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Entries out……
https://www.racingpost.com/racecards/15/doncaster/2022-01-29/801404
https://www.oddschecker.com/horse-racing/ante-post-racing/national-hunt/sky-bet-chase/winner
Market leader is Commodore, and not difficult to see why. Couldn’t have been more impressive at Cheltenham, and still looks well treated on that run. Entered at Warwick Saturday.
I thought the win of Kapcorse at Newbury was decent, and worthy of the rise in the weights. I’m struggling to find too many negatives for him, other than he’s always been a risky Antepost proposition, regularly not taking up entries. The other owned by JP, Canelo, is the one really like at this stage. Winner of The Rowland Meyrick last season off 142, he then came here, and was a very respectable fourth off 148. I like the route he’s taken since, allowing him to come here off 137, and I think he looks perfect to make amends in this renewal. Trainer has landed this before, and I think he’s way overpriced at 25’s.
Stablemate Notachance is huge at 40’s, but he surely goes to Warwick.
As usual, got my eye on the Sandy Thomson entries, and Empire Steel who looked sure to take a hand in The Rowland Meyrick before falling, is preferred right now to Hill Sixteen. Empire Steel surely lands a decent handicap this year.
I’ve been a regular better of Annsam the last couple of years, and much like when missing out on stablemate Coole Cody at Cheltenham, I was cursing myself when I missed Annsam at Ascot. He’s a very decent sort, and another who doesn’t look too inconvenienced by a rise in the weights. Yard are flying this year, and he looks a player here.
I’ve always liked Janika, and no doubt in my mind that he’s a winner waiting to happen. Wasn’t knocked about at Cheltenham last time, and dropped another five pounds here, his new mark, combined with the step up in trip, looks sure to give him a serious chance. Definitely considered.
Not too much I have to say about Midnight Shadow, that I haven’t said already. I’ll definitely be with him if he goes, but I’m expecting him to be targetted at Ascot Chase.
Another old favourite is Ultima Winner Vintage Clouds, and now back to a smashing mark, he’s impossible to leave out here.
Those are the ones jumping out.
I’ve had an early bet on Canelo, but I’m probably swaying most towards….
Commodore
Empire Steel
Janika
Vintage Clouds…as backup, but there must be a good chance that Commodore goes Warwick. Equally I could see Empire Steel and Vintage Clouds go for The Peter Marsh, so happy to sit them out.
Janika probably the most appealing of the backups right now then, but I’ll stick with one for now.
Canelo 25’s
Bobby Pricewise has tipped up Protektorat for the GC so you have to think Empire Steel has some good races in him as he destroyed him at Kelso last season , saying that he,s had a couple run poorly in the last week
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
“Empire Steel has some good races in him as he destroyed him at Kelso last season”
The Kelso race was essentially a walkover. Protekorat was beaten miles out – he had a wind problem at the time; after Kelso he had a wind op and the tongue tie put back on.
Port of Mars possibly had the lurgy that was in the Murphy stable at the time, never went a yard and was pulled up.
The form that race provides is worthless. I could possibly “destroy” Jessica Ennis-Hill in the mums’ race on sports day…if she had two broken legs and a bad head cold.
To each his own Green , Empire Steel looked like a likely winner when falling last time and i stand by my belief he,ll win some good races
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
I’d have thought Commodore would be going to Warwick, but could they be tempted to come here if they prefer him not to be carrying top weight? This is obviously looking more competitive, but I’ll be keeping an eye on him wherever he goes.
One I think is quite underrated is Nuts Well for the sparkling Ann Hamilton yard. I’d be very interested in seeing him going up in trip here. He’s high enough in the handicap and isn’t the youngest going, but he’s classy enough and very consistent.
I didn’t say Empire Steel was rubbish (his subsequent 2nd at Haydock proves that), I said the Kelso race form was rubbish as his two opponents were likely physically not well.
Your view Green , we,ll need to agree to disagree
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
Just watched some of his races. I think his jumping will go to pot if he’s put to the pin of his collar in a big field handicap on a left handed track. But hey I backed Silver Hallmark in that Rowland Meyrick so I’m not exactly the punting queen
True. I also realise it’s a bit rude of me to slag off somebody else’s selection without venturing an opinion on what I think will win .. the trouble is I could pick holes in them all and also there’s one thing I am the queen of and that’s the non runner, so I better not put my almost infallible alternative target mockers on anything else yet.
You have the right to your view green , the whole point of the forum is to express them , no offence taken , my view of the race is Empire is the young horse with potential , hopefully we,ll see it here
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
I’ve went with Nuts Well here, 40-1 ew. He’ll be near the top of the weights if he runs, but not a bad price that I thought
That’s an interesting shout Mark, and probably the right kind of profile for this. I’ve already done a bit of jinxing this weekend, so I won’t put the hex on you just now, but can totally see the angle there, and 40’s is definitely too big.
My shortlist at the moment is (probably in order ground dependent)
Empire Steel
Demachine
Annsam
The Wolf
Five Star Getaway
Hurricane HarveyI don’t generally play antepost but the 25’s on Demachine with PP/Betfair looks very big and is tempting
Commodore was a big red flag for me. It just looked a too good to be true performance for me. He ran very well first time up last year before losing the plot and has gone well fresh in the past. They aren’t the same horse so perhaps should be treated in isolation but a similar thing has happened with Cloudy Glen after a wind-op for Venetia in the Ladbrokes Trophy – pulled up next time.
On another note I’ve been thinking this for a while this season but the UK handicappers seem to be very generous on horses our side of the pond this year. Horses getting dropped very quickly and not going up a lot for winning. That was the prime reason for me liking Ansaam and Five Star Getaway, I thought they’d get more to be honest. Seems to be something of a levelling up approach and I’ll be very interested in ours for the Cheltenham and Aintree handicaps partly on this basis but also on the basis the market will overreact to what happened last year and make the Irish horses too short at the head of the market.
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