29/11/14

Willie Mullins
Adriana Des Mottes
11.55 Fairy House
Adriana Des Mottes (David Casey) makes her jumping debut in the2m 5f beginners chase. Her form was good over hurdles and she gets a niceweight allowance here. The ground will suit and she should stay this trip.
★★★★☆

Philip Kirby
Stopped Out
12.05 Newcastle
 James Reveley was up schooling yesterday, he gave Stopped Out a jump ahead of his next race at Newcastle tomorrow – its a step up in trip but James felt he would cope with it after riding him last time.
★★★☆☆

Alan King
Avispa
12.20 Newbury
Avispa goes for the Listed Mares Novice Hurdle, and, while I was initially disappointed that she was beaten at Uttoxeter, I think she has improved a fair bit for that race, and the form is looking good as both the third and seventh have come out and won. I hope Avispa will be competitive.
★★★★☆

Paul Nicholls
Keltus
12:50 Newbury
Didn't jump well at Ascot last time, losing all chance when slipping at a fence, and I think it is best to put that one down to experience and move on. And he has done a lot of schooling since. He had earlier made a very promising chasing debut when second to the smart, subsequent winner Court Minstrel at Newton Abbot. I definitely think that he has races in him off a mark of 129 but he would ideally wantbetter ground, so I am hoping that it dries out for him. He will definitely like going left-handedtoday, though.
★★★☆☆

Aiden Coleman
The Clock Leary
12.50 Newbury
I quite fancy The Clock Leary, who runs in the bet365.com Novices' Limited Handicap Chase. He was impressive when winning in record time at Ascot on his last run. He is running over slightly shorter and similar ground, so there should be no excuses.
★★★★★

Alan King
Turn Over Sivola
12.50 Newbury
Turn Over Sivola has topweight in the novice handicap chase, He ran a smashing race at Wetherby last time, bumping into a four-year-old who was getting lots of weight, and, while the ground won't be ideal, he is in great form and ready to roll again.
★★★★☆

Alan King
Midnight Appeal
1.20 Newbury
It is not my style to run one back quickly, but Midnight Appeal,, who was a good third at Haydock last Saturday, goes again in the Fulke Walwyn Trophy. He travelled really well last week, but he only just gets the three miles and this shorter trip might suit him. He has come back fine, so we are giving it a go."
★★★☆☆

Willie Mullins
Long Dog
1.25 Fairyhouse
Long Dog (Danny Mullins) has his first run for us in the 2m 2f maiden hurdle. He won a flat race at Sligo and that form should give him a good chancein this. Fine Article has decent form and could be a tough nut to crack butour fellow has schooled well and hopefully won’t be too far away.
★★★☆☆

Paul Nicholls
Silsol
13:50 Newbury
Came good at the end of last season with wins at Ayr and Newton Abbot, but he paid for those successes with a 20lb hike in the weights, so life could be tough for him now. And he did come in later than most of mine, so he will need this. But he was clearly a progressive horse last season and handles soft ground.
★★☆☆☆

Aiden Coleman
Albert Bridge
1.50 Newbury
Emma Lavelle’s Albert Bridge is a very decent performer on the Flat, as illustrated by his third in the November Handicap in Ireland last month. He won a little race under me at Plumpton and clearly has ability. He steps up in class for thisbet365 Handicap Hurdle but may well be up to it.
★★★☆☆

Paul Nicholls
Irving
14:05 Newcastle
Irving bids to give Team Ditcheat our 100th Grade 1 success and, even though he is a short-priced favourite after Sign Of A Victory and Purple Bay's withdrawal, I bet the landmark winner will be a bloody sight harder to achieve than those odds indicate! But obviously we come here very hopeful of a big run.
To be honest, I was undecided about coming here but when a valuable race such as this cuts up so badly it does force your hand to a degree. But Irving seems none the worse for his last-flight fall when coming to win his race in the Elite - it was a massive relief when he got up after being badly winded, and he was fine the next morning -  and a reproduction of that run puts him in with every chance.
He was clearly in the process of putting hisCheltenham disappointment behind him - he came back coughing from there - before stepping at the final hurdle at Wincanton. You never truly know how a bad fall has affected their confidence until you get them back on the track, but he has done an awful lot of schooling since, both over hurdles and fences, and he runs in a sheepskin noseband today to focus his mind. He is very closely matched with Arctic Fire and Sea Lord on official ratings, so this could be tough. And Wetherby winner Aurore D'Estruval has to be given a fair chance, too, getting her 7lb sex allowance.
★★★☆☆

