Kate Tracey, Sam Boswell and Declan Rix return in search of the best betting angles for Haydock and Ascot.
Midway through this week’s show, the team have a specific dive into the action live on Sky Sports Racing.
The Ladbrokes 1965 Chase is the feature on the card, and Pic D’orhy is out to win it for a third time in a row against the likes of Il Est Francais and Arkle winner Jango Baie.
Five runners are set to go over the two mile and five furlong trip, with Gidleigh Park and Master Chewy completing the quintet.
Declan Rix…
“I can’t warm to the favourite of this race Il Est Francais, even though he gets weight all round from the runners. I don’t think he will take kindly to the track. It’s undulating turning for home and he’s used to dominating on flat tracks – I don’t think he’ll be able to get his own way.
“I think this race goes to Jango Baie for me. The way this race sets up makes me think it will work out well for him. There is loads of pace on and his jockey Nico de Boinville can bide his time at the back before picking his way through his rivals. He won the Arkle at the Cheltenham Festival last year and that form has worked out really well so far this season, which is another tick in his box.”
Jango Baie (right) won last year’s Arkle
Host Kate Tracey…
“I’m in agreement with Declan in taking on Il Est Francais. I worked for his new trainer Tom George and he is a top-class trainer, however he has never had his horses fit first time and his main target is the King George on Boxing Day. So, I’m siding with the two-time winner of this race Pic D’orhy.
“If you look at his win last year, he proves everything that you need to win this race. He is a ten-year-old now, but this is his Gold Cup with plenty needing this run as a prep. I hope he will come on from his run in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby, which was a great run. I think he will go well.”
Sam Boswell…
“I’m going to chance the unexposed one in this field in Gidleigh Park. His price is on the short side, but he may drift on the day. If you look at his three chase starts, we can excuse the first one as he had a defibrillating heart and the jockey rightly pulled him up sharply. He had plenty of time to recover from that and then went to Windsor, where he beat Caldwell Potter.
“He went onto the Mainfesto at Aintree which is a Grade 1 and ran with plenty credit on just technically his second start over fences. His jumping will be tested at Ascot with plenty of pace on and he can be brave at his fences, so if he gets one wrong he could be in trouble.
“His trainer Harry Fry has had eleven winners at this two-day meeting at Ascot in recent years and seems to target the meeting – so he’s the one I’ll be siding with here.”
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