ITV Racing Tips: Three Saturday Selections from Sandown and Musselburgh
Most eyes in the racing world will be on the Dublin Racing Festival as it begins on Saturday, with the Grade 1 littered card a real highlight of the season. The ITV Racing team are set to broadcast two races from Leopardstown, including the Irish Gold Cup, but Billy Grimshaw is looking to Britain for his three ITV Racing tips on the day...
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13:40 Musselburgh - bet365 Frodon Novices' Limited Handicap Chase
I swore to myself after being sucked in once more by MONMIRAL last time out in the December Gold Cup that I was done with the horse when he weakened out of contention, but he really does have to be backed in this contest at the prices. He is clinging onto the last chance saloon by his hoof tips, but this race is a great deal weaker than the December Gold Cup and the horse has - admittedly in glimpses - shown the latent talent he possesses still exists. He was an outstanding juvenile and looked to have the world at his feet when turning five, but has disappointed and been tough to train for Paul Nicholls.
The Ditcheat trainer is always a beacon of bullishness about his horses but Monmiral must've tested that over the years, however in against this field off a mark of just 142 I will be bitterly disappointed if he does not get the job done. The way in which he faded in the December Gold Cup was typical of a horse having its first run back after a wind-op and now he has been freshened up again he should strip fitter and see out his race here. If he fails to win, this is the last time he will be tipped up by this humble scribe... Promise!
14:00 Sandown - Virgin Bet Every Saturday Money Back Handicap Chase
This is a trappy contest with favourites that the market is struggling to split. I would just about lean on the side of Saint Segal over In Excelsis Deo if forced to have a match bet between the pair, but at 2/1 neither make much betting appeal in a race full of talented but quirky individuals. That description is one of the kinder ways many will have described Harper's Brook over the years, with the horse a master at trading insanely short in-running and finding a way to lose. He exemplified this knack once again last time out when landing five lengths clear after the last at Ascot only to idle badly as he has done so often before and getting nabbed by Triple Trade.
He is obviously a decent horse but I cannot put any faith in him and although Sacre Couer seems the most straight forward of the quintet and will appeal to some at 7s, I will be siding with the rank outsider of the field RED ROOKIE to bounce back to something like his best. The key is the application of cheekpieces for the first time, something Emma Lavelle has resisted in the past. This is by no means a slow horse but he seems to have become a bit of a thinker of late, with his mind perhaps drifting from the job at hand resulting in some serious errors which have cost him all chance. Hopefully the first time headgear will make the difference and mean Tom Bellamy can get the horse back to peak form. He is still only nine and doesn't deserve totally giving up on just yet, or to be a double figure price in here.
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14:35 Sandown - Virgin Bet Scilly Isles Novices' Chase
The feature race on these shores on Saturday is undoubtedly the Grade 1 Scilly Isles Novices' Chase, and there is a real clash of form lines with Grade 1 winner Le Patron squaring off with HERMES ALLEN, who was beaten behind what must be classified as a freak at Kempton last time out. The former has been a revelation this season, notching up a hat trick at this track including the Henry VIII Novices' Chase last time out when springing a 16/1 surprise to beat 2/1 favourite Colonel Harry - who reopposes here.
The form of that race looks strong now third that day JPR One has come out and staked his Arkle claims with a good win at Cheltenham, although the suspicion is he did not run his race at Sandown, and there will be plenty who keep things simple and back Le Patron to uphold placings with Colonel Harry. I would be in the camp of backing the beaten favourite to turn that around here, given the many mistakes he made in the Henry VIII Novices' Chase, but the huge fly in the ointment for the rest of the field is Paul Nicholls' favourite.
Hermes Allen in the fullness of time will be better respected for getting as close as he did to the stunning Il Est Francais in the Kauto Star at Kempton last time out I suspect. There is not a novice in Britain or Ireland I suspect - perhaps barring Marine Nationale - who could've lived with the French raider that day and watching Hermes Allen in isolation I was pleased to see him put in a very smart round of jumping in his own right. A repeat of that win is better form than anything else brings here and I am delighted to see 6/4 as a price dangling around in the market place. That should be snaffled.
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