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Big field for Newbury feature on Saturday priced up on the Sportsbook
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Washington the headline selection and keep tabs on King hurdler
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Alan Dudman also has 11/26.50 and 4/15.00 tips for the weekend
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Newbury - 13:50: Back Keable @ 11/26.50
L'eau Du Sud for the Kingmaker at Warwick and Sir Gino in the Game Spirit are the elite pair for their respective assignments for Saturday - both priced at 1/21.50 and both out to enhance their Cheltenham credentials for one last hurrah before the big one next month.
Lossiemouth is also entered at Newbury for the 13:50 Stayers Handicap Hurdle, but fear not, it's the "other Lossie". Still, that race at Newbury is good starting point to kick off this week's column with 21 at the entries stage.
There's a panoply of progressive horses for this - just what you'd expect for a Saturday handicap. The up and coming troika of Haiti Couleurs 6/17.00, Keable 11/26.50 and Bective Abbey 9/25.50 have ability to promise more. But I would be slightly worried about Bective Abbey whose win came on good at Warwick last spring and hasn't been seen since.
I've been attaching myself to the Philip Hobbs and Johnson White yard this term more often than in recent seasons. The pair have Keable and Tiny Tetley entered and this looks a good spot for the former who already has a course and distance win in the bag this season.
That came last time out and a fairly dour test even though the ground was described on the Timeform book as good to soft. He was fairly relentless in galloping all the way to line from Job, who stays well and rallied after the final hurdle, but Keable was strong with a finishing furlong 15.72 seconds compared to Job's much slower 16.33. The third chimed in with a final furlong of over 17 seconds to highlight the merit of Keable's stamina.
He bolted up while clearly let in off a good mark of 105 at Exeter, a home win, on New Year's Day in atrocious conditions. His mud spattered silks, however, were clearly at home with the test over 2m5f despite running down the hurdles to his left down the straight.
Off 124 for Saturday, he does promise a fair bit and at 11/26.50 looks far more of a bet with proven ground and stamina compared to Bective Abbey. He does have an entry for Exeter on Sunday in a Pertemps Qualifier, so hopefully Hobbs will play ball and keep him to Newbury.
Back Keable
Newbury - 15:35: Back Washington EW @ 16/117.00
The imaginatively titled Newbury Handicap Hurdle (nee Betfair Hurdle, double nee Schweppes) will be the punting feast on offer for this weekend and the highlight of an excellent card in Berkshire. Not content with stealing all the Flat reaches, Hughie Morrison's Secret Squirrel will be out to justify his 5/16.00 ante-post price as favourite for the big prize.
He's burdened with the 5lb penalty for winning a decent pot at Windsor last time, but it's the sort of race I like to have a couple of bigger darts to throw at the bull.
Although Secret Squirrel would easily win a first prize on looks alone. Unlike me.
Washington interests me at 16/117.00 for Harry Derham. While I often think his horses are placed too short in a marker (Teddy Blue a prime example from the weekend just gone), a big galloping track suits him and he's a very consistent nine-year-old.
That age will have to fly in the face of the stats as the last winner aged nine or above was back in 2002 with Nicky Henderson's Geos.
In the last 14 years, five and six year-olds have held sway over this race with all but two coming from that age bracket and the usual modus is to go for something unexposed with a good mark and usually a bit younger.
However, Washington landed a good race at Fairyhouse in December, a plan well hatched by young master Derham with a very comfortable success with the way he travelled and the way he finished off the race. He beat Enniskerry into second by five lengths, and Enniskerry has given the form a major boost since with a Leopardstown Handicap Hurdle win.
"Since Ireland, this has very much been the plan with Washington," said Derham of his leading chance (in my eyes anyway), and I don't have too much worry with the ground or any entries elsewhere. I was keen on the stable's Court In The Act for this too, but he's not even got a nomination at entries stage.
Washington looks a very straightforward ride and it's been far from a taxing campaign with just two runs. At the time of writing the column, Newbury were soft, but with a couple of dry days I am anticipating some good to soft in there somewhere, and that could be tailor-made.
Favour And Fortune has to be of interest for Alan King - who has never won this race, but his runner is more in keeping with the younger and hipper profile for the race as a seven-year-old with just seven runs to boot over hurdles.
He's priced at 10/111.00 and with only one start this term (a poor one that was obviously needed), he's a fascinating contender from 140 as he can boast Graded form.
Indeed, his second to Jango Baie in the Aintree-staged Tolworth in the 2023 winter would give him a class advantage. But the comeback run does worry me in the Ladbroke as he was beaten 30 lengths. He's been a horse in the past that hasn't needed a lot of work to get fit.
These were the words from King on his website pre-Ascot Ladbroke comeback:
"He suffered a hock injury which has prevented him from having a prep-race, but he has come to hand quicker than I expected after that setback, and, while he'll improve on whatever he does after such a long absence, he is fit enough and could run a big race provided they don't have too much rain at Ascot between now and Saturday."
While he has form on heavy, King has described him as a good-moving horse and was always craving some decent ground with him. He's one to monitor, as he might just have to prove he is over the setback as it's not ideal with any sort of rustiness in a big field with hustle and bustle.
Back Washington EW
Warwick - 15:15: Back Le Milos @ 4/15.00
The only strong betting view at Warwick on Saturday away from the short prices is Le Milos in the Veterans' Handicap Chase over 2m4f. A drop in class against the hardy old-stagers might work in getting him back to winning ways.
It seems an age since he won a Coral Gold Cup at Newbury - 2022 to be precise - and that was the last time he was victorious, but his run behind Lowry's Bar on the Welsh National card at Christmas gives him an excellent chance if he can back it up.
Lowry's Bar is a progressive runner, and he's got nothing of that standard to worry about here. Le Milos fared best in the race out of those held up behind the front two.
More slack has come from the assessor with another 2lb drop to 139 . Considering he was 147 at the start of the season when running in tougher races, he has to be on the radar with his first try against veterans.
Back Le Milos