Haydock Saturday
2.05 JCB Challenger Two Mile Hurdle Series Final 1m 7f 144yd
Harry Derham is treading a familiar path here, having won this race last year with Brentford Hope and Givemefive won the same Newcastle race as Brentford Hope did in his final prep 12 months ago.
He is up 4lb for that win, though, and may be vulnerable to Got Grey, who has dropped in the weights after a few sub-par runs without his usual tongue tie.
A winner at Bangor and Stratford on his first two starts for the yard, Got Grey seems to need good ground to show his best and hopefully there won’t be too much rain about overnight.
He’s also got the tongue tie refitted here and is reunited with Harry Skelton, so there are solid reasons for believing he can bounce back.
2.40 In Memory Of Ian Chambers Challenger Stayers Hurdle Series Final 3m 58yd
An Tailliur is one to monitor in the market having won this race off a higher mark three years ago. He’s largely been in the wilderness since, but hinted at a revival on his latest start, and it’s quite possible that connections have been working back from this race. He is respected, but preference is for the likeable Thank You Ma’am, who continues to thrive for Georgie and Olive Nicholls.
A winner at Ascot in December, Thank You Ma’am ran even better in defeat there on his penultimate start when third to Samuel Spade and he is one of four horses from that race to win next time out.
The handicapper has raised him 2lb for Ascot and a win at Doncaster last time and that looks lenient when you consider Tiny Tetley has gone up 6lb for winning an uncompetitive three-runner race last time. That horse was only fourth here earlier in the season off a lower mark and does seem best on a right-handed track.
3.15 Unibet Middle Distance Veterans’ Handicap Chase 2m 3f 203yd
This is the race of the day on a bitterly disappointing Haydock card, and most of them have a chance of sorts, although I struggle to have Eldorado Allen as favourite, for all he’s got a 14lb swing with Numitor for their Cheltenham run in the autumn.
The latter is reliable and in good form, but a mark of 142 asks significantly more of him, and I prefer the claims of Glynn, who was second to Numitor at Wincanton in October and is now 10lb better off for just over two lengths.
Glynn hasn’t been seen since disappointing in the Grade 2 Rising Stars at Wincanton in November but can be forgiven that effort against better horses after a busy summer, and he’s the type to bounce back fresh, as so many from the Honeyball yard do. For an 11-year-old he is very lightly raced, and I’ll be disappointed if he can’t repeat the best of his form in this sphere given his novice status.
1.50 Livescore Bet Best
Odds Daily Royal Mile Handicap 1m 2yd
There are two who interest me in what is an admittedly open handicap on paper, with Wiltshire Lad sure to be well-supported starting out for Andrew Balding having won a Southwell nursery on his final start for Sir Michael Stoute.
Jonquil was an impressive winner at Newbury last week making the same switch, and there is sure to be more to come from Wiltshire Lad this term, with the headgear he wore at Southwell retained here and suggesting that he will be at concert pitch.
At much bigger odds, I think the market has missed the chance of We Dare To Dream, who made all to win at Haydock on his penultimate two-year-old outing before finishing a fine length and three-quarters second of 10 to Pellitory in a seven-furlong nursery at Doncaster on his final outing.
The winner made a successful return in a better race at Newmarket on Thursday, and the Doncaster form looks stronger now than it did at the time. We Dare To Dream can race off the same mark here and early quotes of 16/1 look generous.
2.25 Virgin Bet Every Saturday Money Back Silver Arrow
Handicap 7f 15yd
Gweedore ran well here last week and must remain of interest now he’s refound his form after a curtailed 2024 campaign which saw him race just once.
He needed a couple of runs for fitness before finishing an excellent second here on Sunday and he has won this equivalent race in 2022 and 2023, while the quick turnaround is also a positive, as he has lifetime form figures of 4212103 when turned out less than a week after a previous run.
I’d certainly respect Gweedore, but my pick at the overnight prices is Persuasion, who looks too big as the rank outsider of the field given he’s quickly dropped back to his last winning mark and should have derived considerable benefit from a recent all-weather outing.
Persuasion has no solid form on artificial surfaces and his spin at Southwell should be viewed only as a sighter, while it was only a few runs ago that he was gaining his last win at this level.
He was pitched into better races after that Haydock win in September, but is now back at the right level and in the right conditions. His record in Class 3 handicaps over seven-furlongs on turf away from the mud reads 332343526231, so while his win record is only modest, his each-way claims from the best of the draw are hard to resist.
3.00 Virgin Bet Daily Price Boosts Scottish Sprint Cup Handicap 5f 1yd
Tatterstall isn’t the best of these, but he ought to get the run of the race from a good draw and it’s encouraging that trainer Michael Dods won a good sprint handicap with Dakota Sioux on his seasonal return at Ripon on Thursday, so it’s very likely that Tatterstall will be cherry-ripe for his own return.
A speedy sort ideally suited by this sharp track is almost certain to bag the stands rail in the early stages and it will take a smart one to haul him back.
3.35 Virgin Bet Queen’s Cup
1m 5f 216yd
I tipped up Chillingham in this contest a year ago, only for the weather to intervene and Ed Bethell’s charge is well-handicapped on his best form after a rather frustrating campaign last season.
Dropped below the mark off which he was an excellent second to Vauban at Royal Ascot a couple of years ago, he appeals as capable of ending his frustrating sequence and this is almost certainly his ideal trip.
The more rain that falls, the more it will suit him, and I’ll be surprised if he’s not very competitive.
Got Grey 2.05 Haydock – 1pt win 15/2 (Bet365 – 13/2 Ladbrokes, Corals)
Glynn 3.15 Haydock – 1pt win 8/1 (Bet365 - 15/2 general)
We Dare To Dream 1.50 Musselburgh – 1pt win 16/1 (Paddy Power, Hills – 14/1 general)
Persuasion 2.25 Musselburgh – 1pt e/w 20/1 (general)
Tatterstall 3.00 Musselburgh – 1pt win 11/1 (general)