief in his invincibility, so when he clears the final ditch with a foot to spare, we tend not to mention the energy wasted in such flamboyancy, or note that when landing steeply after an extravagant leap, he takes longer to gather himself up that should be the case.

Altior was far too strong for Sceau Royal up the Cheltenham hill last March, but he was outjumped by that rival at the last two fences, and it will be interesting to see if any of Nico de Boinville’s rival jockeys are happy to go head to head with Altior in an attempt to make the most of this potential flaw.

If they do, then they risk being taken out of their own comfort zone, but if they don’t then they are effectively gifting the contest to the favourite.

Sceau Royal is the obvious one to match his slick jumping against Altior, as he did last spring, but Alan King’s gelding is something of a weak finisher these days, and even if he can poach a lead coming out of the last fence, the long run-in means he’s unlikely to hold on to that lead from a notably strong finisher.

3:00 Betfair Denman Chase (Grade 2) 2m 7f 86y

We’ve sadly got to the stage where a rematch of the front two in a thrilling 2018 Cheltenham Gold Cup is no longer enough to great a buzz of excitement, and so it is that Native River is an overwhelming favourite for a race which will not play to his strengths.

Might Bite has fallen spectacularly from grace since bouncing out of that Gold Cup to win the Betway Bowl at Aintree.

He’s not only been well-beaten when standing up over fences in the past season and a half, but he has trailed his old rival by a long way on each of those starts, and was unlikely to have fared much better at Aintree in December, his ignominious unseat merely a different way of losing face.

The deterioration of Might Bite is a real shame, not just in the way it’s always sad to see a former star in decline, but in terms of this contest, as a trip short of three miles on good ground must surely see Native River vulnerable, and the fact that he’s as short as 1/3 shows how weak the opposition is.

Nevertheless, I think he must be opposed at such skinny odds, his Aintree rout hardly conclusive proof that he’s as good as he was, and a chance is taken on Secret Investor, who is not running well, but is at least able to offer the excuse of deep ground being unsuitable.

The son of Kayf Tara can get back to his best returned to the sound surface which suits, and while he can’t beat a 2018-vintage Native River, he may not have to improve markedly to get close to that aging rival under these conditions.

3:35 Betfair Hurdle (Handicap) (Grade 3) 2m 69y

Good ground makes this contest a relative test of speed, and that will suit Highly Prized, who has impressed on a sound surface at Newton Abbot and Huntingdon this season, and is a rare case of a horse who failed over hurdles in the United States being reinvented successfully in a similar role here.

He has thrived of late for Emma Lavelle, and his key attributes are a turn of foot and a quick jumping technique.

The race he won at Huntingdon looks strong for the grade, and it’s encouraging that all three of his wins for Lavelle have come off a break of 10 weeks or more, making his absence since November a positive.

Recommended

Vive Le Roi 1:50 Newbury – 1pt e/w @ 8/1 (Hills, BetVictor)

Secret Investor 3:00 Newbury – 1pt win @ 17/2 (Hills, BetVictor)

Highly Prized 3:35 Newbury – 1pt e/w @ 16/1 (Bet365 – paying 1/4 5 places, or 14/1 general)