Iron Bridge is tough enough for Uttoxeter
At one time, the Midlands Grand National (3.0 Uttoxeter) was the longest race in the British National Hunt calendar. But some tweaking with the distance down through the years means that at 4m2f, it’s now the second-longest, just behind the Aintree Grand National.
Interestingly, it has never been won by the same horse twice in its 55-year history – so Paul Nicholls’ Truckers Lodge, successful in 2020 off 2lbs lower, has a chance to set a record with the 12-yearold trading at 12/1 in the early betting.
His age would appear against him, however, and the last horse older than 11 to win this was Knock Hill in 1988, despite quite a few attempting it since.
Twelve runners go to post and with the ground expected to be heavy, it’ll take a tough sort to see out this marathon trip.
In fairness, quite a few of these handle heavy ground, but I reckon one horse in particular has an outstanding chance, although the market thinks so too, and the best price I can find for at the time of writing is 9/2.
I often compile my own prices, and I have him down a good deal shorter so I’d still consider Jonjo O’Neill’s gelding a value bet, with Jonjo Jr booked to ride.
While he hasn’t won a race since December 2022 when rated 137, he’s quite consistent, placed in four of his five races since, including the Grand National Trial at Haydock last time. A handicap rating of 140 for today would leave him some room to manoeuvre, having finished second in the Welsh Grand National off 2lbs higher in December.
Jonjo O’Neill won this race before with Synchronised (2010), which would later win the Gold Cup, and more recently with Time To Get Up (2021), which hasn’t won a race since.
Iron Bridge does have an entry for the Aintree Grand National, although he’s a big outsider at this stage at 66/1.
Following a great week at Cheltenham, where he celebrated the 100-winner milestone, it goes without saying that Willie Mullins is highly respected
Jonjo O’Neill can saddle Iron Bridge to success in the Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter
and Mr Incredible is sure to have plenty of supporters here too.
With a rating of 150, he’s set to go off as top weight, carrying 12st, which is quite a burden under these conditions. That hasn’t put punters off, and some bookmakers have him down as low as 7/2.
Third in the Kim Muir Chase at Cheltenham in 2023, he was last seen in the Aintree Grand National, where he unseated Brian Hayes. It was not the first time he’s been quirky, refusing to race on another occasion.
On the same card, the 18-runner Bet365 Handicap Hurdle (2.25) looks wide open, so I’m taking a chance on one of the outsiders, which can be taken each-way at 25/1.
Trained by Evan Williams, his daughter Isabel takes the reins with a 3lb claim. The gelding comes here rated 117, which is reasonable, and it’s 2lbs lower than his mid-division finish last time out.
A point-to-point winner at Ballyragget in Kilkenny for John Nallen last year, before being sent across the water, he’s a promising sort that should be able to win a handicap soon.
I put up as an outside bet in the Ultima Handicap Chase at Chel6.50 DUNDALK WINTER SERIES LEADING TRAINER & JOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP HANDICAP (47-70)
1m
FEATURE THIS (B M The Nibras Rainbow (B
Arbaawi
(5)) 15-2
4, Hurricane Helen 3-1 fav; 5, Maid To Shine 22-1; 6, Marks Bear 14-1; 7, Lauroline 7-2; 8, Relevant Range 5-1; 9, Morning Approach 25-1; 10, Dazzling Spirit 50-1; 11, Dutch Glory 33-1; 12, Tomahawk King 40-1; 13, Comfort Line 12-1; 14, Montevideo 40-1; Non-runners: Allo Arry, Attrazione, The Bog Bank. 14 ran. nk, hd, 1l, P W Flynn, P W Flynn, T G McCourt.
Win
Tricast:
7.20 BOOK ONLINE
HANDICAP 7f
Pl:
Exacta:
Trifecta: CSF:
AT DUNDALKSTADIUM.COM tenham in Tuesday’s paper, but she was withdrawn when the ground turned poor.
Going through Kempton’s card, I see she has an entry today in the Unibet New And Improved Bet Builder Handicap Chase (2.45), and she’s not a bad price at 11/2 in an eight-runner field.
She is on an all-time high mark of 140, although that’s justified as she won a handicap at Market Rasen off 135 in September, and was runner-up in a Listed mares’ chase at the same venue when last seen in November.
She’s won half of her 12 chase races, and with the ground expected to be good-to-soft, she’s got every chance for Martin Keighley and Sean Bowen. Another mare I like at Kempton is
which has been chalked up at 8/1 for the Read Nicky Henderson’s Exclusive Unibet Blog Handicap Hurdle (2.10).
There’s a chance I’ll follow this one off a cliff, I backed her on her latest two starts and she finished fourth in both, each time rated 117, and she once again has that rating. But I’m hoping that Ben Godfrey, who claims 3lbs, gets her out in front early today to stay out of trouble as she’s the type that performs best when taking a prominent position.
