14/01/17 Straight From The Trainers Mouth

Nicky Henderson

12.55 Kempton Ericht 7/2

We pulled him out of Sandown last week because the ground was against him over that trip and while it may not be much better here, the distance is right more up his street and this is the right race for him. He’s the old man in the field but has won twice around there so I have no qualms about the track. And to be honest I better make the most of it before they close the course! He’s in great form and if he replicates his Cheltenham effort, he has a great shout.

★★★★☆

1.30 Kempton Alpha Male 2/1

He was third at Ascot last time when staying on very well so the step up to three miles will definitely be in his favour. He schools nicely but is still a little green and quite babyish so he needs to learn to race a little more. He’s not big but jumps well and I like him although he still has plenty to learn.

★★★★☆

2.05 Kempton Vaniteux 11/10

He’s finished third in his last three runs so you certainly can’t knock his consistency! We’re going back up in trip with him, but as I’ve said time and time again, he is quite trip-less and it’s difficult to ascertain what distance he really prefers. He has run over this distance over hurdles so it should be within his range. Around Kempton, in a small field, we should be able to take our time with him as he got involved a little too early at Cheltenham last time and was racing too far out so the pace of this contest should work in his favour. I would say he’d be my best chance of the day.

★★★★★

3.15 Kempton Volnay De Thaix 6/1

Probably a little disappointing in the Peterborough Chase last time when I fancied him to go well there and it was pretty obvious that he wanted a step up in trip so the distance here will suit. He had them all off the bridle at Huntington as he’s not short of pace but this race is perfect for him and he will be in his comfort zone. He’s a lovely animal

★★★★☆

Dan Skelton

12.40 Warwick Starlight Court 11/4

The owner of Starlight Court has horses with David Pipe and has been very loyal to Tom Scudamore over the years, so with Harry at Kempton, Tom’s on board him. This is a horse that was going to bolt in when running in an Irish point to point on soft ground and then fell at the last. We think it might just have left a bit of a mark on him mentally, but we’ve done a lot of work with him at home and we’ve put a tongue strap on him. He’s got all the makings of being a better horse than his current mark, we just need him to go out there and show it. The track will suit him fine, and we don’t know how he will handle heavy until we run him on it.

★★★★☆

12.55 Kempton Return Flight 7/4

Return Flight has shown massive improvement this year. I’m very happy with the progression he’s shown. He was very good round Uttoxeter. I don’t think this track will hold any fears for him and he has to go there with a decent chance.

★★★★☆

1.30 Kempton Zamparelli 5/1

Zamparelli is taking on a couple of horses with high ratings, and we aren’t going there expecting to beat them, but ours is a nice horse who stays well and jumps well and has a very nice attitude. I think he will run a decent race. He has Irish point to point form winning his last start and is going to make a solid staying chaser in the future.

★★★☆☆

1.40 Wetherby Dragon De La Tour 6/1

He’s had plenty of time off with a little niggling injury. I think he’s a nice horse. He’s grown up quite a bit, he’s strengthened up a bit, and it will be interesting to see how he goes. I’m not going to heap loads of expectation on him however as he’s been off a while.

★★★☆☆

1.50 Warwick Captain Chaos 8/1

Captain Chaos ran really well on his first run over fences and wasn’t beaten all that far. This is another deep race but three miles on deep ground should be exactly what he’s been looking for. Paddy Brennan rides and will have to play it late. He’s a talented animal, he doesn’t get any penalties in this race, and he looks to be a good each way shot really.

★★★☆☆

2.40 Kempton Sam Red 10/1

I’m really looking forward to running this horse. It’s taken a fair bit of time to get him to the track. I didn’t want to run him in the old Ladbroke hurdle at Ascot over two miles and find him outpaced, so we’ve had to be patient and wait for this race. He’s been working nicely and I think he has an each way chance. It’s a competitive race but the way he works at home tells me he is suited to a race this like this. I notice in the past he’s gone off quite short in the betting in listed events in Ireland so he’s obviously always showed plenty at home. So we’ll see what he can do in this company.

★★★☆☆

2.50 Wetherby Applesandpierres 5/1

I was absolutely shocked when he won last time out. I didn’t expect it at all. Harry gave him an unbelievable ride in the closing stages. I just couldn’t believe he’d won. He has to defy the handicapper’s rise but he has got the trip in his favour, as he wants to go this trip. We learned that the other day.

★★★★☆

3.00 Warwick Get On The Yager 4/1

I think Get On The Yager will go well. He doesn’t get a penalty, he’s super tough and he only has to travel ten minutes up the road to have a crack at this. He should be able to run well. I was surprised he got beat at Newcastle but actually you have to give the winner credit. Sometimes you just have to praise the winner and not be too disappointed.

