1.55pm Newbury - BetVictor Greatwood Cold Cup Handicap Chase
We have a very competitive affair to kick start the ITV7 selections, and I really like the look of Ryan Potter’s top weight Jetoile, who has come on leaps and bounds with each passing run over fences recently.
Rated just 132 before winning three on the bounce, he now holds a career high mark of 149, and while that means that he has to carry a fair chunk of weight more than the rest, jockey Dylan Johnston takes off a very valuable 5lbs which will see him in good stead here.
With that in mind he could easily be the best horse in the contest, and connections recently have been speaking about how highly they regard this horse, and they all feel he will arrive into this contest with a real good chance.
He won the Grade 2 Old Roan Chase at Aintree earlier on in the season, and although he was only fourth at Cheltenham last time out, that was still a good enough run in a competitive contest after three months or so off the track.
He runs well in any sort of conditions, so the heavy/very soft ground that is expected on Saturday should be no issue for this horse.
- Selection - Jetoile (7/1)
2.17pm Kelso - Grade 2 bet365 Premier Novices Hurdle
Another pretty competitive 12-runner contest, it is something of a rarity to see so many decent looking novices battle it out for the Grade 2 prize.
Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle winner Jango Baie makes the long journey up for this, with Nico De Boinville booked to ride, but under a penalty and a testing run just 23 days ago at Huntingdon might catch him out here.
Therefore Personal Ambition, for the in-form Ben Pauling, could be the one to watch after getting the better of Jango Baie at Huntingdon (Handstands won that Listed contest) then, so history could repeat itself here.
Personal Ambition is lightly raced, but does look to be a really smart prospect over hurdles, winning two of his three runs over them, including an 8-length hack-up job at Doncaster last time. Another thing to note, is that Pauling's horse beat Jago Baie on debut at Warwick, and beat him fair and square. Jango Baie might be a slightly different prospect now, but with Personal Ambition getting a little bit of weight from the current market leader, he could well improve even morehere.
The good-to-soft conditions will more than suit and connections have waited for this race for a little while now to get the slightly better ground conditions.
- Selection - Personal Ambition (9/2 )
2.35pm Doncaster - Free Digital Racecard At raceday-ready.com Handicap Chase
Although slightly short on ratings compared to the main rivals at the top end of the market, I really like Homme Public for this contest.
Despite having a 71 day break to deal with here, he is a Grade 2 novice chase winner already, and the fact they have taken him out of novice company and placed him into an open contest suggests what connections think of this horse.
He is very lightly raced over fences, so that could obviously play out of his favour, but he holds the record of 2 wins in 3 chase runs, so is clearly quite talented. He takes on rivals here with plenty of experience, but I feel connections have decided to run him here for the nice prize pot, and to utilise the mark of 139, which does look a tad lenient.
He was beaten by a nice type last time, and was lugging a 10lb penalty around Ascot, so now he is the one with less weight, I think it will more than favour him here. The conditions will more than suit and going back left-handed is another thing that will very much play to his strengths this weekend. I think he will run very well here and defy the fact he is a little way off in terms of ratings compared to the rest.
- Selection - Homme Public (11/4)
2.50pm Kelso - bet365 Morebattle Hurdle
Benson appears to have had his season mapped out with this contest in mind for connections, as he won it 12 months ago when arriving into the race in similar form, going away in the closing stages to beat Colonel Mustard by a couple of lengths.
He was rated 134 then, and given the fact he is 5lbs higher in the weights now he has top weight to carry around here on Saturday, but that should not stop him for a northern-based yard who are going very well at the moment (as of Friday AM, they are operating at a 40% win strike rate for the last 14 days).
On top of that, jockey Ryan Mania is also riding very well with a 46% win rate for the last 14 days, with 6 winners in just well-targeted 14 rides. They are a combination very much finding their feet now, and they tend to always do very well at these meetings.
Benson was a winner over two miles at Musselburgh in a decent class 2 contest, with Holmes Saint Georges a length in behind. He was 4th in a very competitive Scottish County Hurdle last time, always staying on well in the closing stages, so if he is up there with the pace come the closing stages, I don't see anything out-battling him to the line.
