04/02/17 Straight From The Trainers Mouth

5 Star Accum pays 12/1 - 13/1

12.25 Musselburgh Gaitway 15/8

1.50 Sandown Buveur Dair 4/11

4.30 Fairyhouse Redhotfillypeppers 6/4

3.45 Musselburgh Wonderful Charm 4/6

2.15 Wetherby Catamaran Du Seuil 6/4

Nicky Henderson

12.25 Musselburgh Gaitway 15/8

He missed the Tolworth due to a small health issue but didn’t lose out on much work and is back and raring to go. He’s going up to Musselburgh to get decent ground and it seems a nice race for him to get off the mark. I’ve always thought he was a high class horse and we will know what to do next after the outcome of this. He’s a lovely prospect and is one you’d have to be more than hopeful of breaking his duck here.

★★★★★

12.40 Sandown Rather Be 9/4

He’s stepping back down to 2 miles having won over 2m4f last time but the softer ground will make this a decent test which will suit. I think he’ll handle it but he does have to give weight all round, and to Alan King’s good four-year-old so we’ve got Ned Curtis to take off a valuable 5lbs claim. He’s a horse that has been going the right way and we’ve had to be quite patient with him as he’s had lots of silly little problems and he’s probably still a bit immature but he’s definitely a nice horse and one who deserves to take his chance.

★★★★☆

1.30 Musselburgh Soldier In Action 13/8

He’s a very nice horse who got selected for National Hunt duty by his owner Alan Spence so was gelded and I’ve been very happy with his schooling. He is going back to Mark Johnston’s for the summer so we won’t be bullying him and we’ll see how we go here. He’ll probably have one more run and that will tell us if he’s good enough to contest the Triumph. I couldn’t be happier with him and it will be interesting to see what he shows.

★★★★☆

1.50 Sandown Buveur Dair 4/11

We schooled him over hurdles on Tuesday and it was from there that we made the decision to revert to the smaller obstacles and I got the feeling he was very happy to be going back over them again! He might jump the first two a bit big but you’ve got to say his chasing technique did have a fair bit of hurdling in it so I have no worries coming here and with the Stan James Champion Hurdle now a very open-looking race, I believe we’ve all made the correct call. He is in great shape and I wonder if the 6/1 currently available for him with Stan James for the Champion Hurdle will still be around after this race?

★★★★★

2.25 Sandown Top Notch 9/4

He’s just great and is in terrific form, and while this is a step up again he produced a career best at Ascot last time so could still be improving and has some good form on the ground too therefore you’d have to be hopeful. He’s going 2m4f which should be ok but he is up against some good horses although we have a good form line with Clan Des Obeaux who was beaten by lovely old WHISPER at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day.  Daryl Jacob goes to Sandown to ride as who could desert Top Notch, it wouldn’t be possible!

★★★★☆

Willie Mullins

1.10 Fairyhouse Retour En France 4/5

Retour En France (Ruby) runs in the mares’ beginners chase over 2m 5f. She was only just pipped over 2m 1f at Sligo in September and she will be better suited by this longer trip. She will go on the ground and we are hoping for another good run.

★★★★☆

2.50 Fairyhouse Asthuria 11/10

Asthuria (Paul) will handle this ground and is suited by the race conditions. Hopefully she will not have lost her confidence after falling at Thurles last time.

★★★★☆

2.50 Fairyhouse Pravalaguna 7/1

Pravalaguna (Ruby) did very well to win over 2m 4f at Navan last time and coming back in trip here should suit. She is a bit short of experience for a race like this but should go well.

★★★☆☆

3.25 Fairyhouse Bleu Berry 2/1

Bleu Berry (Ruby) goes for the 2 mile maiden hurdle. He fell last time and probably has it all to do here. However, we will find out how good he is and hopefully he will at least make the frame.

★★★☆☆

4.30 Fairyhouse Miss Sapphire 8/1

Miss Sapphire (Patrick) did it nicely when winning at Limerick over Christmas but this is much tougher. It would be great to get some black type here.

★★★☆☆

4.30 Fairyhouse Redhotfillypeppers 6/4

Redhotfillypeppers (David Dunsdon) will be suited by this ground and must have a good chance judged on her good performance at Punchestown in December.

