ITV Racing Tips: Saturday Each-Way Double for Haydock

This Grade 2 Supreme Trial was won by Jonbon last year and whilst this year’s field has a more open feel about, according to the bookmakers at least, I am sweet on the chances of the Dan Skelton-trained PEMBROKE (best price 13/8) who is fancied to give the Skelton brothers another big Saturday winner in this race.

Olly Murphy’s Chasing Fire is unbeaten in three starts but this is a big step up in grade and he is unproven on ground worse than good to soft as well. Conversely, Pembroke bolted up on heavy ground two starts ago and recorded a wide-margin success at Ludlow last-time-out, taking his tally over hurdles to two wins from three starts.

This promising youngster should be well-suited to the course and will get a nice lead into proceedings under a quiet Harry Skelton ride. Furthermore, he is the clear highest rated at 136 and his in-form handler continues to bang in the winners, which is a great positive towards his credentials. He can take the step up in grade in his stride and make it three wins on the spin.

It has been a frustrating week for the National hunt season as the weather has disrupted the jumps meeting schedule but if Haydock can surpass the 8am inspection Saturday morning, I have full faith that course and heavy ground specialist BRISTOL DE MAI (best price 11/4) can roll back the years and record another victory on the Merseyside venue in the Grade 2 Peter Marsh.

The 12-year-old may not be the force of old but it was only last year he won the Grand National Trial here off a 5Ib higher mark (winner disqualified) and he ran well enough in this year's renewal of Betfair Chase on his return - a race he has won three times in the past. He gets on ever-so-well with Daryl Jacob and connections will be pleasantly happy to see conditions deteriorate in recent weeks at the course.

Likewise to Blaklion and Fontaine Collonges, these three are the only course-and-distance winners in the field and this veteran is rated 11Ib higher than his nearest pursuer in the weights. He has to concede a lot of weight to his younger rivals but he is the class act in the race and is the only Grade 1 winner in the field as well.

He has six course victories to his name and his record on heavy ground here reads excellent form figures of 1111 (4-4). The assessor has dropped him 4Ib to a mark of 154 plus he returns to handicap company against a field where most of these have it all to prove in this grade. He has only managed two wins in more than four years but he is still a good horse.

If you are going by trends and statistics for this race, then Fontaine Collonges is probably the biggest danger, who beat The Big Breakaway here on his penultimate start and that form has worked out well given the runner-up subsequently finished second in the Welsh National at Chepstow to advertise the strength of the form. He is likely to start favourite based on that performance.

That said, I just cannot see how he can beat the top-weight, who will revel in conditions and has practically made this course his own over the years and has the strongest form of these by a mile. Yes, Venetia Williams’ charge gets a lot of weight from Nigel Twiston Davies’ high-class performer but the ratings and RPR’s suggest he has plenty to find with the selection.

For sure, conceding weight in these conditions won’t be easy for a horse who isn’t as good as he once was but many great horses have come back and proved the doubters wrong in their advancing years here and I am pretty confident this popular grey will outclass these if he can get into a good rhythm from the front. Either way, I think he is a great price regardless of the outcome.

Pembroke & Bristol De Mai  1pt double