ITV will be televising jump racing from Wincanton’s Badger Beer Ladies Day and Aintree’s Grand Sefton Day alongside the flat season’s closing meeting at Doncaster for a total of eleven live races on our screens on Saturday.
- 12:55 Aintree: Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle – Chasing Fire @ 4/1
- 1:10 Wincanton: Read Meg Nicholls’ Blog At betmgm.co.uk Handicap Chase – Sayva @ 15/2
- 1:25 Doncaster: Virgin Bet Supports Safe Gambling Wentworth Stakes – Apollo One @ 5/1
- 1:45 Wincanton: BetMGM Paul & Richard Barber Memorial Mares’ Handicap Hurdle – Bethpage @ 5/1
- 2:05 Aintree: Introducing William Hill Half A Mill Handicap Chase – Mambonumberfive @ 11/4
- 2:23 Wincanton: Boodles Rising Stars Novices’ Chase – Cobra Queen @ 2/1
- 2:40 Aintree: William Hill Grand Sefton Handicap Chase – Our Power @ 15/2
- 2:55 Wincanton: BetMGM Elite Hurdle – Rubaud @ 1/5
- 3:10 Doncaster: Virgin Bet A Good Bet Irish EBF Gillies Fillies’ Stakes – Danielle @ 6/4
- 3:30 Wincanton: 64th Badger Beers Handicap Chase – Gustavian @ 4/1
- 3:45 Doncaster: Virgin Bet November Handicap – Insanity @ 20/1
Live ITV racing begins at Aintree with the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle and a 2m4f handicap chase at Wincanton before the Listed Wentworth Stakes at Doncaster. Current market leader is Montassib for William Haggas who is a Group 1 winner having triumphed in the Sprint Cup at Haydock last season.
He and Time Easterby’s Art Power competed in the British Champions Sprint Stakes last month finishing seventh and thirteenth respectively. Our pick goes to Apollo One for the training duo of Charalambous & Clutterbuck who narrowly missed out on victory in the Group 3 Bengough Stakes five weeks ago.
The Paul & Richard Barber Memorial Mares’ Handicap Hurdle is followed by a 2m handicap chase at Aintree and the Grade 2 Rising Stars Novices’ Chase at Wincanton. Just five runners line up and the market has it between Blueking d’Oroux for Paul Nicholls and Cobra Queen for Henry De Bromhead.
Blueking d’Oroux won the Select Hurdle at Sandown last season and perhaps needed the run when finishing second at Newton Abbot last month. That said, Cobra Queen was impressive when carrying top weight to a wide-margin victory at Roscommon in September and can continue her progress here.
Aintree’s Grand Sefton Handicap is significant in that it is run over the Grand National Course, though the race is a much shorter distance of 2m5f which is just over a circuit. David Pipe’s King Turgeon won this last year but will be carrying over a stone extra in weight on Saturday. Our Power for Sam Thomas is a consistent sort and gets the nod from us in what is an open looking renewal.
Wincanton’s second Grade 2 of the day, the Elite Hurdle, has last year’s winner Rubaud for Paul Nicholls as the short-priced favourite. He faces just three rivals and should be in good after winning in his seasonal reappearance at Kempton in October.
The live action concludes with the Listed Gillies Fillies’ Stakes, the 64th Badger Beers Handicap and the November Handicap which is set to have 23 runners going to post. In what is a complicated puzzle to solve we are opting for Alan King’s Insanity to be in amongst the places.