Racing tips: Doncaster’s galloping track looks tailor made for Across The Line

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Frustratingly yesterday's selections were NR's due to the Leicester meeting being called off. They received a lot of rain which wasn't forecast, and called it off in the morning, nothing else really caught my eye, hence why there were no replacement selections.

Doncaster 1:38

A horse who beat our selection last time out, but caught my eye as a horse who would appreciate a proper galloping track like Doncaster was, ACROSS THE LINE. This lad beat Light N Strike, who was a selection for the page at the end of November, and he came with rattling after the last to run down the favourite, recording a performance of a real strong stayer over the minimum trip.

His jumping was a bit to be desired at Southwell, and even though their fences aren't the most difficult to jump, they don't suit every horse, and I'm hoping that was the case for Across The Line. Despite, not jumping his best, he showed that he has the ability to run well over fences and has a real engine. This galloping track should suit his run style, and the long straight should also be a help to him. Doncaster's run in is extremely long, and it does catch a lot of horses out, so the strong stayers are seen to best effect. The ground will put further emphasis on stamina, as it should be soft at the very minimum at the time of racing. I'm not totally sure what this lad's ideal ground is, but he has won on soft before, and his pedigree suggests he will be fine on it.

Doncaster 2:13

If SULTANS PRIDE came into this race after his win at Kelso, you better believe his price wouldn't be anywhere near to his current price of 14/1. It can be ridiculous sometimes how one race can make a progressive looking horse into a total pig. I think he shouldn't be overlooked and he offers good value at his current odds.

With the ground likely to be very testing, you're going to want to be on horses who stay strongly, and this lad fits the bill perfectly. His win at Kelso was a strong staying performance, winning over 2f further that day, than what he runs over today, which was also on soft ground, so you'd like to think he will be staying on when others are tiring. His most recent run was a blip, and I think he deserves another crack of the whip in a race of this nature off his current mark before we start saying he's not good enough. Horses aren't at the races every time they compete, and I believe that was an off day for Sultans Pride. The form of his Kelso win has started to look quite smart for the grade. He beat Doyen Breed into second, and that horse has franked the form since he moved to fences, beating Emitom on chase debut and then ran a big race to finish 2nd to the progressive Bushypark, whilst giving away tonnes of weight.

He clearly handles and likes the track, as he is a previous C&D winner, where he once again showed his staying abilities by plodding on late in the race and seemed to enjoy the long run in that Doncaster has to offer. When there are questions to be asked about a few of these, I think he offers good EW value.

Doncaster 3:20

This race is quite underwhelming if truth be told, but that comes with the fact that I find it hard to see past ZAMBELLA, who put in a great round of jumping last time out, and even though she was flattered by the amount she won, I think she is a cut above this field.

On her going day Zambella is a smart operator , with soft ground being a big positive for her, as she seems to handle it better than most. The penalty that she has to carry is quite annoying, but she is the class horse in the race, and should be able to shoulder the 4lbs more that she has to carry. I think the race was perfectly set up for her last time at Haydock, but it was a good return to form for the 6yo mare. She beat Annie Mc into second place, and the Willie Mullins hot-pot, Elimay into third. The third clearly wasn't at the races at Haydock, and she doesn't quite show up. Annie Mc generally needs a run to get into gear for the season, so with that being her first run it wasn't a surprise to see her in need of it. However, there was no issues with Zambella's jumping, and the way she travelled through the race, and it was nice to see her back in the winner's enclosure.

She won't be able to get an easy lead like she did last time out, but I don't think that will be a hindrance. There is a strong possibility that Hawthorn Cottage will make the running, as it appears she only has one way of running. Other than Kapga De Lily, it's hard to see where the danger comes from. I think Kapga De Lily has a lot to prove at this level, even though this is a weak Class 1 Listed race. She has climbed through the handicap ranks from an 88 rated chaser to now 140 rated. Even though she has been impressive, this is a totally different ball game, and with most of her wins coming over 3m+ she has to prove she has the speed at this level for this trip. Midnightreferedum is a horse I think has a decent prized pot handicap in her, but running off level weights (other than Zambella) makes this a tough ask for her. She was tipped up lto, where she was booked for a place until making a tired fall at the last over this trip at Aintree.

Newbury 12:50

I'm not one for backing horses in maiden's or novice's but I think they are overpricing PARTY ISLAND in this contest. He wasn't the best horse on the flat, but he made a pleasing hurdles debut at Leicester 27 days ago, and I think he can build on that.

