It was a good attempt by old boy Dashel Drasher in the veterans' chase at Cheltenham. He was tapped for speed but was closing at the line, but ultimately, the trip was too short for him.
Rizzel's tips
Peaky Boy 6/4 (3pt) – Cheltenham 12.40
This selection won't be for everyone as he is towards the top of the market and has questions to answer with a big step up in trip being an unknown, but I think he is by far the best horse in the race at this moment in time and I think the trip will not be a problem for him.
I'm not a huge fan of the yard, or the jockey, but sometimes you've got to go against that and pick what horse you think will win and I think Peaky Boy has outstanding claims of winning this race, as he has plenty to like about him. He made it 3/3 at Cheltenham last time out on his chasing debut and as far as debut over fences go, I thought he was brilliant. He isn't the biggest of horses, so it was brave to send him to Cheltenham where the fences are tough, but given how popular he was in the market, it would suggest they knew that they had a good horse, and he proved it. He came under pressure just before turning for home when they were going downhill, but he pinged the fences in the closing stages and powered up the hill, which is something he clearly relishes as his record at the track is flawless.
The step up to 3m 1f is a big jump in distance, but he is a previous PTP winner and his pedigree/way he sees out his races means he should be fine for today's trip.
Sea Invasion 6/1 (1pt EW) – Doncaster 12.25
The Cheltenham card looks a tricky one, so other than Peaky Boy, I'm more than happy to leave the rest of the card alone. Doncaster arguably has a better card than Cheltenham and I thought an old selection of mine, Sea Invasion, was worth a shot on just his second start.
I think Sea Invasion's first start for his new yard and first start over fences at Plumpton was a nice effort, and a nice pipe opener, leaving something to build on. His jumping was flawless, and there's definitely room for improvement, but it wasn't all about that day as he clearly needed the run and was beaten by 11L by a good horse who had an edge in race fitness and experience over fences.
I've always liked this horse. From when he was over hurdles for his previous trainer Chris Gordon, he had shown a solid level of form in some decent handicaps off slightly lower handicap marks. Given he was second on his only PTP start a couple of years ago, behind Slade Steel, who has since proven to be a Grade 1 performer, surely he is much better than his current chase rating of 119.
Erne River 16/1 (1pt) – Doncaster 2.05
My left-of-field selection for today is Erne River, who will more than likely be big odds and there is a strong possibility that he'll be pulled up rather than winning this race, so small stakes will have to be used. But, on the off chance that he is on a good day, I think he is more than capable of turning up and winning this race off a very low handicap mark.
On his day, Erne River was a horse to follow. He was a very useful novice hurdler years ago, and he showed he can win races over fences, despite not being the most fluent jumper. Last year, in late December he won a similar race just after Christmas at Doncaster off a mark of 133. Today, he runs off a mark of 133 but has Tom Broughton in the saddle who takes away a further 5lbs, so he is on a very tempting handicap mark. Given he managed to land a win at this track 12 months ago, I thought he was worth a shot at doing the repeat, albeit not in the same race.
The recent form is scary enough to put off 99% of punters, with three PU next to his form in a row. However, before winning at Doncaster last year, he was 10th and PU but then won at odds of 10/1. This time of year and this track seem to put him in the best frame. Some of his best runs have been at the Yorkshire track, with three wins from five runs at the track and the defeats saw him finish 2nd and 5th/18.
I'm going to play this one on the nose rather than EW as I think he either wins and is well-backed in or he finishes out the back of tele. Obviously, if you're following, you're all welcome to go for EW as that is what most people would do with horses at 16/1.
