Racing tips: Il Est Francais looks set for Grade 1 honours at Auteuil

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McFabulous was fabulous on Saturday and ran out an easy winner in what turned into a three-runner race as Gelino Bello was a NR. He did what I was hoping, and that was making all under Harry Cobden and jumping accurately as I felt Thyme Hill‘s jumping could let him down, which it did. Always nice to beat an odds-on shot.

Cap Du Nord ran a decent race but wasn't suited by the way the race was run. It was quite a slow gallop, and for a horse who stays slightly further, he could've done with a true pace. However, with that being said, the winner was spot on yesterday and nothing would've beaten him no matter how the race was run.

Navan 2:20

To start off for Sunday's tips I'm going for a runner in a race I love to get my teeth stuck into, that being a 3m+ chase in Ireland on a Sunday. You can get some good value in this kind of races as they are competitive on paper and you get plenty of runners.

Gordon Elliott has a very good record in this race, whether that's because he chucks 5 or 6 at it I'm not sure 🤣 but his record speaks for itself and I think his horse towards the bottom of the handicap could be slightly overlooked. PUNITIVE is my selection and is the ride of young Sam Ewing who is a jockey on the rise and has been used by Gordon a lot more recently. Though his record over the jumps in Ireland isn't great, I've seen enough of him to know he is a good talent, hence why he has come over to the UK and picked up rides and wins across the Irish Sea.

Punitive probably doesn't have the best of form compared to others in this race but I think the form of last time around at Cheltenham earlier this month rates quite nicely. He finished second that day behind Anightinlambourn trained by Ben Pauling. That horse had previously run a big race at Cheltenham the month before and was a horse in hot form, so to finish behind him wasn't a bad effort.

He has made a good start since moving to Gordon's yard, finishing 2nd on his only two runs and I think a race of this nature where he gets in at the bottom of the weights, could be ideal, though he probably lacks the experience, but as we saw with Captain Kangaroo for Willie Mullins a few weeks ago, they can win races like this.

Auteuil 12:58

Now we head over to France for a Grade 1 hurdles race, which is a rarity for me but to see odds of EVS + for IL EST FRANCAIS seems good value to my eye.

For those who aren't big into their French racing, this horse is actually trained by British trainer Tom George. The horse was previously trained in France, and since moving to Tom's yard he has continued to run him in France, as I guess if it's not broken, don't fix it. The prize money in France is very good, so that's another reason for connections to keep racing in France, and it's worked out nicely so far. He is 2/2 for the Tom George stable, including a recent Grade 3 success where he battered a few of these in this race, including some Grade 1 winners. He won by 8L that day and produced an RPR of 152 which is a fair way ahead of this field.

If he produces the same level of form as last time I think he could be very tough to beat, but it's horse racing and it's never that simple, but I'd have imagined he'd be odds-on so I see this as value.

Carlisle 1:00

Another short-priced favourite I like the look of is SOARING GLORY who makes his chase debut today in what appears to be a very winnable race.

He was intended to run at Ffos Las at the start of November and at Newbury yesterday but was pulled out on both occasions, with the ground being the reason on the most latest occasion. Backing a horse on chase debut is always a risk, and one which isn't ideal as you have no idea of how they'll jump a fence, but knowing the class this horse has I think he will be able to jump a fence, especially looking at his frame.

He is the best horse in this race by a country mile, as has competed at a good level, including winning the Betfair Hurdle in 2021 and then running well to finish 5th in the same race last season off top weight. Also, he ran well in the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle to finish 2.5L behind Epatante. He is a horse who is best effective with soft underfoot conditions so it's not a surprise to see them come to Carlisle today where they'll be able to get that. Carlisle is a track where Jonjo Sr does well at, with a 24% SR with a 28% SR with his chase runners.

You have horses in this race with chase experience but I'm not sold on them. Nells Son was a decent novice hurdler last season but finished 2nd on chase debut at Ayr. The form looks okay but his jumping didn't look assured and he was either slow at his fences or didn't look comfortable. He could've come on for that experience, but I think you can either jump a fence or you can't and I think at a decent level he will get exploited. Richmond Lake might get some support on his chase debut but he tends to race free and he didn't exactly set the world alight in his three PTP runs, which resulted in one PU and 5/10 & 4/11.

Carlisle 3:30

BEACHCOMBER was a selection for me at Ascot's meeting last week but was a NR. I felt like the fact Jonjo entered him into that race suggested this was a decent bumper horse as he had previously only run 2 horses in that specific race in the last 10 years which yielded a win and a losing favourite. That race at Ascot often produces a good level of form to follow for the rest of the season, so they must've been confident of a nice run to pitch him in that race, even though they decided to withdraw him.

This race looks much easier on paper, but with bumper races, you can often get some hidden gems like Dazzman figured out when landing a lovely 250/1 winner (you happy now? 🤣). However, if I felt he was worthy of a bet at Ascot in that race, I need to go on him again in this race which should be suited better for him in terms of the ground as that was the reason for him being a NR.

There's a fair amount of shorties running tomorrow so I'll probably have a treble:

1:20 Navan – American Mike

2:00 Carlisle – Riviere D'etel

1:40 Leicester – Unit Sixtyfour

3.26/1 at the time of writing

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