★★★★★

Paul Nicholls

12.25 Musselburgh Touch Kick 3/1

A good horse who will win races but has been too keen for his own good so far this season and needs to learn to settle to fulfil his potential. While he probably wants two-and-a half miles this shorter trip might help as they should go a better gallop from the start. He worked very well on Thursday and should go close provided he relaxes.

★★★★☆

1.50 Sandown Irving 7/2

On a retrieval mission here after a silly little mistake early on at Haydock a fortnight ago tripped him up. He was fine afterwards, will relish the ground at Sandown, stays very well and the form of his previous win at Newcastle is strong. I am hoping that cheek pieces will sharpen Irving up and make him concentrate better. He must have a good chance even though he has to give 4lbs to Buveur d'Air who has been running over fences.

★★★★☆

2.05 Musselburgh Just A Par 9/2

I've sent Just A Par to Musselburgh in search of better ground and four miles because I can't find a race with those conditions in the South. He is better going right handed, is still on a reasonable mark, has come on bundles for his comeback run at Newbury and Harry Cobden takes a valuable 3 lbs off his back.

★★★☆☆

2.25 Sandown Le Prezien 4/1

We have a decent hand here with two runners in this Grade 1 Chase and I find it hard to split them. They are both really nice horses and there is nothing between them. Le Prezien is progressing well over fences, jumps accurately and is perhaps a bit more street wise than Clan Des Obeaux because he has had more experience.

★★★★☆

2.25 Sandown Clan Des Obeaux 7/4

Was mighty impressive when winning at Newbury and did precious little wrong when just pipped at Cheltenham on New Year's Day by Whisper who is very smart on his day. Trip and ground should be ideal for Clan Des Obeaux who is ridden by Sean Bowen here and in the JLT Chase at Cheltenham as Sam Twiston-Davies has chosen Politologue in the JLT Chase. Clan Des Obeaux will love the ground and the trip is ideal at this stage of his career.

★★★★☆˞

2.40 Musselburgh Bistouri Dhonore 2/1

Won nicely at Exeter early in November before finishing third at Taunton and has had a little break since then. While Bistouri d'Honore is a three-mile chaser in the making and will improve physically for another summer on his back he should be winning a handicap hurdle over a trip on good ground before the end of the season.

★★★☆☆

3.00 Sandown Mr Mix 7/1

A good horse who got back on the winning track last time on Boxing Day at Wincanton where he idled and didn't do a tap once he hit the front. So I am putting on cheek pieces first time to help him concentrate. The ground will suit Mr Mix who has improved since Wincanton. He will go well with jockey Stan Sheppard taking a handy 5lbs off his back.

★★★★☆

3.00 Sandown Connetable 16/1

I'm bringing him back to hurdles here to sharpen him up as he has been running moderately over fences. I suspect he faces a tough task as he is on a very stiff mark over hurdles and fences.

★★☆☆☆

3.15 Musselburgh Diego Du Charmil 6/1

Goes well fresh, wants good ground and I probably ran him too quickly at Ascot after he won on his seasonal comeback at Chepstow in October. He then found the ground much too testing at Ascot before Xmas. He has had a nice break since then and this track and going should be altogether more suitable for Diego Du Charmil, who like quite a few of mine, looks handicapped to the hilt.

★★☆☆☆

3.35 Sandown Irish Saint 5/1

Has run well on both starts after missing a season with a leg injury. He got out of his ground at Ascot last time because he jumped moderately at times but Nick Scholfield was adamant that he stayed the three miles well. Irish Saint has done plenty of schooling since then and with improvement to come I am expecting a decent show from him.

★★★★☆

3.45 Musselburgh Wonderful Charm 4/6

A sound jumper who was trained for the Grand National last year until the ground went against him. He hasn't won for a long time but the plan is again to aim him at the National if conditions at Aintree are in his favour. Wonderful Charm goes well fresh, ran very well first time up under a big weight at Cheltenham last season and should win this.

★★★★★

Tom Scudamore

12.40 Sandown Accord 6/1

The ground is expected to be Heavy tomorrow and this horse will have no problem handling the conditions. He slightly disappointed last time out at Market Rasen, having said that, looking back now it probably wasn’t that bad of a run. He ran very well at Cheltenham the time before that. David Bridgewater’s horses seem to have returned to form recently. Accord is a horse he has always thought a lot of so don’t be surprised if he was to go in here.

★★★★☆

1.15 Sandown Ultragold 8/1

The testing ground should be fine for him. He has had some good form in bits and pieces so far this season. It is a trappy little contest and looks very competitive but hopefully we have a strong chance.

