Steve Ryder Saturday Racing Tips

CONNECTIONS OF ZANZA (best priced at 15/2) have stepped him up in trip to 2m4f for his previous two efforts this season and that appears to have helped his jumping which had previously been his weakness over strongly run two miles. The Philip Hobbs trained eight-year-old was a close third on his reappearance at Exeter in the Haldon Gold Cup before finishing 6th in the Paddy Power Gold Cup in November on his first try at 2m4f. He bettered that effort when switched to the new course at Cheltenham last time when he finished only two lengths behind Coole Cody in the Racing Post Gold Cup despite being hampered early on in that race. 

Zanza now runs here off 2lb higher in first-time cheekpieces and he looks sure to run well with up to six places available.

Paul Nicholls has a fantastic record at Musselburgh in the last five years (42% strike rate) and similarly CHRISTOPHER WOOD (best priced at 5/1) has a great record at the course too. The seven-year-old won over this course and distance in February 2020 before winning the Scottish County Hurdle last year off a mark of 143 under Angus Cheleda. 

Christopher Wood has been beaten by the reopposing Tommy’s Oscar twice since but has reasons why he can reverse the form in this race. In March, Tommy’s Oscar defeated him by nearly five lengths at Kelso but now gets a 24lb weight swing that day and last time at Haydock Christopher Wood just failed to stay the 2m3f trip. He is now rated 1lb lower than his Scottish County Hurdle victory in February, is 2/2 at Musselburgh and should run well in this race. 

The Olly Murphy trained BREWIN'UPASTORM (best priced at 2/1) is top-rated in this race with a rating of 158 and I feel he should prove hard to beat in this Grade 2. He has been slightly unlucky on his three runs at Cheltenham in the past and I don’t feel this course is a negative to him. He should have won a Ballymore Trial as a novice hurdler he when he fell at the last before finishing 4th in the Ballymore itself behind City Island and Champ later that season. He never jumped well enough to make it as a chaser and that was shown by him falling in the Arkle but he has won 3 out of his 4 starts since reverting back to hurdles. 

His only defeat came in the Grade 1 Aintree Hurdle last season behind Abacadabras and Buzz but made a winning reappearance at Aintree in November when he defied a drift to win by nine lengths from If The Cap Fits. That victory was a career-high RPR for Brewin’upastorm and if he can repeat that performance then I think it will be enough for him to win this Grade 2 Relkeel Hurdle.