2:45 Chepstow
PULL AGAIN GREEN 14/1 generally – 0.5 POINTS E/W (4 places, 1/5 odds)
A decent and competitive Handicap Chase and you could make a case for a number of these.
The favourite is Destroythevidence who has the ability to go well but he does come with quirks and you are not sure what Destroythevidence will turn up.
Ask Brewster looks interesting and Evan Williams loves a winner at Chepstow. He won on his last two starts last season, including at Chepstow but I just wonder has he improved enough to win off today’s mark of 121.
Prior to Hoe Joly Smoke becoming a non runner, this is what I said about PULL AGAIN GREEN:
I could make a case for Pull Again Green as the ground will be to his liking but his jumping is not the greatest, plus he has not won off this mark before over fences. He does look decent value though and if I had a saver, maybe he would be the one.
With that in mind PULL AGAIN GREEN is my selection in this race. I can’t believe he has drifted all the way to 14/1, that price is simply too big to ignore.
As already mentioned, I do have slight reservations about his jumping but on this ground and ground which continues to dry out, I think it will actually improve his jumping as ultimately it is easier to jump off the ground on drier ground than it from ‘sticky’ ground.
He comes into the race after 2 wins in June and July and last month he put in a decent performance to come home 2nd to the improving Art Of Diplomacy at Bangor.
That race would have put him spot on for this and even though he is up to 135, on a going day he is very capable.
The ground is key to this horse and I will take you all the way back to 2022 at Cheltenham and the April meeting. Many of you know I retain snippets like no other and following his win I remember Fergal O’Brien or could have Sally Randell from the yard. Anyway whoever it was mentioned the key to this horse being the ground. It was good ground that day, the weather was beautiful and it was his best performance of his career.
The ground today is described as good, good to firm in places.
For many in this race the ground will be too fast, but it certainly won’t be for PULL AGAIN GREEN.
Maybe now a 9 year old he is not good enough but for me PULL AGAIN GREEN is a 2m 5f at best who gets 3 miles in the right race. Not an out and out stayer, a horse who actually has a turn of foot at the end of his races on the right ground.
The race for this horse will be won and lost in the jumping department but if he is closer between the last two fences, he will be staying on and in my opinion, the price is crazy. E/W.
3:20 Chepstow
ROYAL INFANTRY 6/1 William Hill 11/2 generally – 0.75 POINTS E/W (5 places, 1/5 odds)
RAMBO T – 17/2 William Hill, 8/1 generally – 0.5 POINTS E/W (5 places, 1/5 odds)
We have two selections in this race but first of all let’s take you through the field before moving on to our selections.
I can see why the money is coming for French Trip, Philip Hobbs loves to win this and often lays a horse out for the race. He comes here in good form on the back of a couple of wins at the end of the season. I just worry about the ground for the horse as all his form is on softer ground. He may well cope with it but he is skinny enough and I don’t want to take that chance at his current price. If he was around 13/2 and each way territory, then possibly.
Josh The Boss won this race last year so you can see why the money is down on him again but he was poor after this race last year and has had a wind operation over the summer. I generally like a horse on their 2nd run from a wind operation as they have learned they can breathe again after their first run.
Greyval could go well at a big price and comes here a fit horse after a spin on the flat but is she good enough to win off 125? I have my reservations.
The first of our selections is ROYAL INFANTRY, another Dan Skelton trained horse and a horse they rate highly. He is a horse who goes well fresh and was a winner first time out last season. He then went on to win impressively at Haydock before going up in class and running grade 2 and grade 1 races at Aintree. He was outclassed in both those races but it shows how highly they rate the horse.
His final start was at Perth in the Listed race and he ran well to come home 2nd of 14.
I think he will improve with age and now lining up for his first start of the season with Harry Skelton on board, he is classy enough to win off a mark of 136. Today’s trip will also suit the horse as he doesn’t quite get 3 miles and he doesn’t quite have the speed for 2 miles. This 2m 3f trip is perfect, especially on this ground where you will need a horse has a change of gear.
With £40k on the table it is races like this that Dan Skelton will want to be picking so he can build up a lead before Willie Mullins starts to bring his horses over.
With 5 places on offer we will go each way but I do think ROYAL INFANTRY will be bang there.
RAMBO T is another horse who can go well for Olly Murphy with that man on board, Sean Bowen. I can’t say he is well handicapped on a mark of 137 but on his day he is capable. He was a winner of a handicap off a mark of 133 last season so it is within reach. He is a horse who is very versatile on the ground, can mix it over hurdles and chases and is pretty much a solid horse who can do anything. It is these types of horses that can win you races like this and Olly Murphy seems to have his horses in rude health.
Sean Bowen has won on RAMBO T 4 times so knows the horse inside out and if it gets into a battle, Sean Bowen is your man at getting a horse home, as simple as that.
Again at the price we will cover him each way but like ROYAL INFANTRY, I can see him being bang there.
Good Luck and we will be back Sunday morning with our selections. I am off to Chepstow tomorrow and hopefully we can have a couple of winners.
JPW Racing Tipster