There is some very good jumps action at Ascot, but it looks very competitive and I think it's not the best betting card, so instead I'm heading to Haydock and Hereford for my Saturday selections.
Rizzel's tips
Royal Mer 8/1 (EW) – Haydock 1.30
My first selection for Saturday is an old friend of mine, Royal Mer. This 6-year-old mare from the David Pipe stable landed me a couple of winners in back-to-back fashion earlier in the spring, and she proved that she is very much a two-miler these days.
This season, she has come back with a run over hurdles, before a try over slightly further back over fences but was never fancied in the market, so it wasn't a surprise to see her out of the frame in a good race at Chepstow at the back end of November. I think back over two miles on a very testing surface at Haydock will play into her hands, the main question is her handicap mark, and that is a bit concerning as she is 4lbs above her last winning mark, but the manner in which she won over 2m off 116 in April against Mount Tempest, who is a solid yardstick, I think she is worth a chance, even though she is out of form.
Today's race is a decent renewal, and a competitive handicap, but a fair few of the horses are out of form and also have questions to answer. I am going against Intimate, who I tipped up recently and ran a good race to finish second, but that horse's jumping was not very good and Haydock can be a tough jumping track, especially down the back straight with fences that catch a lot of horses off guard, so I'm happy to take a chance on Royal Mer for the in form David Pipe stable.
Famous Bridge 5/2 – Haydock 2.05
A horse who I stuck up for a recent Lucky 15 thread, but sadly didn't run was Famous Bridge. He was meant to run in a race he won last year at this track, but the meeting was called off, so instead he comes back for this race, which he also won 12 months ago. He won this race last year off a 2lb lower mark, so he has a slight question to answer as he hasn't won off a rating this high before, but everything is in his favour for him to show his quality on a bottomless surface, so he gets my vote.
The Nicky Richards yard could not be in any better form, he has been firing winners in for a couple of weeks now so we know his horses are in great form and condition.
Famous Bridge has had a recent outing at the back end of October when finishing second to a useful stayer in Elvis Mail. He ran to a +2 to his official rating according to the Racing Post ratings, so it was as good as a seasonal reappearance as connections could have hoped for. I'd be surprised if he wasn't bang there at the finish, even with him lumping around a shed load of weight on heavy ground.
Regatta De Blanc 7/2 – Hereford 1.38
I'm hoping Regatta De Blanc doesn't throw up a blank for today's race as I was very impressed with her performance at Ascot when she was second to Law Of Supply, who was a chaser on a decent mark and was progressing well coming into the Ascot race.
Paul Nicholls' mare jumped well, but there was definitely room for improvement, but I think the main factor for today's race is that it's probably not got a horse who is miles ahead of the handicapper like last time out, but also it is going to be run over an extra furlong, which looked in need for Reggata De Blanc. She was doing her best work late in the race at Ascot, and it might have gotten interesting if there was an extra furlong in that race, as I do think Law Of Supply was tiring.
I think she'll find this race a fair bit easier and should be able to show her class.