★★★★☆

3.00 Sandown Valhalla 20/1

probably has a little bit to find in this Grade Three contest. He is a horse who has not been the most consistent. He will have to improve if he is to match some of the leading principles in the race but as we have seen time and time again this season, you cannot rule out any of Colin’s horses.

★★☆☆☆

3.35 Sandown Sandy Beach 10/1

He is a very versatile horse. He won over 2m around Chepstow last season and now we are running over 3m. This is a typical competitive Sandown chase. On his day my horse will have a very good chance.

★★★☆☆

Dan Skelton

1.05 Wetherby Golden Vision 7/4

Golden Vision is a lovely mare, we really like her. The obvious main danger is Bold Henry for Philip Hobbs. Our horse jumps and stays well. Wetherby will be a nice track for her. I feel as though our horses are just starting to come back to form so I am really hopefully we will start to see some positive results over the next few weeks. Toby Lerone won at Hereford earlier in the week and we have had a few seconds recently so I really hope this mare can be successful and then we can move on to Listed races as that is where we want to be with all of our mares.

★★★★☆

1.40 Wetherby Oldgrangewood 9/2

Oldgrangewood won a nice race at Wetherby last time out but this is much deeper. He has shown his liking for the track which is obviously a positive and he has been in good form at home so he has to be respected.

★★★☆☆

2.15 Wetherby Global Ruler 20/1

Global Ruler is probably a horse for the future as he is from a nice family and is still growing. His jumping is very good but I just feel he is going to need a little time. He had his first run at Warwick at the back end of last year and hopefully he shows an improvement on that debut outing.

★★☆☆☆

2.45 Wetherby Captain Chaos 6/1

Captain Chaos ran third last time out in a Listed race at Warwick behind two good horses in American and Champers On Ice. We chased the winner which probably cost us second but we are there to win these races. This is Grade Two so it is another good race. I want to see him go and run as well as he has done in his opening two starts of fences. Obviously I’d love to see him win the race, however, he may well be a horse who is better suited to handicaps so we may end up going down that road.

★★★☆☆

3.15 Musselburgh Optimus Prime 6/1

This race has always been on our minds since he run at Huntingdown. I think the track will suit him and the ground will be ideal. I wish he did not have top weight but that is the make-up of the race. Bridget helps out a little bit as we can take three pound off him. We are committed to running him and hopefully he will go well.

★★★☆☆

3.20 Wetherby Sam Red 7/1

I fancied this horse for the Lanzarote Hurdle at Kempton but in hindsight, it looks like he needed further in trip. He is a very genuine horse who jumps nicely. I think the step up in distance will suit him nicely so he has to have a fair chance.

★★★★☆

3.55 Wetherby Open Hearted 3/1

This horse returned after a year off at Warwick last week so you can forgive him for weakening inside the final stages of the race. He travelled well until four out before tiring. I am expecting improvement but I am not expecting all of a sudden for him to turn up and win. He’s an older man now. He’s been dropped in great but it is difficult to predict when he is going to go in because he is finding his feet again. There is pressure on him but if we get him to start hitting form in the spring when he gets a bit of sun on his back then that will be great.

★★★☆☆

Aidan Coleman

2.15 Wetherby Catamaran Du Seuil 6/4

I’m heading to Wetherby on Saturday when I think I’ve got a great chance of picking up a winner via Catamaran Du Seuil.

He came from France with a high level of form and he translated that form well on his British debut for Dr Richard Newland, comfortably winning what looked a decent enough novice hurdle at Wincanton. I think a reproduction of that should see him win

★★★★★

3.20 Wetherby Westendorf 3/1

Westendorf should go close in the totepoolracing Follow Us On Twitter Handicap Hurdle. He’s been running well all season and was unlucky not to win at Ffos Las, when stumbling and falling. He then won at Leicester and ran well at Newbury and Hereford after that.

This is his first time in handicap company and it looks a good opportunity.

★★★★☆

4.25 Wetherby Pride Of Pemberley 12/1

I can’t shed too much light on my other ride, Pride Of Pemberley in the wetherbyracing.co.uk Standard Open NH Flat Race, other than I won the bumper in which he was fifth at Ffos Las in December.

That bumper has produced some decent performers in recent years and it rode like a decent race.

★★★☆☆