From the two selections on Tuesday, neither covered themselves in glory, and it was a bad day at the office.
Coastguard Station didn't jump great, and his fitness towards the end of the race didn't look assured. He had a couple of runs under his belt for the new season, and I think on that basis, he is gone at the game. I had a slight concern about that being the case, but when you see Sean Bowen booked, it makes you think the opposite.
I think Berry Edge can come again, but whether or not I'll be backing him for that run, time will tell. He made a mistake three from home, which saw Harry Skelton get a little more serious in the saddle, but he didn't have too much left in the tank to rally and cause any issues. He finished around thirteen lengths behind the winner, which is not good enough.
Desertmore News 2/1 – Chepstow 2.30
Prior to the last fortnight, Tom Ellis had been in tremendous form with his horses. He was performing at a 20% SR until he had no winners in the last two weeks, which has resulted in his SR coming down to 16%. I don't think the recent form of the yard is as bad as the stats say, as many of his runners have been big-priced horses, and he has had a few in the places.
What we do know is that Tom Ellis is a brilliant trainer of chasers, and I thought his runner, Desertmore News, made a good start to life over fences. He finished third in a Class 3 handicap, but was up against a few solid horses, and I think he ran against the best opposition of those who made their chasing debuts in recent times in this race.
Last time out he was behind Sinnatra, who was second in a Grade 1 at Aintree and was fifth in a Cheltenham Festival handicap. In second place was Pourquoi Pas Papa, who was fourth in a Cheltenham Festival handicap and followed that up by being third in a tough Aintree handicap in April. Desertmore News wasn't a million miles away, and they made the running with him, which is something I like with chase debutantes. Seeing a horse run from the front gives me plenty of confidence that they believe his jumping is his best weapon, and I think if he has come on for fitness, he is the one to beat.
GambleAware