Racing tips: A drop in class will see the free-going front runner For Pleasure tough to beat

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Commodore tried his best to replicate last year's success at Cheltenham. He jumped brilliantly, like normal, but the top weight caught up to him in the final stages of the race.

As for the other selection, Copper Beach, well…to say I'm not frustrated would mean I'm lying. He jumped like a snooker table at every hurdle yet lost by small margins. If he jumped the last hurdle anywhere near fluent he'd have won, but that's something which he isn't capable of.

Cheltenham 1:15

I don't think this race is as strong as it might appear to be on paper. Editeur Du Gite is a lovely horse who is very game and runs this track well, but carrying top weight won't be easy considering his handicap mark still looks on the steep side. Third Time Lucki had a good season as a novice chaser but hasn't looked great in his two runs this year, and it seems that when he makes one mistake he falls apart.

I like the look of second season chaser THE WIDDOW MAKER. I'm confident that he can win races off a mark of 135, and I think this trip at this track will be fine for him, even though he has won over further. The New track is normally a speed track, but it does bring stamina into the equation, which most people do forget. I was pleased with his return in October at this venue when running well till tiring when approaching the last. He is a horse who likes to race prominently so it probably wasn't the best of ideas to take on Effernock Fizz who is a relentless front-runner. I thought it was a good pipe-opener for his season.

The next run saw him outclassed by Paint The Dream at Newbury over 2m 3f, but from that race, I think you can see that that trip isn't for him. He got tired two from home, you could see his length shortening, which is a strong sign of fatigue. Despite that, he travelled well up until the top weight breezed past him. With those two runs under his belt, he should be 100% for today's race. His form from last year seems decent enough, with a 3rd in a Grade 1, where he travelled well but looked tired over a longer trip, and has bumped into a nice horse from the Nicky Henderson stable, giving away 9 lbs as well.

It might sound daft but I think Us And Them is one of the main threats. He's only won once over fences, but he was a talented horse for Joseph O'Brien, and Alan Jones is a crafty trainer so if the money arrives, I'd be extremely worried of a big run, from a horse who is clearly well-handicapped.

Cheltenham 1:50

COCONUT SPLASH was a selection of mine when he ran at Wetherby at the back of October. He was backed into a favourite that day, which wasn't a surprise as he is a horse in a lot of people's trackers after some eye-catching runs in defeat. He didn't run badly that day, but it looked quite obvious that he needed the run, as he was off the bridle and was wandering around, and his jump at the last looked like a horse who was extremely tired. Considering the winner went on to finish second to L'Homme Presse, the next time out, it now looks like a decent effort.

I mentioned that day when I picked him out for a selection that Evan Williams will probably have Cheltenham on his mind for one of the Gold Cup handicap races, and sure enough, here we are. Though his run at Wetherby was over a month ago, I did get the impression it was a pipe-opener for something else, something with a bigger prize on offer (even though 23k went to the winner at Wetherby) and this race seemed like the obvious target, with it being a race that Evan has had Coole Cody run in a couple of times, as well as winning it last year.

I still believe that Coconut Splash is more than capable of winning a chase race off a mark of 132. He is a bit of a monkey and has his own way of doing things, but on his day he is a talented horse and if he has set this as a long-term plan, he could run a very big race.

Doncaster 11:45

Carrying big weights to wins have been fairly common this year and I think when you have the class horse in the race, who is dropping down in class it is a good tactic to follow as a punter.

I think FOR PLEASURE is more than capable of winning this off 12st. He is a horse who only really knows one way of running, and that's from the front, but he does it very well and if they give him an easy lead, it could be curtains for the rest.

His form this season hasn't been too inspiring but he's been pitched into some pretty strong races, including a Listed race at Kempton and then a Grade 2 at Ascot. This is a much easier assignment now he's back in a Class 2, especially running off a handicap mark of 131 which is 13 lbs lower than his last win over hurdles which came in a Grade 2 at Cheltenham when beating Third Time Lucki. Since that win he has been over fences for the most part where he won off a mark of 137 as well as running well in defeat in some tough races.

I don't think this race is spectacular and considering I thought he'd be the favourite makes him a bet in this.

Doncaster 2:05

You have a lot of pace in this race, with CASTLE ROBIN being a horse who also likes to run at the front of the pack. That's not ideal, but I think Numitor will take them ahead, and Storm Control will probably fight him for the pace, so either way, there should be a fairly good gallop set.

Looking through this field, I'm not concerned about any of them. They all have to prove a point in this, my selection included, but I think there's more progression from Castle Robin than the others who have probably reached their ceiling or have poor form. Castle Robin has won over C&D before and looked like a chaser who was on the up towards the back end of last campaign. His returning run at Kelso was a decent effort, in a race much tougher than this, with the likes of Sounds Russian (150 rated, nice chaser) Aye Right (156 rated) and Hill Sixteen (145 rated). Those three names will win races this year and when you compare that to today's race, it's no competition to see which was a harder race. Castle Robin might've needed that run, with it being his first run of the season, but he was hardly discouraged back in 4th. The form of the race took a boost yesterday with Eva's Oskar winning at Cheltenham, so there's definitely substance within that race.

I think you can ignore his run at Cheltenham the time after, he was clearly not on a going day. He was hampered and then made a slow jump and was then quickly pulled up. Now he's back over a track which he tends to run well, I think he will run a big race today. He stays the trip well and is probably one of the only horses who is still well-handicapped.

I thought Kauto Riko might be dangerous to ignore, he ran well in this race last year, but whether he stays this trip out better than Castle Robin, I'm not so sure.

Doncaster 2:40

James Ewart does well with horses like HEROIQUE DE MAULDE, and I think he could be seriously ‘well in' off a handicap mark of 110.

He is a half-brother to stablemate Empire De Maulde who improved at a fast rate when James sent him over fences, winning some nice races along the way. I was impressed with this lads stable debut at Newcastle where he finished second by a short-head to an improving horse of Stuart Coltherd. The winner has since gone on to win again and the fifth won at Musselburgh earlier this week (Creative Control).

With that run under his belt, he should be much fitter, with that being the first start in just under a year (361 days), I think he could be very though to beat, as long as Brian Hughes doesn't overcomplicate it, which he has a tendency of doing.

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