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Two Wednesday selections
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Nicholls runner can kick the season off with a win
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Look to Duke to score returned to Kempton
There must be more to come from Paul Nicholls' Inca De Lafayette--3/14.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook--who perhaps isn't one of the yards' leading lights but is steadily progressive, on a fair mark, and arguably has the strongest recent form in the book.
He makes his seasonal debut following 246 days off the track, but he has twice won when fresh and handles any ground. He is lightly raced with only nine starts under his belt over hurdles, and he is taken to kick on this season and rack up further victories.
Today's race looks like a fine opportunity. The favourite Whatsupwithyou ended last term on the up, but he had been behind two of today's rivals previously. He doesn't look well treated, and you must go back to 2019 to find the last time he won fresh. Oscars Moonshine is high in the handicap and recently left the Paul Nicholls yard but is capable on a going day. This is a soft opening and well found by Nicholls to get his runner off to a good start to the year.
This is not one to go mad with, but he does look worth chancing at 3/14.00 or bigger.
15:40 Fontwell - Back Inca De Lafayette
It was a very encouraging return to action for Andrew Balding's Cadogan Place over the shorter trip here 37 days ago, and he will prove popular now that he is moving into handicaps.
However, he must prove his stamina for this new trip, and he does face a fellow unexposed rival in Duke Of Oxford--9/43.25 on the Betfair Sportsbook - lurking in the midst, who I hope can land us the cash on Wednesday. It may pay to forgive the selection of a below-par run at Wolverhampton last time, given he has been off for 83 days since, but I expect him to be straight today for this assignment returned to one of his favoured venues.
This course and distance have produced two victories, including in a hot race in which the smart Enemy finished runner-up, which makes him of serious interest. His third on his penultimate start in the Northumberland Plate is excellent form in the context of this race, and his run in March behind Prydwen, who is now rated 13 lb higher, is also a superb pointer in suggesting he could be the winner of this race.
The sharper two-miles at Kempton suits him much better than Newcastle, and he is a well-handicapped horse on the balance of his form. Having proven to go well off similar breaks in the past, he has optimal conditions to continue his steady improvement, and his stamina can win the day.
There's a lot to like, with the less exposed favourite, making him a larger price than he should be on the form book.
The price crashed as the copy was published. The baseline is 9/43.25, ideally 3/14.00, no shorter than 2/13.00.
20:10 Kempton - Back Duke Of Oxford