Cheltenham and Doncaster Friday Tips by Dave Stevos
Cheltenham and Doncaster Friday Tips
It was a mixed bag for our selections last Saturday. Broome was first off the bridle and finished a long last. Manuela De Vega ran a decent enough race but not decent enough to reward e/w support. James Doyle wasn’t as aggressive on Century Dream as I hoped he would be and he finished well beaten. Japan flattered to deceive once again and is very frustrating. We at least got a few quid back in the sprint with Brando. Sonailya was disappointing but good old Brando ran a cracker at 80/1 and I still don’t know how he lost. Graignes drifted to 40/1 and ran a blinder too in 4th in the last, so at least we didn’t finish empty handed. The National Hunt is back for real this weekend, alongside some top class flat action. Check out Dave Stevos’ Cheltenham and Doncaster Friday tips below…
Cheltenham and Doncaster Friday Tips: 1.50pm – Novices’ Hurdle (Class 2)
The first televised race of the new National Hunt season on ITV4 is this class 2 novices’ hurdle. Only 7 are due to go to post and Ask For Glory is the clear favourite. Plenty are predicting a big season for Paul Nicholls this year and it looks like he has lots of ammunition. Harry Cobden rides the son of Fame And Glory today. He was on board for his 23L win at Wincanton (21f sft) back in February.
That was this fella’s last start but fitness shouldn’t be an issue given who trains him. What could be an issue is good ground, as every one of his starts has come on soft. He ran below par in the Champion Bumper on his only previous visit to Cheltenham too. All things considered, 13/8 does look rather skinny. I think he is worth taking on with Northern raider Finisk River.
Donald McCain’s son of Red Rocks comes here match fit from four novice hurdle runs. A promising debut at Bangor (19.5f gd) was built on at Cartmel (17f gd/sft) when he hosed up by 19L. A 24L win over 22f on soft followed but arguably his best effort came in a Class 3 heat last time back at Bangor. He was only a head behind Fugitives Drift, conceding 4lb, and that horse won a decent handicap off 131 at Hereford earlier this week. With ground and trip to suit, Finisk River is the e/w pick at 12/1.
Cheltenham and Doncaster Friday Tips: Finisk River e/w @ 12/1
Cheltenham and Doncaster Friday Tips: 2.25pm – Beginners’ Chase (Class 2)
Only 6 horses go to post for this Beginners’ Chase, a poor turnout. The two Irish raiders look interesting and Gordon Elliott’s Galvin is the favourite at around 7/4. He has strong course form in the book, he will enjoy the good ground and he looks well worth a crack at 3 miles. Doctor Duffy is on a retrieval mission after an early mishap last time. Unlike Galvin his stamina is assured and he will love the ground.
Paul Nicholls is flying and he runs Soldier Of Love for Malcom Denmark. He has won four in a row at trips ranging from 24f to 26f, all on good ground. This will be his toughest test to date though. Mossy Fen was a smart hurdler but he was outclassed at the festival in March. His last two defeats came at this track and that has to be a worry on his chase debut. Ask Dillon has a similar profile. He too makes his chasing debut and while he ran some crackers over hurdles, his course form is poor.
Clondaw Caitlin is another one coming here on the back of 4 wins in a row. All her form is on soft/heavy though and she was beat on her only start on good in a point to point. At the prices, I think Doctor Duffy represents a bit of value at 7/1. The fact he fell last time is a worry but if it hasn’t dented his confidence he has the ability to make his presence felt on ground he will relish. Granted a clear round, Doctor Duffy is capable of going very close.
Cheltenham and Doncaster Friday Tips: Doctor Duffy e/w @ 7/1
Doncaster Friday: 2.40pm – Vertem Handicap (Class 2)
The one to be interested in this 6f handicap is Bernardo O’Reilly for Richard Spencer and Angus Villiers. This 6yo son of Intikhab won by 1L on his last C&D outing back in September off 87. He followed up with a fine run to finish 6th off 92 in the Ayr Silver Cup (6f gd/sft) when left with too much to do. A slow start cost him last time at Nottingham but the handicapper still dropped him 1lb to a rating of 90.
