Sunday Racing Tips from Architect

DONNY BOY (best price 6/1) won his first two starts under rules in good style, in a bumper at Kelso on soft ground by fourteen lengths before an eight length victory on hurdles debut at Newcastle. I thought he ran really well in a pair of Grade Two events afterwards and was yet to be asked for maximum efforts when brought down through no fault of his own at the third last hurdle at Kelso last time.

He makes his chase debut off a mark of 129 though, which is lenient, and he gets his favoured conditions too, so it’s possible he could outclass this field dropped in grade here. Either way, he’s got a good each-way chance with four places widely available with nearly all bookmakers. 

HOKE COLBURN (best price 6/1) must have a solid each-way chance here. The ten-year-old has an excellent record on heavy ground which reads figures of 2213 and he’s now three pounds below his last winning mark. Also, he likes it around this course and went over course-and-distance here three starts back under Dennis O’Regan off only a two pounds lower mark. He only found a higher-rated rival too good and although he’s taking on younger horses who could improve, he makes a lot of appeal from an each-way point of view here with four places available with a lot of bookmakers. 

BEAUPORT (best price 11/4) makes his chase debut in a deep race but this six-year-old showed some high-class form over hurdles, never finishing out of the frame in nine starts. He won three times, including a Grade Three by eleven lengths on soft-to-heavy ground and gave weight and a beating to subsequent winner Boothill on his penultimate start. He was last seen running well to finish fourth of 21 in a highly-competitive Grade Three Handicap at Aintree and would have finished closer without being denied a clear passage as he was shuffled back through the field before surging home strongly in the closing stages to make the frame. 

His half-a-length to Dashel Drasher is also smart form, given the winner is rated nearly 160 in this sphere, and the ratings and weights suggest he should go close here provided he takes to the bigger obstacles. He’s rated only five pounds lower than Millers Bank but gets around twelve pounds from the top-weight, who’s jumping has become a slight concern. Trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies boasts an excellent 29% strike-rate at this course and his consistent, hardy performer should be well-suited to this stiff two-mile four furlongs test with conditions in his favour. He has the potential, size and scope to advance his form in this sphere, so if he takes chasing at the first attempt, he could prove hard to beat. 

SILVER HALLMARK (best price 6/1) has been limited to just a few starts since winning a Grade Two over fences but Fergal O’Brien will have got him ready for today’s assignment given he’s reported to have not been the easiest to train and he goes well fresh too. He is seen to best effect when the ground is on the soft side, and he’s only had the eight career starts, so he’s unexposed and is open to improvement. He returns to hurdles off an eight pounds lower mark than his chase mark and ran a decent race when fourth in the Colin Parker Memorial Intermediate Chase on this card twelve months ago. With Adam Wedge kept in the saddle, this talented eight-year-old could give the favourite plenty to think about here. 

INNISFREE LAD (best price 8/1) isn’t the most consistent of staying chasers’ but what he does have is plenty of stamina in reserve and smart form in the book, particularly off this mark, to play a leading role here. He couldn’t make an impact on his return at Chepstow but he’s now eight pounds lower than when third in the Eider at Newcastle and is back on the same mark as when winning by ten lengths at Plumpton which makes him a well-handicapped horse. The David Dennis-trained ten-year-old should be approaching peak-fitness now and, now reunited with Brian Hughes, he could be about to run another big race despite this being a wide-open race with the likes of Houston Texas and Mount Melleray feared most.