I'm glad to see the back of February. Obviously, it makes no difference, and it's said in jest. February was a horrendous month, but with the big spring festivals around the corner, I'm confident in turning it around.
Al Kalila was the only winner on Saturday, meaning it was a very small profit on the day. He jumped quite badly for the majority of the race. He was slow and reluctant to jump fences on good strides that Sean Bowen asked him for. He got the job done, which is all that matters.
Good To Be Alive put in a few sketchy jumps, and definitely feels like a winner which got away.
Koukeo made a very bad mistake down the back straight and never recovered from it. Whether he would have got involved with a clear round, I'm not so sure.
Icare Grandchamp 2/1 (1pt) – Huntingdon 2.45
After Alto Alto flopped massively for me earlier in the week, it has slightly tempered my confidence in Icare Grandchamp. However, I still believe in this horse, and I think he could have gotten off lightly with a four-pound increase by the handicapper.
He only won by a narrow 0.75L at Plumpton, but he made a mistake late into the race, which gave a chance to the runner-up. Therefore, I think without the mistake, he would've won by many lengths and not being fully pushed out.
This is a decent handicap, and is a 0-140 with some hardy handicappers, who have won many races throughout the years. He gets into this race at the bottom of the weights, running off 10st 6lbs. Even though this is a tougher race than last time, I think backing an in-form horse is the way forward, and he can progress further.
Diamond De Vindecy 2/1 (1pt) – Huntingdon 3.15
In a race against old horses, giving a chance to Diamond De Vindecy on his second chase start could be the solution.
Considering he was very novicey over his fences for the majority of his race, he ran a blinder to finish in second place. Not only that, but he finished second to a progressive horse, who had won his previous start by twelve lengths.
For today, he races over 3m, which should be beneficial given how well he was staying on from the rear of the field. It's unknown whether he'll stay the trip, but he did stay two miles on the flat, which is always a good indicator of a strong stayer, and a horse who will stay further over the jumps.
With the race being over three miles, I think it should help his jumping because they will be travelling at a slower speed.
GambleAware