Willie Mullins
Arctic Fire
2.05 Newcastle
Arctic Fire (Paul) runs in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle over 2 miles. His run at Down Royal last time will have brought him on and we are expecting a very good show here. The trip suits and he will handle the ground
★★★★☆

Aiden Coleman
Shotgun Paddy
2.25 Newbury
Shotgun Paddy is joint favourite for the Coral Welsh Grand National and runs in the bet365 Long Distance Hurdle, in a bid to preserve his hurdle mark. However, while I am not saying he will beat More Of That, he will run well - you just have to look at his form to see he has a touch of class. He won the Classic Chase at Warwick in January and then was just touched off in the four-miler at the Festival in March.
★★★☆☆

Paul Nicholls
Lac Fontana
14:25 Newbury
I was very happy with his run behind Faugheenat Ascot last week, and he seems to have come out of the race in good form, so we take our chance here. Clearly, he has his work cut out against the likes of More Of That and Cole Harden and is trying this trip for the first time, but it is a worthwhile fact-finding mission and it will tell us where we stand with him stamina-wise.
★★☆☆☆

Alan King
Medinas
2.25 Newbury
Medinas, who goes for the Long Distance Hurdle, made a pleasing comeback to finish second in the Grade 2 at Wetherby, and, though he faces a stiff task against More of That, he is not that big so these conditions races are preferable to humping huge weights in handicaps.
★★★☆☆

Willie Mullins
Shamar
2.30 FairyHouse
Shamar (Mikey Fogarty) runs in the 2 mile handicap hurdle. His form figures look good but he has been generally disappointing. Maybe the change of jockey today will bring about some improvement.
★★☆☆☆

Aiden Coleman
Houblon Des Obeaux
3.00 Newbury
He was sixth in the race last year and he’s 3lb higher now off top-weight of 11st 12lb, which is a big load to lug around three and a quarter miles. The softer the better for him and I wouldn’t worry about this being his first run back as he’s plenty fit enough and is in good form at home. I expect a similar run to 12 months ago which could see him sneak into the places.
★★☆☆☆

Oliver Sherwood
Many Clouds
3 00 Newbury
Hennessy day dawns. Unless you have been living on the moon you will know that we go to Newbury with a live chance with Many Clouds. I could not be more happy with him since his win at Carlisle. Trip and ground are both in his favour and it's now out of my hands.
★★★★☆

Paul Nicholls
Rocky Creek
3 00 Newbury
Rocky Creek
I had him pretty straight for his comeback at Down Royal but he is a big horse who takes plenty of getting fit, so I expect to see a sharper horse than we saw in Ireland. But I was thrilled with him there anyway as he was second to a race-fit and very progressive horse in Road To Riches, and the rest - and, remember, they included Boston Bob and First Lieutenant - were well beaten. He is 5lb higher than when second in this race last season but I feel that is more than justified given his efforts since. He ran a great race for a long way in the Grand National, and that is his main aim again this season.
There was the suspicion that he wasn't finishing off his races last season, so we gave him abreathing operation in the summer, and hopefully that will help him, too. So we know that he is fit, goes well here, is on a fair mark and soft ground isn't an issue. He looks pretty solid to me in a very competitive race. Runs in a tongue tie for the first time, and let's hope he improves as much for his first run as Conti did from Wetherby to Haydock!
★★★☆☆


