Chaos can reign at Doncaster

SOME Chaos should reign at Doncaster tomorrow in the Virgin Bet Free Bets For Winners Handicap Hurdle.

As Cheltenham draws ever nearer, Saturday’s cards centre on feature races largely populated by horses who will be skipping the Festival and in several cases instead fine-tuning preparations for Aintree’s Grand National meeting.

Doncaster’s Virgin Bet Grimthorpe Handicap Chase is a case in point, as is the Listed bet365 Premier Chase on a fine card up at Kelso.

Away from those eyecatchers, though, Some Chaos has been found an opportunity to slip under the radar.

Armed with 20lb of leeway between his chasing and hurdles rating, he puts the natural order to the test off bottom weight on Town Moor.

Trainer Michael Scudamore has yet to be rewarded when he has tried to take advantage of the anomaly in Some Chaos’ two marks – and an initial reading of bare facts suggest the 10-year-old is simply far better over fences.

In six hurdles starts to date, he has done no better than two placings. But half of those efforts are significantly historical, before he joined Scudamore and started to improve as a staying chaser – and the others have all come in unsuitable conditions.

This time, Some Chaos will be granted his favoured good ground – and logically, he ought to be at least as good over hurdles, because he is often clumsy at his fences and loses telling momentum.

Back from a break during the season of mid-winter mud, having won at Kelso and then run well in Listed handicap company at Wincanton, Some Chaos goes well fresh and will have no excuses.

In the Grimthorpe, Beware The Bear has top weight but races from 7lb below his peak rating only five starts ago and may be up to the task against a field which lacks the anticipated depth in the absence of National favourite Cloth Cap, who instead heads up to Kelso.

Canelo is an obvious danger in receipt of 6lb, but Nicky Henderson’s lightly-raced former Festival winner will prefer this better ground after getting stuck in the Ascot mud last time.

Dan and Harry Skelton send a strong team north to Kelso, as they look to make hay in the Borders with some talented horses who will not be Cheltenham-bound.

Principal among them is rising star My Drogo, who seeks his third successive victory in the Grade Two bet365 Premier Novices’ Hurdle.

The well-bred six-year-old is unbeaten over hurdles and returns from a break following his impressive victory at this level in the Kennel Gate at Ascot before Christmas.

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