It was painful to see not one, but both of Monday's selections done in very tight finishes at Stratford.
Rebel Intentions looked the least likely of the pair to win after coming off the bridle with half a circuit to go, but he stuck to his guns with the winner who were racing side by side but didn't manage to get his head in front on the line.
Mumford's Magic was much stronger in the betting and went through the race like the winner, but a couple of ropey jumps definitely cost him the race, which isn't a total shock as he was making his chase debut. He fluffed the last and didn't land running and that saw him get beat by a horse I mentioned was overpriced at 20/1 yesterday, which makes it even more sickening.
Rizzel's Tips
Nachtgeist 13/2 – Huntingdon 2.00
When I look through races, I start from the top of the weights and work my way down. At first, I thought surely Nachtgeist hasn't got much of a chance in this race as he hasn't shown a great aptitude for jumping, but as I went through the runners I actually thought the Gary & Josh Moore horse had a great chance as this is a very bad race.
Nachtgeist's best form as a horse came when he was trained in Germany when with Waldemar Hickst, which saw him run well in a Group 2, finishing 3rd/9, recording an RPR of 100 which puts him miles clear on ability in comparison to today's opposition, even with Nachtgeist's ropey hurdling form. His form over obstacles since moving to the UK hasn't been great, but he has shown enough technique and form to suggest he can win a very bad race like today. The form behind Through The Ages at Plumpton over 2m on soft ground was a decent enough effort, recording an RPR of 99 which seems more than enough to win this if repeating a similar level to that race.
He arrives at Huntingdon with a couple of flat runs under his belt this summer, with the last coming in August, so he should be more forward in terms of fitness than some of the others. It's his first run over hurdles for his new stable, and given that the Moore stable is in great form at the moment, I'm expecting a good run with a 5lb claimer on board which takes off some handy weight.
Diva B 7/1 – Huntingdon 2.30
For Division II of the handicap hurdle over 2m 3.5F, it looks equally as poor. Arguably, it is stronger than the first race, but a lot of horses are bang out of form, with only a couple of horses with a one next to their last five or six runs, which goes to show what we're dealing with.
I actually thought Diva B was worth a chance in this on her handicap debut. She is related to a couple of horses who have done decent when upped in trip to today's distance and slightly further, so I thought it was an interesting move that they are putting her up by nearly 4f on her handicap debut based on a very handicap mark of 77 which she has been given.
There's not much to go off in terms of form as she has finished 9th, 8th, 6th and 6th in her four career runs to date. However, she was 4/1 on her bumper debut so that market confidence gives me confidence that there is a much better horse than what we've seen from her so far in her short career to date.
The same owners had a horse called Elogio who was also with Tom Lacey and was upped in trip on his handicap debut, which saw him finish 2nd, so that is an indicator that they could've been planning this route for a little while.
Cracking Destiny 11/2 – Huntingdon 3.30
Straight away, Cracking Destiny caught my eye for this contest given this is a ridiculously rare runner for Ewan Whillans to have so far south. The Scottish border trainer rarely sends runners away from his local area, but when he has done in the past he has succeeded with his record of 3/7 at Stratford being a big indicator that they don't waste their ammunition when coming down this far.
Cracking Destiny isn't getting any younger at the age of 11, but he showed over the last 12 months that there is still fight in the old lad. He managed to win twice in 2023, most recently in November off a mark of 116 in a Class 2 race, which is 6lbs higher than what he races off today at Huntingdon. This year he has been inconsistent, which saw him start off well at Perth in a Class 3, finishing a respectable 3rd/5 producing an RPR of 122 off a mark of 121. He has since run below form, but his most recent run was a reminder that he can still run well and that today's trip might be more up his street at this moment in his career.
He has won over today's trip in the past, and his recent run at Kelso where he looked outpaced over the 2m and was plugging on at the finish gives me hope that today's move is the correct one. Given how scarce Ewan Whillans' horses are when coming this far from his stable, I think you've got to say it's a tip in itself as this race is only paying £5,413 and they're going to need to go close to make it a worthwhile trip, so I don't think they're coming down to make up the numbers.
In December 2020 we sadly 
