Saturday ITV Racing Tips

A hugely disappointing turnout for the prize money on offer and the race should prove little more than a schooling session for reigning Champion Hurdler BUVEUR D’AIR who is rated 13lb superior than his only serious challenger John Constable yet only has to concede 2lb. While John Constable is useful in his own right and was only beaten 4l by My Tent Or Yours at Cheltenham, connections of Buveur D’Air train his conqueror and they will be hugely disappointed if their star hurdler doesn’t extend his winning sequence to nine.

The exuberant, front-running style of CYRNAME should, in theory, be well suited to Sandown’s circuit where the accent is heavily on the ability to jump accurately and at pace.

Although both of the selection’s chase successes have been achieved at the minimum trip and today’s step up in distance is a voyage into the unknown for the six-year-old, his style of racing suggests it shouldn’t represent an issue as he has looked a strong stayer on his starts to date.

The likes of fellow French recruit Terrefort, himself a highly impressive scorer on his UK debut at Huntingdon, and Kalondra will ensure Cyrname does not enjoy everything all his own way at the head of affairs.

However, I am hoping rider Sean Bowen will be able to preserve precious reserves aboard the Ditcheat raider and hand his trainer another Grade One novice chase success by following in the hoofprints of the magnificent Black Corton. 

Given the likelihood of a big field and some traffic problems, there is a small concern a lack of experience may find out TOPOFTHEGAME (Best price 11-2) who makes just his seventh start over obstacles today.

Connections quickly abandoned the plan to pursue chasing when he fell at Newbury in a novice event before Christmas, but he took the return to hurdling in his stride with an eye-catching comeback last month in a hot Kempton handicap and there could be more to come at this trip. The Nicholls team won this race with a similar type in Beshabar a few seasons ago and he too arrived here having also seen an embryonic chasing career swiftly curtailed by a fall.

It is no guarantee useful staying chaser FINAL NUDGE (Best price 5-1) has recovered from his creditable exertions in the Welsh National, but he has been given a month to recover and can post a prominent showing here. A combination of Chepstow’s marathon trip and desperate ground appeared to find out the selection last time and he should be suited by the drop back to three miles. A big run looks in the offing if he can find some early rhythm at his fences and the smaller field should also be beneficial as his best performances have been achieved in fields like todays.

Diego Du Charmil landed this race 12 months ago for Paul Nicholls and the Somerset handler looks to have a bright chance of a repeat bid courtesy of AMOUR DE NUIT (Best price 15-8). There is a surprising lack of runners here and that may not suit the free-going selection which needs to settle better than he did last time. Bryony Frost has rightly earned plenty of plaudits for her riding this year but she allowed her mount too much daylight at Doncaster and there was little gas left in the tank when required late on behind Irish Roe. Decent ground and a right-handed track should suit the selection and he is narrowly preferred to Sir Chauvelin with the forecast predicting there could be 5ml of rain during the morning.

There looks a prospect of a decent gallop here and that may well suit BELLS ‘N’ BANJOS (Best price 8-1) who hasn’t been seen since finishing an honourable fifth in a warm Cheltenham handicap last October. It has to be taken on trust that the selection to ready to make an impact on this event following a sizeable layoff, but the trip and ground appear suitable and the switch to a right-handed track should be no issue for a horse that won twice at Leicester 12 months ago. I would be surprised if the selection’s trainer hadn’t had this race in mind for a while, but he is not a confident selection with so many holding decent chances.

The owners of CAPTAIN CHAOS (Best price 7-2) are local to the track and have enjoyed significant success at the Yorkshire venue in recent seasons so it is a fair assumption to believe this race has been the plan for much of the season. The seven-year-old has really got his act together over fences this term after an inauspicious start and his last victory over course and distance was achieved from the front in willing fashion. This is no easy task given the presence of Ballyoptic and Vintage Clouds, who ran really well in the Welsh National, but Captain Chaos should give a good account if his speed figures are to be believed.