Paul Nicholls
Unioniste
3.00 Newbury
We have one eye on the National for him one day - both Ruby and Sam think the race would suit him - but whether that is this season, or in the future, we will see how he goes here first and then make a plan. He is still only 6yo, remember. And, as he was late in, I definitely think that he will come on a lot for the run. But he has gone well when fresh in the past, and if he returns to the form of his Aintree defeat of Wishfull Thinking last season then he is fairly handicapped off a mark of 151, and this trip onsoft ground suits him.
He may surprise me, as John's Al Ferof did last week, but a good run with plenty to build on will be fine, and a win will be a real bonus. Had his breathing tweaked in the summer, so hopefully that will help him, too.
★★★☆☆

Barry Geraghty
Triolo D’Alene
3.00 Newbury
 The greats of the game appear on the roll call and this year TRIOLO D’ALENE (3.00) will be trying to emulate the greatest of them all, Arkle, when he attempts to follow up last year’s win. It was back in 1965 that Arkle landed back-to-back wins and although others have tried, none have succeeded although Denman did the double but he missed the year between in 2008. So that puts into context the task that is facing Triolo. It’s not so much the 10lb rise that would concern me, it is more the ground because last year it was good but it is sure to ride slower and that’s not ideal. The trip and the track aren’t a bother and Nicky Henderson has the horse buzzing. He went to Kempton last week for a sharpener and could not have been in better shape. I’m sure he’ll give a very good account and his form in France before he came to Seven Barrows was more than respectable on soft. But this is a mighty competitive race where you need all your ducks in a row. Most of them are, it’s just the ground that’s a concern, although I was pleased to see that 'good to soft in places' was added to the chase course going on Friday. The betting has got it right, in my opinion, with the two at the top of the market holding the most realistic chances.
★★☆☆☆

Barry Geraghty
Djakadam
3.00 Newbury
Whatever happens to Djakadam, he’s a horse with a very bright future and the only question I have is whether this will come a bit early at the age of five on soft – no horse so young has even managed to win. For that reason I see Smad Place as the one we all have to beat. At seven he’s reaching his peak and the same age as when future Gold Cup winners Denman and Bobs Worth won it. Like them he was a top-class novice the previous season and there are no ground or stamina issues.
★★★☆☆

Willie Mullins

Djakadam

3.00 Newbury

Newbury Djakadam (Ruby) goes for the Hennessy Gold Cup over 3m 2f. He will be suited by the ground and trip and we think he could be well handicapped. He is in good form at home but you would have to be very cautious about his chance on the evidence of how our recent runners in England have fared.
★★★☆☆

Alan King

Smad Place

3.00 Newbury

Smad Place is two from two at Newbury, and it's amazing how far he has come since he won his juvenile hurdle at this meeting four years ago. He was showing me nothing at home and I told the owner that I did not know what to expect, but he won by 27 lengths and he has not looked back since, being placed at three Cheltenham Festivals. This has been his target since he ran such a good race in the RSA Chase last March, and he goes well fresh so we are quite happy to run without a prep-race. He is a stronger horse this season, and he is definitely working better, too, and if our dream of him developing into a Gold Cup horse is going to become reality he will need to run a massive race here off a mark of 155.
★★★★★

Alan King
Midnight Prayer
3.00 Newbury
Midnight Prayer won the four-miler at last season's Cheltenham Festival, but I am not worried about coming back in distance and three and a quarter is far enough first time out. This is his prep-race for the Welsh National, but he has a light weight here and, with Tom Bellamy taking off another 5lb, hopefully, he'll run well, too
★★★☆☆

Paul Nicholls
Solar Impulse
3 35 Newbury
15:35 Newbury - Solar Impulse
This race has been the plan since he improved to win at Wetherby last time. He is 5lb higher today but I would like to think that he can still becompetitive. I think this is his trip but I am slightly concerned about the going, as he seemed to enjoy the better ground at Wetherby.
★★☆☆☆

Willie Mullins
Royal Caviar
3.40 Fairyhouse
Royal Caviar (Patrick) goes for the winners’ bumper. He won a bumper here but was disqualified after finishing first past the post at Navan last time. He has been working well and should go very close if reproducing his form after a year of the track.
★★★★☆