★★★★☆

3.15 Kempton Abricot De Loasis 10/1

Abricot de L’Oasis is back over fences here. He ran over fences for us once before at Wetherby, left handed, and that didn’t go well. He has a low weight in this race and other than that one race, he has been very consistent for us, and especially right handed. There is no reason he isn’t going to run another nice race.

★★★☆☆

3.45 Kempton Ashoka 14/1

Ashoka has been off for a while. He actually fractured his pelvis going to the first hurdle at Sandown last year. I’ve done plenty with him and he’s been jumping nicely but this is a chance to see how he is back on the track and where he stands.

★★☆☆☆

3.45 Kempton Meet The Legend 7/1

I really fancied Meet The Legend at Ascot last time. We dropped him in that day and he wasn’t that comfortable doing that, and he was just too keen. I do think he is a progressive horse but we need to see him settle better.

★★★★☆

4.05 Warwick Amoola Gold 8/1

I really like this horse. He has shown plenty at home for us. He’s a really nice young horse. We obviously don’t yet know how he will handle heavy ground but he is a decent prospect. I don’t know what the opposition is like given it’s a beginner’s bumper.

★★★★☆

Malcom Jefferson

12.30 Wetherby Mount Mews 4/5

Mount Mews bids to continue his unbeaten record in the opening novice hurdle. He has to carry his penalty but you hope he is able to do this as his form is quite good. He does step up in trip this time which is a step into the unknown but he is bred to stay, and therefore we hope he improves for the increase in trip.

★★★★☆

2.50 Wetherby Secrete Stream 5/2

Secrete Stream is a course and distance winner so we hope he is able to build on his lovely come back win (from 709 days off) at Uttoxeter two months ago. We haven’t rushed him back and he is in very good form at home. He is on a career high mark and he did not look like he was stopping last time so he is dropping back in trip tomorrow which may not suit.

★★★☆☆

Richard Johnson

1.30 Kempton Laugharne 7/1

I haven’t ridden him before, but he won well at Taunton last time. This is a step up in class and he has a bit to find on ratings with one or two of his rivals.

★★★☆☆

2.05 Kempton Activial 12/1

Activial is a nice ride to pick up in the Listed chase (2.05pm) for Neil Mulholland. He had some good form over hurdles for Harry Fry, winning the Adonis here and finishing third in the Coral Cup. This is his first start for Neil and hopefully he can put in a decent performance. He’s only had three starts over fences so might be open to more improvement than the others.

★★★☆☆

2.40 Kempton Kalondra 12/1

I’ve got another ride for Neil in the big race of the day, the Lanzarote Hurdle (2.40pm). Kalondra won well last time at Ascot and has a progressive profile. It helps that Old Guard has stayed in to keep the weights down and I hope my horse can run a good race in what is always a very competitive handicap.

★★★☆☆

3.15 Kempton Kruzhlinin 5/1

Kruzhlinin won the handicap chase (3.00pm) 12 months ago on his first start for Philip Hobbs. Things just didn’t pan out for him in the Grand National and it’s taken a few runs for him to get his confidence back up. He was a good winner of the Fixed Brush Hurdle at Haydock in November and, although he’s higher in the weights than last year, he schooled well the other day. This looks the ideal race for him again.

★★★★☆

3.45 Kempton Ozzie The Oscar 9/2

My final ride of the day is Ozzie The Oscar in the handicap hurdle (3:35pm). We’ve no idea why he ran so disappointingly at Newbury last time. If he can bounce back to his Wetherby form, he goes there with a really decent chance.

★★★★☆

Davy Russell

12.25 Punchestown Mall Dini 5/2

He has had a couple of goes over fences now and I have to admit I was a little bit disappointed with the way he ran at Fairyhouse last time. Don’t get me wrong, he didn’t run badly and wasn’t beaten far back in third, but I just thought he would have gone closer having made such a promising start to life over the bigger obstacles at Punchestown. The one positive is that he will have certainly learnt plenty from those two runs and I expect him to improve again. His biggest danger looks to be Willie Mullins’ Bachasson who fell on his chasing debut at Thurles last month. He wasn’t foot perfect at all that day and had just been headed when he came down at the last. One certainty is that he will have had plenty of schooling since then and will be tough to beat.

★★★★☆

3.20 Punchestown Ros Brin 16/1

My only other ride of the day is Ros Brin in the mares handicap hurdle (3.20pm). I won on her when she last scored at Fairyhouse back in November 2014 and sadly she has been plagued by injury and only run the three times since. It is too early to tell whether connections have her back to her best yet as she unseated very early on at Leopardstown over Christmas. If they do, she is racing off a fair mark and can hopefully get competitive.

