Best Weekend Racing Bets: Back Rome to rule with 25/1 November Handicap Tip

Saturday, Aintree, 14:55, Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle Tip: Back French Ship EW four places @ 10/111.00

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French Ship

• J: Ben Jones
• T: Philip Hobbs & Johnson White
• F: 1/F117U03-

A nice mix to look forward to this weekend with Aintree on the horizon and the final Flat shindig of the season at Doncaster and plenty of races priced up on the Sportsbook to attack Saturday.

The Aintree 14:55 could be well-stocked in terms of runners and the pair of Philip Hobbs players are interesting with French Ship 10/111.00 and Kijiko 20/121.00.

The latter might need some softer going, which might not materialise with a dry forecast for Liverpool this week and French Ship looks a tad overpriced.

And he only has one entry.

I had high hopes for French Ship, or "la bateau Francais" last term as he landed two good handicaps at Cheltenham and Newbury.

He was most impressive under Ben Jones at the Cheltenham October meeting, winning comfortably by over 3L and that was swift compensation as he fell three out in the Silver Trophy prior at Chepstow.

Two exits blighted his campaign, but he's a smooth traveller and I, somewhat foolishly perhaps, thought he could have been an outsider for the Stayers' Hurdle at one stage.

He's unexposed at 3m and I am sure that trip is where his fortune will lie, and with victories on soft, good to soft, good and even a bumper win on good to firm, the weather can throw whatever they like at us.

With 10/111.00 and four places he looks a decent each-way shout at this early stage.

Saturday, Aintree, 15:35, 2m4f Handicap Chase Tip: Back Mahon's Glory EW three places @ 12/113.00

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Mahons Glory (Ire)

• J: Lee Edwards
• T: Dylan Cunha
• F: 452164-14

Quite a few of the entries for this race are potentials for the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham later in the month, and while I would be keen on Rodney for Kerry Lee, he'll need proper winter going and he's unlikely to get it.

Mahon's Glory will be fine on anything from good to soft to good to firm (god forbid firm in November) and he's a progressive sort, slightly anyway with his age.

A win at Huntingdon in March is a good pointer to him potentially going around left-handed at Aintree, as while he jumped while in the main at Huntingdon, his knack of going out to his left got worse and down the straight he was all over the place yet still recorded a 12L victory.

And he was conceding weight to the second and third.

His trainer Dylan Cunha went for the Topham over the Grand National fences in April subsequently, and I don't think Cunha would have come away thinking he hasn't got ability and a not cut out for Aintree.

He got a flyer and led early in that hustle and bustle and field, so much so that he was still whizzing around with four fences to jump and was still leading two out.

His finish speed of 98% plus the field size meant he was possibly a little aggressive from the front, but his jumping was quite good. Much less wayward than Huntingdon and I suspect this sort of track will suit him, although as a ten-year-old we cannot really consider him as massively progressive.

A winner of the Summer Plate Trial at Market Rasen in the sunny days means drying ground will help and it might be a case of striking before the big guns come out for the soft going into December.

A slight reduction in distance from the Topham to Saturday's 2m4f is another plus and I think he'll run a good race from the front.

Saturday, Doncaster, 15:25, November Handicap Tip: Back Circus Of Rome EW four places @ 25/126.00

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Circus Of Rome

• J: Finley Marsh
• T: Richard Hughes
• F: 46-500023

I was a little surprised to see the Richard Hughes-trained Nobody Knows in as 7/24.50 market leader for the November Handicap, and while progressive, unexposed etc etc, he doesn't represent a great punt at those odds. At this stage anyway.

The Hughes' other inmate Circus Of Rome looks far more interesting at 25/126.00.

A few of Circus Of Rome's poor runs have been in top company over trips that have been demanding too much.

A 6L defeat in the Northumberland Plate over 2m and a down the field effort in the Ebor over 1m6f are easy to forget.

However, he returned to a bit of form over 1m2f and 1m4f at Pontefract and Newcastle and off a mark of 94, he is slowly coming down to a more favourable rating.

The trip is the angle, though, as he has never convinced me he is a 1m6f horse let alone a 2m one, and last term with the way he travelled into the race at Haydock off a good pace saw him come strongly into contention before his stamina gave way - and it wasn't exactly a stern test either with a finish speed of 107%.

It's too early write him off as a four-year-old, and one that has faced some serious tasks.

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