His jumping at Leicester was a bit novicey, but that's to be expected for a horse bred for the flat, and one hurdles debut, against some decent looking horses. He finished 3rd, behind two good looking horses, including Zabeel Champion who was/is a smart flat horse, who reached 104 last year when being trained by Mark Johnston, and he looks a smart recruit to the hurdles game too. The winner, Nurse Susan looks very good, trained by Dan Skelton, and I actually rate this bit of form and that's why I think the current odds available on Party Island are far too big. It's a shame there is only 3 places on offer, but it will have to do, and I think some of the horses shorter in the market are far too short, as you have good form with the selection, rather than smart horses coming from the flat with something to prove.

The ground should be in his favour, as he seemed to appreciate soft ground when he ran on the flat, winning at Haydock on soft and finishing runner-up at the same track on the same ground. Hopefully he has come on for his first run at Leicester, and if so, he could potentially spring a surprise.

Newbury 2:00

A rare jumps runner for Roger Teal caught my eye, with KAMAXOS running off bottom weight in a competitive handicap hurdle. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if this fella drifted like a barge and into the big odds of 50/1 and maybe more, but I think he has a squeak in this race, despite it being a warm handicap.

His last two runs have been promising, and even though this is tougher, the fact he will be running off 9st 7lbs with Ned Fox's 7lbs claim taken into consideration, I think he could run a big race on ground which will be stamina sapping, so it will be a big advantage carrying a low weight. Even with Ned's 7lb claim, he will still be 1lb out of the handicap, but once again that doesn't really bother me, as I think the form of his last two runs is quite good. He ran a big race at Sandown to finish 2nd and only 4L behind a well fancied Gary Moore hot-pot, who was clearly well-handicapped. He plugged away that day up the Sandown hill, and is worth a try over further. The time before that he finished runner-up to Geronimo, who has since finished 2nd in a Class 2 hurdle race, losing to Tommy's Oscar, who had to produce an RPR of 150 to win that race.

Newbury 2:35

CRYPTO is an interesting runner in this 3m 2f contest for the Venetia Williams stable. He looked quite an unlucky loser last time at Bangor, where he didn't jump with much fluency, and he paid for the price for that. However, it was still an encouraging return to action, as that was his first run in 244 days, and it is probably easy to say that the ground wasn't testing enough for him. I think it's interesting that Venetia has stepped him up to this trip, after he had only previously been tried at 2m 5f at his furthest, but when Venetia does this, it is worth noting. Her stable continue to be in good form, operating at a 35% SR in the last 14 days, which has resulted in 7 wins. This lightly raced 7yo carries a joint second bottom weight, which will be helpful in today's conditions. He looks the dark horse in this lineup on what is made up of mostly exposed horses.

Newbury 3:05

It's very easy to get carried away with LOSSIEMOUTH‘s win in the Grade 2 race at Sandown which he landed in the early parts of December, as the race did seem to fall apart, but you can't take anything away from Tom Lacey's 6yo as he beat what was in front of him, and he looked impressive the way he powered up the Sandown hill.

Tom Lacey has always thought that this lad has bags of potential and ability, but he has suffered with injuries throughout his short career to date. This season, it appears they have unlocked him and he has kicked on and is now starting to show what they knew he had at home. He seems to stay further than today's trip, which should be a plus as if it does become a stamina test, he will be staying on strongly. He handles soft ground, which is another tick in the box, and he is a real trier.

Once again, this race appears to be extremely similar to the Sandown race where it is full of ‘hype' horses, and the question is can they really prove that they are up to this level. Lossiemouth has the least to prove in this lineup, and I think he is going to be overlooked yet again, as he doesn't have that ‘sexy profile' of a big trainer or big owner, and has come through the handicaps to prove how good he is. Tom Lacey remains in good form, as he has for most of the season, and Stan Sheppard is riding out of his skin, and is thoroughly taking the chances he has been getting this season, which has been on show with the recent Welsh Grand National win.

Kelso 1:52

To see the price difference available between Sounds Russian and COOPER'S CROSS is actually quite remarkable. The latter named horse beat the former when they previously met, and now the latter is receiving weight, where previously he was giving away 1lb, so the price discrepancy doesn't make sense to me. It's easy to say how impressive Sounds Russian was last time, but I don't think Cooper's Cross ran a poor race when he finished runner-up at Newcastle to a horse who looked well handicapped, and has since gone close in another Class 3 contest at Taunton which looked a competitive race.

Cooper's Cross is built for chasing, so it's not a surprise to see him take his form to the next level since he has been jumping over fences. At 13/2 at the time of writing, there are far worse EW shots today, and I would be mightily disappointed if he wasn't playing a role at some point in this race.

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