★★★☆☆

Willie Mullins

12.25 Punchestown Bachasson 11/8

Bachasson (Ruby) runs in the 2m 4f beginners chase. He fell on his first run over fences at Thurles last month but hopefully he will have learned from that experience. This trip is perfect and, if the ground stays dry, he should go close.

★★★★★

2.10 Punchestown Crack Mome 4/5

Crack Mome (Ruby) goes for the Grade 2 Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle over 2 miles. This track will suit and the ground should be fine. We are hoping he has improved since winning his maiden hurdle in Clonmel and he will need to as this looks like a tidy little race.

★★★★☆

2.45 Punchestown Kolumbus 13/8

Kolumbus (Ruby) runs in the 2 mile maiden hurdle. He ran very well when second to Bacardys at Leopardstown over Christmas and we think this track will suit him better. That run and the experience gained will have brought him on. He should run very well.

★★★★★

Aidan Coleman

2.40 Kempton Doesyourdogbite 9/2

He’s been star for us this season in winning all three of his hurdles. I wouldn’t say he’s surprised us but at the same time we weren’t necessarily expecting him to do what he’s done. On his debut, the two market leaders ran out and unseated, so we thought he might have been fortunate and then he followed up at 25-1. He built on that when winning impressively over the course and distance last time. He had good form on the Flat so we always knew he had a fair bit of ability but weren’t sure as to how much. He’s been put up 6lb by the handicapper, which seems very fair, and the ground should be fine, so he ticks all the boxes. You need to take advantage of these winning runs, as it will come to an end at some stage, but fingers crossed it won’t be on Saturday.

★★★☆☆

3.15 Kempton Silvergrove 10/1

He was third in the Kim Muir at the Cheltenham Festival and that form should give him a chance and his trainer Ben Pauling was on the mark with High Bridge on Thursday, a horse I rode for John Ferguson last year.

★★★☆☆

3.45 Kempton New Member 7/1

He was beaten just over a length into fourth in a decent enough handicap hurdle and looks like he’s still progressing. Again, a repeat of that should see him run well in the 32Red.com Handicap Hurdle.

★★★☆☆

Paul Nicholls

2.05 Kempton Vibrato Valtat 11/8

Has been in no man's land for a while now as he is too highly rated to run in handicaps and finds life much too tough against the best such as when he finished some way behind the others in the Tingle Creek at Sandown. Although Vibrato Valtat runs his heart out he is not a Grade 1 horse so this is a more sensible option over a trip that should suit him better. As he has not really been finishing his races lately we have re cauterised his palate since Sandown which should make a difference. While he has done a lot of work and has had a nice racecourse gallop I just hope this race doesn't come a week too soon for him after his wind operation.

★★★★☆

2.40 Kempton Old Guard 20/1

Found the ground too soft last time at Cheltenham where he finished third behind The New One. He is also paying the price for having a stellar campaign last season which saw him shoot up the ratings. Old Guard is on a high enough mark now which makes it difficult to find races for him. He is not a two miler any more and if he takes to this trip then maybe he could be one for the Coral Cup at the Festival.

★★☆☆☆

2.40 Kempton Modus 8/1

The more it dries up at Kempton before race time the better for Modus who has been crying out for a step up in trip which he gets here. But having won two novice races last winter he is now having to give weight to others who look more progressive. So I can't be too confident.

★★☆☆☆

3.35 Warwick Vivaldi Collonges 16/1

Is yet another of mine who has it all to do tomorrow. Obviously I hope I am wrong but I fear this is mission impossible for Vivaldi Collonges off a harsh mark of 152 having to give weight to all but Houblon Des Obeaux. Winning small field novice chases is one thing. Having to give away lumps of weight to such a big field over this trip is quite another.

★★☆☆☆

Mike De Kock (Meydan)

12:00 Syncopation 4/6

Syncopation has placed twice over 1400m from six runs in the UK, Mali Al Basti has given him to us to train and he looks quite decent, I think he’s better than a 68 rating. We freshened him, sorted out a problem or two and he should run a good race if he repeats his track work.

★★★★☆

2:20 General Marshall 10/1

A horse who hasn’t lived up to his big reputation, but in his defence he has suffered a multitude of problems and after his rest he’s been doing well and working well. He’s in the best condition I’ve ever seen him, sound now and although he is a Maiden in a handicap, I don’t think he will be disgraced.

★★★☆☆

3:30 Baroot 7/2

Baroot reverts to turf from dirt, this will be his first run on grass here in Dubai. He ran a few nice races for us in the UK and got two places on turf at Newmarket and Doncaster behind decent runners. He needed his run badly last week, he’s come on and if he handles the switch back to turf he can be involved in the shake-up. We’ll see how he goes, it’s hard to predict

★★★★☆