After a week of punting at Cheltenham, having a bet on the all-weather seems rather dull – but that won’t matter a bit if it’s profitable, and I’m very keen on the Keiran Burke-trained which looks overpriced around 5/1 for the Always Gamble Responsibly With BetUK Handicap (7.15).
Josephine Gordon is booked to ride the six-year-old, having won a handicap on him last time, and a 2lb rise to 58 is not too harsh. A bit like Good Look Charm, this one races best when he makes the running, so fingers crossed he breaks well and gets a good position early. 1.10 (2m hdle): 1, BLUEGRASS (Galileo-Quiet Reflection) (C Hammond) 5-6 fav; 2, Rumoursareflying (Blue Bresil-Circus Rose) 10-3; 3, Juan Bermudez (Nathaniel-Long Face) 7-2. 9 ran. 7l, 19l. (S Edmunds). Win £1.84; Pl: £1.10, £1.30, £1.20. Exacta: £4.60. Trifecta: £9.60. CSF: £3.98. Non-runner: Galactic Jack.
1.45 (3m hcp chase): 1, BALLYLINCH (Califet-Moll Magee) (B Hughes) 10-3; 2, Elleon (Martaline-Ailette) 7-2; 3, Stringtoyourbow (Getaway-Mimi And Bow) 2-1 fav. 5 ran. 61/2l, 11/4l. (M Hammond). Win £4.34; Pl: £1.80, £1.80. Exacta: £10.80. Trifecta: £32.00. CSF: £15.11.
2.25 (3m 5f hcp chase): 1, BALLYRASHANE (Milan-Musical Madam) (J Tudor) 4-6 fav; 2, Conceroe (Yeats-Made In Kk) 15-2; 4 ran. 43/4l. (Christian Williams). Win £1.67; Exacta: £4.60. Trifecta: £5.60. CSF: £5.53. Non-runner: Rostello.
3.05 (2m 4f hcp hdle): 1, DOUBLE POWERFUL (OcovangoCons Dream) (B J Powell) 5-1; 2, Fever Dream (Sholokhov-O What A Girl) 8-11 fav; 3, Sadie Hill (Kingston Hill-Sadie Thompson) 22-1. 6 ran. 11/2l, 11l. (N Mulholland). Win £6.00; Pl: £2.10, £1.10. Exacta: £6.60. Tricast: £64.24. Trifecta: £64.60. CSF: £9.25. Non-runners: Awesome Foursome, Sangiovese.
3.45 (2m hcp hdle): 1, BIRDHOUSE (New Approach-Avongrove) (C Hammond) 15-8; 2, Pump It Up (Charming ThoughtCherry Malotte) 16-1; 3, Symbolic Spirit (Westerner-Carole’s Spirit) 5-4 fav. 6 ran. 9l, 21/4l. (S Edmunds). Win £2.88; Pl: £1.30, £4.40. Exacta: £24.20. Tricast: £47.16. Trifecta: £60.50. CSF: £26.01. Non-runners: Crem Fresh, Eventful.
4.25 (2m hcp hdle): 1, TAPLEY (Geordieland-Cathodine Cayras) (Elizabeth Gale) 7-2; 2, Ip Up (Secret Singer-Upisland) 4-1; 3, Magical Maggie (Geordieland-Bollin Across) 10-3 jtfav. Also: 10-3 jtfav Jilaijone. 7 ran. 21/4l. (Miss Suzy Smith). Win £4.50; Pl: £2.20, £2.50. Exacta: £15.00. Tricast: £49.54. Trifecta: £66.50. CSF: £18.10. Non-runners: Coup De Coeur, Legionar.
5.05 (3m chase): 1, REBEL DAWN RISING (Getaway-Meldrum Hall) (Mr D Peters) 3-1; 2, Knight In Dubai (Dubai Destination-Bobbies Storm) 9-4; 3, Firak (Fuisse-Nosika D’airy) 85-40 fav. 6 ran. 21/4l, 1l. (D Kemp). Win £4.00; Pl: £1.90, £1.70. Exacta: £10.90. Trifecta: £32.10. CSF: £10.46. Dividend: £25.00
Dividend: £10.70 7.10 (6f): 1, FIRCOMBE HALL (Charming Thought-Marmot Bay) (B Garritty) 11-2; 2, Catherine Chroi (Camacho-Heart Of Oak) 11-4 fav; 3, Dandys Gold (Dandy Man-Proud Penny) 14-1. 9 ran. hd, (P Kirby). Win £6.50; Pl: £1.90, £1.70, £3.00. Exacta: £28.50. Trifecta: £272.80. CSF: £20.73. 7.40(7fhcp):1,CROSSTHETRACKS (Rajasinghe-Local Fancy) (H Doyle) 4-1; 2, Likeashadow (James Garfield-Rhigolter Rose) 4-1; 3, Mayo County (Mayson-Horsforth) 9-2. Also: 5-2 fav East Bank. 8 ran. 33/4l, 11/2l. (R Spencer). Win £5.00; Pl: £1.70, £1.40, £1.90. Exacta: £25.40. Tricast: £75.26. Trifecta: £96.70. CSF: £20.79.
