Ladbrokes Trophy 2021 Tips: Back this 33/1 shot to cause a Newbury shock
A star-studded field of proven and emerging chasers will do battle in the Ladbrokes Trophy on Saturday afternoon, and our man Steve Chambers previews the Newbury showpiece and has a big-priced tip for the marquee race...
Willie Mullins saddled Total Recall to victory in this race back in 2017, and the master of Closutton will attempt to etch another Irish-trained horse on the illustrious roll of honour on Saturday, as he unleashes the exciting Ontheropes, who is a prominent figure in the latest betting. The seven-year-old son of Presenting was last seen bounding to a two-length victory in the Munster National at Limerick, and with more improvement to come the Co. Carlow contender has to be put on the shortlist for this. Astonishingly, that was only his first chase win at the sixth attempt, so he will need to improve off a much higher mark here, so he could just be worth taking on with a potentially more attractively handicapped rival.
Total Recall's win was the first Irish-trained winner for over 30 years, but they will have a strong team heading to the Berkshire track, and the more eye-catching runner from the Emerald Isle is Henry De Bromhead's Eklat De Rire. Currently a 33/1 chance for the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March, the seven-year-old was seen competing in the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase at the festival in March, but was a faller when travelling well behind eventual winner Monkfish. However, he bounced back from that with a confidence-boosting win in a Listed event at Wexford. Now, his jumping is sure to be tested in what will be a red-hot handicap chase, but he could be one of the classy performers lining up, and he is the most eye-catching contender at the head of the market.
Paul Nicholls and Colin Tizzard will lead the home challenge on the Ladbrokes Trophy, and the former, who has saddled the likes of Denman (twice) and Strong Flow to victory in the race will unleash Enrilo, who is one of those towards the bottom of the weights, and is one with huge improvement expected. A former Grade 2-winning novice hurdler, he was last seen finishing a fine third behind Potterman in the bet365 Gold Cup, and that pair will do battle again here. Potterman was last seen finishing runner-up in the Badger Beer at Wincanton, but this looks tougher, so he may find it tough. Enrilo is still lightly-raced over fences, but will need to come on leaps and bounds, and it may be better looking at the race-fit Fiddlerontheroof from the aforementioned Tizzard yard. Placed in a number of top novice events last season - including a fine second in the Brown Advisory at Cheltenham - Fiddlerontheroof kicked off the season with a gutsy win in the Colin Parker at Carlisle, and shaped like this sort of test could play to his strengths.
Jonjo O'Neill's Cloth Cap rocketed to a mightily-impressive 10-length victory in this race 12 months ago, but he failed to kick on from that effort, and failed to land a significant blow in the Grand National, when sent off a clear favourite for the Aintree showpiece. He's sure to relish a return to Newbury on Saturday, but he's significantly higher in the weights this time around, and it's hard to see him replicate his win and become the first horse since Arkle to win back-to-back renewals.
Kitty's Light is a staying chaser on the up, and was last seen chasing home Fusil Raffles home in the Charlie Hall Chase, but at five-years-old the Christian Williams-trained youngster could find this all a bit tough, while others at double-figured odds that may struggle are Copperhead and Remastered, who will need career bests to land this prize.
Three of the last four winners have carried less than 10st 10lbs, so it's certainly worth looking towards the bottom of the racecard and two that catch the eye are the Kerry Lee-trained Demachine and the Venetia Williams-trained Cloudy Glen. The former has won two and placed in the other two of his four chase starts, which included a decent second placed finish in the Grade 2 Reynoldstown Novices' Chase. Beaten that day by Remastered, who lines up here, Demachine will be 4lbs better off than that rival, so should be able to reverse that form, and can also put up a bold bid for victory.
Available at huge odds, at the time of writing, Cloudy Glen has shown to be a real quirky character, but when he gets it all right, he is an excellent staying chaser. A winner of the Southern National at Fontwell last November, he was then a superb second place behind Mount Ida in the Kim Muir at the Cheltenham Festival in March off a mark of 140. He takes his chance off the same figure here, and it could be that he relishes the hustle and bustle of this contest, and could be one of those staying on past beaten horses to at least sneak a place. He runs well after a break, and was a winner on his first start last season, so while he has a lot to find with some of his 'superior' rated rivals, Cloudy Glen could be a lively each-way candidate for punters looking for a value play against some of the prominent figures in the betting.
