17:30 Punchestown Boylesports.com Champion Chase

Captain Cee Bee has always been a bit behind the 2 market principles, but he does have a very good record fresh having won 3 times in a row after a break. In fairness they were weaker races than this but I get the feeling that Big Zeb is probably on the decline and there is a very good chance that the selection may be able to grab second here. Sizing Europe seems to be still as good as ever and looks a sure thing but the 11/2 with out the fav on Paddy Power and BoylesSports looks a small bit of value.

 

1 Point win Without Fav 11/2 Paddy Power/BoyleSports

5:40 Punchestown, Kildare Hunt Club Fr Sean Breen Memorial Chase

No Notions ran what looked a decent race last time out in a vastly better race than this at Fairyhouse. Although he pulled up just before the last he had travelled well until just before then. I just don’t fancy either of the 2 ahead of him in the market, and any improvement from this 6yo would give him a great chance here. In fact anything like his first hunter chase run last year when 2nd in a race that had his 2 main market rivals behind would make his current 7.8 on Betfair look like great value. He is 6/1 with Bet365, and my gut feeling is that he may be gambled on tomorrow.

2 Points win 6/1 Bet365

Hitting the Goalpost : Saturday Review

We had 4 placed horses at big prices yesterday, at odds of 33/1 16/1 40/1 12/1, so it was a decent day even if all but one were advised win only selections. Win only does have a better profit long term, but on a day like yesterday it would be nice to be back to EW selections.

Both Local Hero & Clerks Choice were placed in the Scottish Champion Hurdle and ran great races at big prices. King Fontaine ran a great race to get back to form in the National and gave us a bit of excitement when looking to be in with a great chance turning for home. Tornado Bob came back to form somewhat with a decent 3rd and with another bit of improvement can take a decent race of this mark soon enough.

We finished the day down a point, which is a pity given some very decent selections.

14:50 Ayr, Scottish Champion Hurdle

Local Hero , is a still relatively unexposed young horse, who ran a very decent race last year in the Triumph which has worked out well. He was late back this year but his run behind Simonseg & Knockara Beau and Kelso on his reappearance was defiantly very decent form. That would give him a decent chance here of his mark of 140 and considering he has had less racing than most of the field this year I’m hoping he still has a bit of improvement left in him. The Favourite could be very hard to beat here but doesn’t look value at current odds. 19 on betfair looks at least 5 points too big and worth a small bet.

1 Point win 19.0 Betfair

Clerk’s Choice , looks worth a small saver bet at a huge price, he has been running ok this year and is down to a half decent mark here despite having top weight. The fast 2 miles on good ground is exactly what he is looking for and 33/1 generally is a decent bit of value.

½ Point win 33/1 Generally

4:00 Ayr Ayrshire Hospice Making Today Matter Handicap Hurdle

Tornado Bob was a very decent novice hurdler who didn’t really take to fences. He has been poor enough this year but on his last run at Cheltenham he ran much better for most of the race until running out of steam after the last. He is down another 3lbs here and in what looks a very open race he has as good a chance as anything else and 12/1 looks value in this field. The trainer couldn’t be in better form and is well capable of getting him back to form here.

1 point win 12/1 Generally

15:45 Newbury, Spring Cup

Heddwyn, looks an interesting contender here. He is very lightly raced, but has been very consistent apart from his last run. He has a very good record fresh, in that he has run well all 3 times after a break. A very good staying on 3rd behind Green Destiny at Leicester on soft ground in particular has him in with a definite shout here of around the same mark. He is drawn high which appear to be a small advantage here. 20 on betfair looks just about value and worth a small bet, which im going to increase to 1pt..

1 Point win Betfair 20

The Tichborne, ran a very good race last year of 2 lbs higher in the Britannia Handicap at Ascot to finish 3rd at the huge price, and although he has been poor enough on his 2 AW runs this year, he has to have a better than 50/1 chance of getting involved here. He is still reasonably unexposed on turf and any improvement at all here will give him a very decent shout at a big looking 70 win 11 place on betfair or 50/1 generally

½ point win ½ point place Betfair 70/11

15:25 Ayr, Coral Scottish Grand National

 

Be There In Five, looks the type to represent a bit of value in this race. He was a very good 3rd in the National Hunt Chase at the festival last year, and although he had 3 very poor runs after that, he comes here on the back of a marked step up in form last time out in the Kim Muir at this years festival when he was staying on at the end into 7th place, looking like the step back up in trip here can only be an advantage. He is also the last horse in the field that is in the handicap proper and that along with the fact that his mark is 6lbs below that 3rd at Cheltenham, give his a decent chance of outrunning his odds of 40 win and 8 place on betfair.

½ point win ½ Point Place Betfair 40/8

King Fontaine, is to be honest a bit of a shot in the dark. Last year he was a very decent novice and ran up a sequence. He ran 2 decent end of season races in the Spinal Research at Cheltenham where he was 5th and finished 11th in the Grand National, both of a mark in the 140s. He is in here today of a mark of 132, but has shown a bit more in his last race over hurdles which is the first time he has run on decent ground since last year. Although he has been generally disappointing this year, he was the subject of a few decent bets on his 3rd last run and although he fell in the heavy going, it points to me that he may be starting to show a bit of form at home. He looks well worth a small risk at the huge price of 70 win and 13 place on betfair.

½ point win ½ Point Place Betfair 70/13

 

Knockara Beau, doesn’t need a lot of explanation. I think he should be favourite here as he has done nothing but run well in better races this year. 6th in the Gold Cup does enough to prove to me that he will stay here and if nothing else he will put his head down and try his best at the end when a lot of these have given up. His mark of 147 looks well within his grasp as he has run great races over hurdles of a 9lbs higher mark. I think the 14.5 on betfair is well worth a bet.

1 Point win Betfair 14.5

Pricewise Challange Update

A Poor enough Gran National for both, Planet of Sound ran a great race but just didn’t stay. Mostly fallers apart from that as is the norm  for that race.. Currently the challenge stands at Pricewise -19 Longshotvalue +9.6.  Pricewise is obviously going through a bad patch at the moment and looks sure to hit something soon. My own stats are only ok at best but a lot of points went a begging in both the Irish & English Nationals, which has to be expected given their nature.

15:25 Aintree Brackloon High

Brackloon High made a couple of mistakes at the wrong time in the Kim Muir at the festival and did finish of the race reasonable well. He is a relatively unexposed novice who has a very good win record. He is a couple of pounds lower here, and 22/1 in what looks a very open race looks a few points to big. Chapoturgeon should be very difficult to beat but doesn’t look value.

 

½ point win 22/1 Stan James