8.10 (7f hcp): 1, AL MUQDAD (Zoustar-Miss Work Of Art) (D Tudhope) 5-1; 2, One More Dream (Bated Breath-Gracefilly) 11-8 fav; 3, Rory (Orientor-Eternal Instinct) 18-1. 10 ran. (D O’Meara). Win £6.00; Pl: £1.80, £1.20, £3.60. Exacta: £17.80. Tricast: £119.00. Trifecta: £202.70. CSF: £12.32. Dividend: £83.10
Dividend: £21.10 5.20(5fhcp):1,THISMYDREAM (Camacho-Ponty Royale) (P Bradley) 10-3; 2, WaterOfLeith (Kodiac-Zakhrafa) 11-4; 3, Let’s Go Hugo (Unfortunately-Barbieri) 5-2 fav. 6 ran. 1l, (M Attwater). Win £4.40; Pl: £1.70, £1.80. Exacta: £13.80. Trifecta: £34.10. CSF: £12.65. Non-runner: Rhubarb.
6.00 (1m 1f 104yds hcp): 1, ROCKET WARRIOR (Saxon Warrior-Moonlit View) (H Davies) 7-2; 2, Billiegee (WaldgeistDonau) 17-2; 3, Valadero (Starspangledbanner-Fiuntach) 20-1. Also: 2-1 fav Etretat. 8 ran. 11/4l, (M Botti). Win £4.50; Pl: £1.50, £2.40, £5.30. Exacta: £29.90. Tricast: £526.70. Trifecta: £353.60. CSF: £34.36.
6.30 (1m 1f 104yds): 1, AEROSPACE (Sea The Stars-Talent) (L Morris) 9-1; 2, Prince Maxi (Sea The Stars-Soltada) 4-11 fav; 3,
Parramount (Mount Nelson-Queen Soraya) 7-2. 8 ran. 41/4l, 21/4l. (A Watson). Win £10.20; Pl: £1.10, £1.10, £1.20. Exacta: £15.60. Trifecta: £29.90. CSF: £13.75.
7.00 (7f hcp): 1, INAWE (Exceed And Excel-Refreshed) (L Morris) 12-1; 2, Bitcoin Profit (Profitable-Enilda) 7-1; 3, Rust E Boy (InnsOfCourt-ElysiumDream)9-4fav.8ran.1/2l,1/2l.(David Dennis). Win £13.00; Pl: £2.60, £1.90, £1.40. Exacta: £57.40. Tricast: £262.08. Trifecta: £185.90. CSF: £93.67. Nonrunner: Nasneen.
7.30 (1m 1f hcp): 1, TASMANIAN LEGEND (Australia-Gatamalata) (K O’Neill) 12-1; 2, Keady Town (Make Believe-Marasil) 11-2; 3, Dr Foster (Advertise-Spotlight) 11-4. Also: 5-2 fav Completed. 6 ran. 11/4l, nk. (Alice Haynes). Win £15.30; Pl: £4.60, £2.90. Exacta: £88.90. Trifecta: £294.00. CSF: £74.76.
8.00 (1m 6f hcp): 1, BLACK SMOKE (Tale Of Two Cities-Miss Forde) (Billy Loughnane) 11-1; 2, Virtual Hug (Buratino-Cotton Camera) 10-3; 3, Stolen Encounter (Cracksman-Forbidden Love) 11-2. Also: 3-1 fav Merry Minister. 11 ran. 2l, 21/4l. (M Loughnane). Win £14.60; Pl: £1.60, £2.10, £3.60. Exacta: £62.90. Tricast: £234.03. Trifecta: £413.90. CSF: £49.26. Nonrunner: Gentle Fire.
8.30 (1m 1f 104yds hcp): 1, SNOOZE LANE (Free EagleSindiyma) (J Bryan) 15-2; 2, Prince Ali (Twilight Son-Desert Liaison) 7-1; 3, Crafter (Muhaarar-Boston Rocker) 8-1. Also: 5-2 jtfav Enzos Angel, 5-2 jtfav Malacanne. 9 ran. (Sarah Hollinshead). Win £8.60; Pl: £2.10, £2.20, £2.80. Exacta: £49.50. Tricast: £436.91. Trifecta: £368.70. CSF: £60.21. Nonrunners: Glencalvie, Racing Country.
Dividend: £159.30
Dividend: £19.60