The National Hunt season continues apace with several meetings this weekend. The ITV Racing team continue to broadcast the best of the action on Saturday with racing from Wincanton and Aintree. There’s also flat racing from Doncaster with the course’s final flat turf meeting of the year.
Wincanton
The pair of Grade 2 contests – the Unibet Elite Hurdle and ‘Rising Stars’ Novices’ Chase alongside the competitive Badger Ales Trophy are the pick of the four races at Wincanton.
These will be broadcast live by ITV Racing so there is are a lot of options to whet the appetite.
- 1:50pm Hunts Food Service Mares’ Handicap Hurdle – Four-year-olds and older are able to compete in this competitive handicap but it’s rare to find a winner older than seven. Long odds winners are even rarer and interestingly only one of the last 11 winners had won their previous race. Those trends all suggest the favourite, If You Say Run, has a good chance of winning for Paul Nicholls at 11/4 with Coral.
- 2:25pm Bet At racinguk.com ‘Rising Stars’ Novices’ Chase – This Grade 2 novices’ chase has given birth to the odd star over the years including Silviniaco Conti who won in 2011. There are a few interesting options but the most exciting could be One For Billy. Dan Skelton’s six-year-old was in line for a career best performance before running out at Cheltenham last time out. If things go to plan this time around he should be able to claim at least a place at 5/1 with RaceBets.
- 3:00pm Unibet Elite Hurdle – Having won his debut on the flat at Chelmsford in September, Verdana Blue got his National Hunt season off to the perfect start when obliging favourite backers last time out at Kempton. Nicky Henderson’s six-year-old is the bookies’ favourite once again for the Unibet Elite Hurdle and will take some beating over this 1m7½f trip. If The Cap Fits and Mohaayed will provide the toughest challenge but the favourite should win at 7/4 with RaceBets.
- 3:35pm Badger Ales Trophy – 3m1f and 21 fences separate the start of the Badger Ales Trophy and the winner of a handsome prize of £34,170. A maximum field of 18 are set to compete for this well regarded handicap. Previous renewals have shown that experience is important here. Most recent winners have won at least two chases and at 3m or longer previously. Connections of Bigbadjohn will believe their nine-year-old is perfectly placed to win following victory over 3m2½f last time out. That win was also at Wincanton and with the going set to be on the firm side of good again, Bigbadjohn can double up at 8/1 with bet365.
Doncaster
It’s the end of the flat turf season at Doncaster on Saturday.
ITV Racing are broadcasting a trio of interesting contests including two Listed races and the prestigious November Handicap.
The going is set to be good for a fairly strong card.
- 1:30pm British EBF Gillies Fillies’ Stakes – There has only been one winning favourite in the last 10 renewals of the British EBF Gillies Fillies’ Stakes and plenty of upsets in the betting. Those looking for another win against the odds should look no further than Company Asset at 16/1 with bet365. Kevin Ryan’s five-year-old was disappointing when coming back from a near four month absence last time out but should improve for getting that run under her belt. She’ll enjoy the good ground and has no problem over 10 furlongs so the in-form Ryan yard can land another win.
- 2:05pm Wentworth Stakes – The Wentworth Stakes is different to the race that precedes it on the card in that upset winners are something of a rarity. There have been just two winners priced at over 8/1 in the last 10 years. Could It Be Love’s connections believe that trend can change. The Aidan O’Brien trained three-year-old is much more at home on good ground than the horses above her in the betting. Her problems closing out races came to the fore again last time out at Dundalk but she should claim a place at least at 9/1 with Coral.
- 3:15pm November Handicap – The November Handicap has seen just one winning favourite since 1995. That shows that it’s not been a friend to punters of the years but that it also provides opportunity for each way bets. There are a number of tempting options for this 1m4f contest but it’s the well-drawn Everything For You who catches the eye at 14/1 with BetVictor. It’s been a solid season for the four-year-old which could have been a lot better but for a bit more luck. He’s finished no worse than second on any of his last four appearances including three on good ground so he screams each way value.
Aintree
The going is forecast to be good on the Mildmay course at Aintree for Saturday’s card.
It’s far from the strongest selection of races that this course will host in the coming months but the Rewards4Racing Handicap Chase is a well-regarded contest which has a very competitive betting market.
- 2:40pm Rewards4Racing Handicap Chase – Official ratings of 115 to 130 appear to be the sweet spot for this competitive handicap which is run over 2m4f. Tactics will play a significant role in the outcome of the race so it would take a brave punter to tackle the Rewards4Racing Handicap with just one horse. The most appealing each way options appear to be Martiloo (16/1 with Coral) who is well handicapped on her seasonal reappearance and Captain Chaos (25/1 with Betfair) who should come on for his two recent appearances for Dan Skelton’s yard who have had some good results lately.