November Handicap: Collide to Smash into Bookies in Flat Finale

November Handicap: Collide to Smash into Bookies in Flat Finale

3.15 Doncaster We’re hoping against hope that the finale of the British flat season gets the go-ahead after some heavy rain around Town Moor in recent days, and with the November Handicap set to go off on heavy ground if the green light is given it presents even more of a headache to punters.  That said, we reckon this half-dozen have it what it takes:  Birds Of Prey This would be some story for the Nicholls camp; eminent National Hunt…

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Sodexho Gold Cup Handicap Chase (Grade 3): Lake to Spring to Ascot Success

Sodexho Gold Cup Handicap Chase (Grade 3): Lake to Spring to Ascot Success

3.20 Ascot With a maximum field of 18 going to post and a first prize of almost £57,000 to fight for this is naturally a very competitive event, however it doesn’t look impossible to solve with one or two seemingly ahead of the handicapper. We’ve got the 18 down to a shortlist of six, with the final selection looking pretty good value. Adrien Du Pont Having had a wind operation in the summer its possible we may just see an…

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Old Roan Limited Handicap Chase: Kalashnikov to Trigger Big Season for Murphy

Old Roan Limited Handicap Chase: Kalashnikov to Trigger Big Season for Murphy

3.50 Ayr The 2½-mile Old Roan Chase has only been around since 2004 but has already been won by such leading lights as Kauto Star, Frodon and race favourite Monet’s Garden. It can prove to be an important stepping stone to both the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National meeting back here at Aintree in April and this, along with the small matter of £80,000 in prize money, makes this a huge race for trainers, jockeys and owners alike. Here’s…

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Cesarewitch Stakes (Heritage Handicap): Ranch Hand to Lead the Herd Home

Cesarewitch Stakes (Heritage Handicap): Ranch Hand to Lead the Herd Home

4.10 Newmarket After we gave you the heads up on huge gamble Lord North in the Cambridgeshire, we now look to complete the Autumn Double by backing the winner of the £350,000 Cesarewitch Handicap at Newmarket on Saturday. This 180-year-old marathon two-and-a-quarter mile test features 31 runners and will be run in fairly laborious conditions making it a true exam of the field’s stamina, but we think the we have the horse to do it.  Here’s our shortlisted six against…

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Cambridgeshire Handicap: North to Lord it Over Cambridgeshire Rivals

Cambridgeshire Handicap: North to Lord it Over Cambridgeshire Rivals

3.40 Newmarket The Cambridgeshire has been on the calendar since 1877 and this year the event is worth £160,000.  The first leg of the Autumn Double looks to be a cracker, one that may well be dominated by well-handicapped three-year-olds and we have five of them in our top 7 here. Beringer There’s no doubt that as a 4yo Alan King’s gelding has more to offer, so as a solid handicapper who’s gone down a couple of pounds in the…

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Ayr Gold Cup: Arecibo the One for O’Meara in Ayr Gold Cup

Ayr Gold Cup: Arecibo the One for O’Meara in Ayr Gold Cup

3.50 Ayr Now worth £200,000, the Ayr Gold Cup is as competitive as ever but we’ve managed to whittle this year’s renewal down to a magnificent seven:  Arecibo A model of consistency for David O’Meara this season, 4yo Arecibo has run close to the likes of Dakota Gold (Ebor meeting) and Oxted (Portland Handicap) and gets in here off the same mark of 98. Overall his better form is his most recent, leading us to think that he is improving…

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Portland Handicap: Bielsa to Manage Portland Success

Portland Handicap: Bielsa to Manage Portland Success

1.50 Doncaster A maximum field of 22 go to post, all looking to land this attractive £37,000 first prize and we’ve managed to whittle the field down to six outstanding candidates. A Momentofmadness Last year’s winner seems to be coming back to form at just the right time, the six-year-old gelding having run a good sixth behind the fast-improving Dakota Gold at York. While he is now 4lbs lower in the handicap since last year’s win and William Buick is…

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Ebor Handicap: Ben Vrackie to Give Ebor Rivals a Mountain to Climb

Ebor Handicap: Ben Vrackie to Give Ebor Rivals a Mountain to Climb

3.40 York The first £1million Ebor Handicap at York has attracted such a competitive field that, while having nailed down a selection, it is close to impossible for us to shortlist less than 8 horses with these runners all holding major chances of landed the £600,000 first prize. Racecard Contenders Baghdad Mark Johnston is a past master with these big staying handicaps and has three runners in this, his Baghdad arguably being the best of them.  He has produced his…

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Great St Wilfrid Handicap: Great St Wilfrid Trophy Off to Lahore

Great St Wilfrid Handicap: Great St Wilfrid Trophy Off to Lahore

3.15 Ripon A full field of 20 runners go to post at Ripon on Saturday for the Great St Wilfrid, the Garden Racecourse hosting its number one event and offering a cool £46,000 to the winner. Local trainers have a terrific record in this race and we expect that trend to carry on, Yorkshire’s Mark Johnson, Phillip Makin, Tim Easterby and David O’Meara all holding serious chances while Darlington’s Michael Dods knows the time of day with sprinters.  Here’s our…

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Stewards’ Cup: Growl on the Prowl at Goodwood

Stewards’ Cup: Growl on the Prowl at Goodwood

3.40 Goodwood Looking at the results of the last three Stewards’ Cups, there is no appreciable track bias with placed horses coming from all sorts of boxes.  Instead then we must see where the pace is, not necessarily meaning where the front-runners are but where our highest rated horses are jumping from. Of the six we’ve put up below, four of them are coming from low draws so we’ve taken the view that the far side may be a little…

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