There is no doubt he will give it his all to retain his crown in this contest, and I firmly believe he will win the race in back to back years.
- Selection - Benson (10/1)
3.10 Doncaster - Listed Tips For Every Race At raceday-ready.com Mares Novices Hurdle
Probably not the greatest race in truth, but it hands an excellent opportunity for one mare to put some nice winning black type against their name, which can be invaluable when it comes to breeding, which is why these mares-only races are great.
Tom Symonds has had a relatively quiet season so far, but he appears to have a good one in Gaye Legacy, who arrives into this race off the back of a very good Newbury handicap win last time, when she kept on very gamely indeed to the line.
Before that she won a class 4 handicap hurdle at Market Rasen, then went on to come 2nd on two occasions, once behind Kyntara and another time in a decent class 2 contest. She was just rated 104 before the good form sequence started, and now rated 117 she deserves to run in this sort of company as connections will look to get some nice black type for her.
The trip and conditions will all be in her favour, and although she does have the tendency to wander around in the closing stages, she is very game and will always run on well in the closing stages. I think she could be the one to improve just enough to land a nice contest of this nature.
- Selection - Gaye Legacy (9/2)
3.25pm Kelso - Listed bet365 Premier Chase
This race appear to revolve around Monbeg Genius for the O'Neills, who very much have Grand National glory in mind when it comes to this horse. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons we haven't seen him on the track in 91 days, and those issues made it touch and go as to whether the horse could run in the Grand National next month, but it does look as if he can now, albeit he need several withdrawals before he makes it into the top 34.
With that in mind, although he isn't the top rated in this, he appears to be the best staying type in the contest. Yes he does have the fairly length break to overcome, and did disappoint on his first start this season, especially in the jumping sector, but he did bounce back to some sort of form in the Newbury Gold Cup in November, where he finished a very nice 3rd, rallying on well in the closing stages. His jumping that day was again a little suspect, but I think they will try and give the horse an easy time here ready for the bigger races further on in the season.
A multiple handicap chase winner last season, he ended that winning run with a very good 3rd in the Ultima bhind Corach Rambler who then went on to Grand National glory, and Monbeg Genius was only beaten by 2 and a quarter lengths that day.
If all is well with his slight injury issue which has kept him out for a little while, then there is more to come and he should be winning this nicely before bigger things later on, at the back end of the season.
- Selection - Monbeg Genius (13/8)
3.40pm Doncaster - Grimthorpe Handicap Chase
Now when you say "competitive contest" for the day, this one definitely springs to mind, as in its usual nature we have a relatively big field battling it out for this prize over the Gold Cup distance of 3m2f. Despite the race’s competitive nature, I am siding with the in-form market leader, who arrives into this race off the back of two nice chase wins, and it could be another big race success for Gavin Sheehan, Richard Hobson and Rubicon Racing.
Some Scope currently holds the record of 2 wins from just 3 career runs, which again might play to the other runners’ strengths here, especially given that they might hold a little more experience than him, but the manner in which he won at this course over 3 miles a few weeks back suggests there is a whole lot more to come from him.
He was sent off the 13/8 favourite that day, and landed the class 4 contest with aplomb, which is a decent yardstick considering the decent staying types that were in behind that day. He jumped like a seasoned professional, and it didn't look like it was just his third run over larger obstacles, which is something to be admired in a young chasing type.
He has the 10lb raise in the weights to deal with here on Saturday, which is a career-high best for this young horse, but there should be a whole lot more to come from him and we could be talking about this in a few seasons to come as a very nice staying type who will line up in all the good staying chase contests.
All prices from Planet Sport Bet were correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
This could be the perfect stepping stone for this horse to then go onto bigger things the more he runs over fences, a prospect that connections are surely very excited about.
- Selection - Some Scope (3/1)
All previews and tips provided by @ Jake Russell
All prices from Planet Sport Bet were correct at the time of writing but are subject to change