HAYDOCK surprised everyone by passing an inspection on Thursday after all the rainfall and fingers crossed their precautionary inspection due to the risk of frost on Saturday morning is fine. If all good to go Haydock has an excellent card and we can look forward to seeing Buveur D’Air make his reappearance in The New One Unibet Hurdle for Unibet Ambassador Nicky Henderson. Buveur D’Air is having his first run since November 2019 and clearly has been pleasing Nicky Henderson at home. He looks sure to make this a winning reappearance in the race named after the magnificent The New One, who won this Champion Hurdle Trial on four occasions.
At Ascot there is a cracking and competitive card, with the feature the Clarence House Chase in which I’m fascinated to see my nap Waiting Patiently take on Politologue, who doesn’t get all the plaudits he deserves. Waiting Patiently is top class and has shown his versatility over range of trips and I really hope he takes his chance in the Gold Cup, for which he is 40/1 with Unibet.
Enjoy a fantastic Saturday of racing.
Cheers
The Wine Tipster
1.30 Haydock – Supreme Trial Novices’ Hurdle 1m 7½f
Llandinabo Lad for Tom Symonds can take this trial even giving five pounds away. He lost nothing in defeat when trying to give Mr Drogo a penalty and still ran well at Ascot when runner-up. He won over this trip here in November, will be suited by conditions and has the best form.
Unibet 7/4 win
1.50 Ascot – Handicap Hurdle 2m3½f
Paddys Motorbike has certainly turned a corner since joining the Sam Thomas yard with form figures of 311. He has been running enthusiastically and certainly finishing his races well as he showed with his victory at Uttoxeter and then at Huntingdon in soft ground last time out. This is another step up again, yet he looks more than capable and looks well placed by the trainer here.
Unibet 9/1 each way
2.25 Ascot – Handicap Chase 3m
De Forgotten One has benefitted from the move to Ricard Hobson’s yard and can score his third win in five starts for his new trainer. Last time out at Catterick in the heavy he was always in command over a shorter trip and could have won by much further. On his penultimate start over the cross-country course at Cheltenham he found three miles six furlongs too far, finishing third without making any impression towards the finish. This seven-year-old looks very progressive, with trip and ground looking sure to suit.
Unibet 9/2 win
2.40 Haydock – Peter Marsh Handicap Chase 3m 1½f
Claud And Goldie is a very lightly-raced 12 year-old, who will handle the heavy conditions and carries a low weight here. He will now be race fit, having finished second at Kelso and fourth here at Haydock. Last year he was fourth to Vintage Clouds and in this year’s Peter Marsh he definitely has each-way claims, with some of his rivals looking sure to find this too testing.
Unibet 16/1 each way
3.00 Ascot – Handicap Chase 2m5f
Espoir De Guye will benefit from the drop back in trip, as three miles here last time out at Ascot showed that he didn’t stay, and he can score his third course success.
He won here in really good style on seasonal debut over today’s trip and has won at Ascot in the heavy too. This seven-year-old definitely has more progression to come and the Venetia Williams and Charlie Deutsch team are on form.
Unibet 6/1 each way
3.35 Ascot – Clarence House Chase (Grade 1) 2m 1f
Waiting Patiently (nap), a supplemented entry by trainer Ruth Jefferson, can be rewarded here, as her fragile chaser has clearly come out of his King George V1 race raring to go and can importantly take in another race relatively soon after his second to Frodon at Kempton. The trainer has made it clear that he is versatile on trip and look back at his third in the 2019 Tingle Creek when charging late on and beaten a length by Defi Du Seuil with Un De Sceaux second. Waiting Patiently is having only his fifteenth career start and there are more Grade 1s to come for this very talented ten-year-old.
Unibet 9/4 win
