Daryl Carter's Tips: Chris Gordon has all the answers on Sunday at Plumpton

• Chris Gordon's Plumpton invasion can prove profitable

• Sussex Champion Hurdle 8/19.00 and 10/111.00 duo must be backed

• Willie Mullins Anotherway 5/16.00 the horse to be with at Fairyhouse

• Rachael Blackmore Serial Winners Fund at £205K - Read more here

15:05 Plumpton - Back Sea Invasion @ BSP 2pt win

Sea Invasion is a horse very much of interest now sent handicapping off what looks like a very lenient opening rating of 112. Under the useful five-pound claimer Freddie Gordon, he looks even more tempting.

Plumpton is a course that Chris Gordon has had plenty of success with handicap newcomers, and drying ground is one of many ticks in the right box.

His point-to-point form, when second best only to Supreme Novice Hurdle winner Slade Steel, is there for all to see. In three outings over hurdles, there's little doubt that he has been trained with handicaps in mind.
He hung left at Newbury, so the return to a left-handed track and a sharp one should prove no issue, while the move up in distance is another positive, and he caught the eye most recently at Kempton under tender handling.

I am sure it's only a coincidence that the trainer sponsors this race, but everything seems in place for a big run from Sea Invasion.

Unfortunately, I have an engagement to attend on Saturday afternoon, so I will have to use BSP for the column, as the prices are not out at the time of writing. However, I do think he is likely to open up around 4/15.00, and that would be a very fair price. I would play this selection down to 5/23.50 or bigger and expect to see a wave of support.

15:10 Fairyhouse - Back Anotherway @ 5/16.00 1pt

No Flies On Him was good on his seasonal debut at Leopardstown, comfortably winning a Maiden Hurdle, but I am not convinced that his form is as deep as it looked at the time. He didn't take much of a stride forward next time behind Tullyhill, picking up the pieces in the closing stages. Furthermore, his point-to-point form over Nicky Henderson's Jango Baie--who has been beaten in Listed and Grade 2 events the last twice--looks to have its ceiling.

He could improve moving up in distance, but Anotherway - 5/16.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - clocked a rapid time on my sheet when scoring at Punchestown on deep ground, which was a mighty step forward from his 11/28 behind No Flies On Him at Leopardstown.

I expect Anotherway - who has been saved for this - to get much closer than he did to the favourite on his seasonal debut, and he could easily have improved past him.

Paul Townend's mount will relish this move up in distance (another question for the favourite) having been a middle-distance horse on the flat in France, and today's deep ground conditions are of no concern.

Willie Mullins has won this race for the last two years, and there's a good chance he will again with his first string in Anotherway.

Back him at 11/43.75 or bigger.

16:15 Plumpton - Back Aucunrisque @ 8/19.00 2pt e/w (NAP) (4 places)

Chris Gordon-trained horses will have a good day on Sunday, and in Aucunrisque - 8/19.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - he holds a fantastic chance of again landing the Sussex Champion Hurdle. He caught my eye with a beautiful prep run for this returned to hurdles at Kempton in the Lanzarote Hurdle 78 days ago, and it makes perfect sense that this has been the plan.

Given the value of the race at Kempton, one can be called silly for expressing that it was a prep run, but it was over a trip too far for the eight-year-old, who has never been beyond 2m3f previously. He was very tenderly handled at the second from home when dropping away.

Still, this is a very well-handicapped horse on the balance of his hurdle form. Having won this race in 2022 (off 133) and finished second to Teddy Blue in 2023 off 147, he is now effectively running off 132 thanks to Freddie Gordon's claim--some 15 pounds lower. That means he is now 13 pounds better off with Teddy Blue back down in distance, returned to a sounder surface and at a track where his record reads 3112.

He has also been given a 78-day break since his run at Kempton to come here fresh, and his record on the back of a break over hurdles reads 3112.

Furthermore, he is 1lb and 6lb lower (inclusive of the claim) than his Betfair Hurdle win at Newbury last February, the most potent form on offer.

I think this has been his seasonal target, and there are similarities in how the trainer prepped his horses for big targets.

He makes stacks of appeal for an each-way bet, and I will be shocked if he is out of the frame. Any 5/16.00 or bigger is good value, and I make him close to favourite for this.

16:15 Plumpton - Back Our Champ @ 10/111.00 0.5pt e/w (4 places)

As confident as I am in Aucunrisque, I will cover on the yards Our Champ - 10/111.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook- who ran a screamer for this column in the Betfair Hurdle when last seen at wild odds, only falling foul late to stronger stayers in heavy ground.

The conditions at Newbury deteriorated on the day, and they would not have been favourable. At the same time, he deserves plenty of credit for being up on the sharp end of the pace in a race run at a relentless gallop.

The Betfair Hurdle form and the Greatwood have been two races to follow this season. The former has already seen a second in the County Hurdle, an Imperial Cup one and two, and winners from down the pack.

Our Champ had no right to run as well as he did there, but he was prepped perfectly, having been given quiet runs prior at Kempton, Newbury and Ascot. His trainer had followed this path previously in an attempt to win Britain's richest race.

There's also a good chance he has been saved for this, having been off 50 days since. After a wind operation, better is expected in calmer waters at this second start, but Freddie Gordon is on the yard's number one hope (above). This is still very competitive, but this six-year-old is on the upgrade and has plenty more to offer, so he must be backed.

No rain is due at Plumpton, and that will suit both horses.

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