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Stick with Skelton at Uttoxeter
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Lac De Constance can bounce back in style
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Look to a well-handicapped sprinter at Haydock
There's an informative card at Uttoxeter today.
This Novice Hurdle could be worth following. Get The Beat - 11/43.75 on the Betfair Sportsbook - starts for Dan Skelton following a fair second in a bumper at Wetherby in March; admittedly, what that form is worth is yet to be seen. However, the winner looked useful, and the time was reasonable compared to the Maiden Hurdle, rated around 110 in my book, which sets a fair rules standard in this race.
He looks like a good buy from Tom Weston's yard. His pedigree points to wanting further than this two-mile test in time, but he showed bright speed on his debut, a good combination for any youngster starting his career. He offered plenty, and improvement can be expected now that he has been switched to the Skelton yard, which has a record of 311314 in this race in the last eight years.
He will likely be straight and well-schooled, so I am happy to take a chance in a competitive race and keep him on the side for the near future.
Tom Lacey's Black Sam Bellamy Mare, Eskimo Sam, should make a jumper, but she will need more than her down-the-field ninth to play a part and is one for Mares races. Windsurfer was well backed in a Maiden Hurdle at Warwick in May when third to El Curamach (Gasmani well behind) in a race that notched a fair time. However, he folded up under pressure and maybe one for handicaps.
Olly Murphy's two, Diamonds For Luck and Jackpot D'Ainay, are very interesting.
Diamonds For Luck is one to keep on the side on his point-to-point running, where he fell on both occasions last March. The five-year-old was in contention when departing at two out in the first of those. The winner of that race was Willie Mullins' Cantico, and in third was the 131-rated Personal Ambition. His second saw him look like he was winning before coming down at the last fence over a useful Irish bumper horse of Gavin Cromwell's, The Passing Wife (2nd to Redemption Day at Fairyhouse in April this year). Olly Murphy has the third from that race, Long Draw (115).
He was backed on his bumper debut at Taunton but shaped in desperate need of the run, so it's tough to know what to expect today. However, he is worth following if he offers a good show here.
The other Murphy horse is Jackpot D'Ainay, who ran behind Nicky Henderson's useful Centreofattention at Wincanton in January. He stuck to the task well in a sprint finish, and the race worked out smartly. The runner-up had a productive year over hurdles and is rated 121, the third won at Chepstow's open meeting, and the fourth is rated 117. The concern is that he took a backward step at Huntingdon next time, but no doubt Sean Bowen was given the choice of the two, and perhaps he is more forward for this than his stablemate.
Back the selection no shorter than 2/13.00.
14:10 Uttoxeter - Back Get The Beat
The horse with the most promise in this field is Hoe Joly Smoke - 10/34.33 on the Betfair Sportsbook - who I had expected to open up plenty shorter than this in the betting. He offered lots of promise last term over hurdles, particularly when he was second to the smart Ed Keeper at Newbury on his final outing ten months ago.
The winner is rated 14lb higher and likely to achieve more yet, and the third is rated 141 over fences, while the sixth is 11lb higher in the handicap. That's good form in the context of this race, and the selection starts over fences from a fair mark of 119.
Confidence can be taken from his point-to-point experience when readily taking care of a small field (the runner-up won his rules bumper next time out). That outing will at least hold him sway against some more experienced rivals today.
I don't know where Myretown got her rating of 123. While she is open to improvement, her form is of little worth at this time.
Back the selection at 5/23.50 or bigger.
14:45 Uttoxeter - Back Hoe Joly Smoke
Twice a course winner at Haydock this season, Trilby doesn't know how to run a bad race, but that does mean he is continuously in the grip of the handicapper, and he may have been flattered by his big-field York second last time out when favoured by the low draw.
He is a big danger, but Seantrabh - 9/25.50 on the Betfair Sportsbook - did very well against the bias at Redcar last time to finish a closing third, which was a step back in the correct direction. He returned with a down-the-field effort at Doncaster following a mid-season break in September, and he is a fresher horse than many of these for this time of year.
He has a fair record on soft ground and is handicapped to have a say on the best of his form, so it may prove the answer to a tricky race at 4/15.00 or bigger from a lenient mark.
15:30 Haydock - Back Seantrabh
I seem to be putting all our eggs in the Skelton basket today. Lac De Constance - 4/15.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - has risks attached, but he is a well-handicapped horse on the balance of his short career to date, and he has an excellent record when fresh, so it's perhaps worth overlooking his absence to get back on track today.
The eight-year-old is not straightforward, but he got back on the up with a fair third at Haydock when last seen in November, and he never got the opportunity to kick on from that. His Haydock effort followed an up-and-down season over fences when never better than his reappearance effort at Kempton, and catching him fresh is the angle.
He could run into the mid-140s last term over fences, which would be good enough for today's event. He remains less exposed than all of these; many come with a question or two to answer.
Dargiannini also has an excellent record when fresh, but he has crept to a very high mark of 142 and must give away lumps of weight while his trainer's recent form has pushed him to the top of the market. Pyramid Place is interesting, starting for Olly Murphy and under the handling of Sean Bowen, but the Skelton horse is worth siding with at 3/14.00 or bigger.
15:55 Uttoxeter - Back Lac De Constance