Angus Villiers claims 5lb off his back so he is effectively running off a 2lb lower mark than for his last win here . Villiers has a decent record when riding for this yard with 3 wins and 9 top 4 finishes from 29 rides. Good to soft ground is absolutely fine and he won’t mind if it dries out a bit either. With 4 places on offer, Bernardo O’Reilly is worth chancing e/w at odds of 14/1.
Cheltenham and Doncaster Friday Tips: Bernardo O’Reilly e/w @ 14/1 (4 Places)
Cheltenham: 3.00pm – Handicap Hurdle (Class 3)
Regular readers will be very familiar with the horse I am keen on in this race. We were on Debestyman as our NAP in the Lanzarote last season and he had the race in the bag when unseating at the final hurdle. It was a gut wrenching moment but hopefully he can gain compensation in this. Trained by Suzy Smith, he comes here after an underwhelming reappearance run at Uttoxeter. He was beat 68L and finished 11th of 12 but surely that was just a pipe opener and was badly needed.
This horse is rated 122, just 4lb higher than he was for the Lanzarote. He has decent form in the book at Cheltenham over 3 miles and today’s 21f trip probably suits him better. His sole win under rules at Plumpton came over 20.5f (sft) and it was good to soft at Kempton for the Lanzarote, similar ground to what he will be running on today. He should come on bundles for his reappearance and at odds of 20/1 Debestyman is the e/w NAP of the day.
Cheltenham and Doncaster Friday Tips: Debestyman e/w @ 20/1 NAP (5 Places)
Doncaster Friday: 3.15pm – Vertem Handicap (Class 2)
Nine stayers will battle it out for the prize in this 14.5f contest. Although he ran very poorly last time, Amazing Red could bounce back at a track he has run well at before. His sole start at Doncaster back in 2017 came over 12f (gd/sft) and he ran a lovely race to finish 2nd, staying on well. He is back down to the same mark that he last won in handicap company off at Newmarket (14f) and his best form is at today’s trip.
Ed Dunlop’s charge ran a blinder off 98 at Newmarket on soft ground back in July when beat just 2L in 3rd. He doesn’t want extremes of ground so anything from good to soft should be fine for him. The first time cheekpieces could sharpen him up and Andrea Atzeni looks a good booking. He has a superb record when riding for in-form Ed Dunlop with 11 wins and 40 top 4 finishes from just 92 rides. He has 1 win for the owner, but from 14 rides he also has 10 top 4s so he has hit the frame on 11 of 14 rides for him. Given his inconsistent profile he isn’t one to be lumping on, but at odds of 25/1 Amazing Red has the ability to feature if on a going day.
Cheltenham and Doncaster Friday Tips: Amazing Red e/w @ 25/1
Cheltenham Friday: 3.35pm – Flying Spur Handicap Chase (Class 2)
The last live race of the day on ITV4 is a 16f handicap chase. 13 will line up at the start and it looks wide open. The one I’ll be backing at big odds in this race is Movie Legend for Lucy Wadham and Bryony Frost. This 10yo is 7lb wrong at the weights in this race but he has won off 130, so 135 should not be beyond him. That is the biggest negative, but there are plenty of positives as regards his chances. Firstly, his record fresh is excellent. He has form figures of 2314 on his seasonal returns since joining Lucy Wadham.
Secondly, his sole run over course and distance was a fine effort behind the classy Bun Doran off 124. He was admittedly 8L behind the winner in 2nd but he was well ahead of the rest. Peppay Le Pugh was 3rd off 122 and he is now rated 135. Doitforthevillage was 20L behind Movie Legend and while he is better off at the weights, the Wadham horse should uphold the form. Off a feather weight of 10 stone he could give Bryony Frost a great spin. Frost is 3/10 for Wadham with 6 top 4s (90% frame hitting strike rate) and at odds of 25/1, Movie Legend is the e/w pick.
