Benedeto is Paul the rage
THERE are 16 horses declared to line up for the William Hill Supporting Greatwood Handicap Chase at Newbury but the chances of all of them turning up are as remote as Spurs winning the Premiership.
SAN BENEDETO (2.40) is the so-called outsider of the trio of runners from Paul Nicholls, below, but at
20-1 the good ground performer is worth a win only wager if one or more animals are pulled out before kick-off.
He was rated 155 when third in the Haldon Gold Cup but after a couple of poor runs has slipped down to a mark of 147.
Nick Scholfield rides the eight-year-old for the first time this season and he has a good winning record on the seven-year-old, who hails from a stable in red-hot form.
I’m hoping the master of Ditcheat is in for another red-letter day as his
DANSE IDOL (3.00) looks a good thing in the Listed
888Sport Mares’ Novice Hurdle at Donny.
This mare runs in the famous Highclere silks and she was an excellent second in a Grade Two at Sandown in February over two-and-a-half miles on her last outing.
She had earlier obliged over 2m5f at Wincanton in December, where she was staying on strongly from the last flight. She promises to be even better over today’s three-mile plus trip.
ROCKY’S TREASURE
(3.35) did not find the tight Warwick track to his liking last month, so is better judged on his 17 length success in a Grade Two at this track in December.
It’s no surprise to see Kim Bailey bring his sound fencing horse back to Town Moor to contest the 888Sport Grimthorpe Handicap Chase as he races off a rating of 149. The top weight had previously chased home ante-post RSA Chase favourite, Santini, at Newbury, so it’s obvious he loves flat, galloping, left-handed courses. It rocks my boat that Adam Kirby is riding GEMBARI (8.30) on his first run for David Brown at Chelmsford. The last time the gelding ran at the Essex venue he obliged over the same trip off a mark of 61. He hasn’t picked up a gold medal in seven subsequent starts, but he has plummeted down to a rating of 54. With the enforcer in the plate, surely the four-yearold is worth an each-way nibble.