Newbury 1.50
Elite - DAVID - Newbury 1.50 - Greatwood Gold Cup Handicap Chase - 2 miles 4 furlongs - 14 run - Going - Good
The highlight on Newbury’s card on Saturday and, probably, the biggest betting race of the day is The Greatwood Gold Cup. This is a Grade 3 handicap chase run over a distance of 2 ½ miles and this year the contest, which has attracted 14 runners, is set to take place on Good ground.
This is always a hotly-contested event, with this year looking no different, and it is a race that has been dominated over the years by Paul Nicholls (9 wins from the last 15 renewals). This being the case, his two entrants this year deserve the utmost respect.
Currently sat at the head of the market, at the time of writing, is GRAND SANCY. This 7 year-old was a decent hurdler but hasn’t looked quite the same force, yet, over fences. He did, however, start this season with a very good win in a listed contest at Chepstow and the second horse home that day has won a good race at Newbury since to frank the form. He then, however, flopped rather badly next time at Wincanton where he jumped very poorly and the jockey reported a ‘respiratory issue’. No wind operation has, however, been undertaken since (he only had one last July) but he has been given a break of 4 months. He has run well after a break before, and good ground does appear to suit best, and his trainer is sure to have him primed for this. This is his first run in handicap company over fences and, with his chase rating still some 3lbs lower than his hurdling mark, there is scope for improvement. He does have to give weight away to all bar one in the rest of the field, which won’t be easy, but it can be dangerous to dismiss a Nicholls horse in this race and, with the ground coming in his favour, it’s easy to see why he is popular in the market.
CAPELAND is the second representative from Ditcheat and he has to shoulder top weight here. He is another who has to bounce back from a disappointing run last time out. He was never travelling that day and jumped left, on a track he had won at before, and was pulled up. That was a hot race admittedly, and the impressive winner has since won the grade 1 Ascot Chase, but he does need to rekindle something like the form he showed when winning on his previous start at Wincanton to feature here. He is a horse who does have a tendency to throw in the odd bad run and, whilst Darryl Jacob is back in the saddle after riding him to his last win, he does need a career best to win this.
Alongside GRAND SANCY, the other horse at the top of the market is KILLER CLOWN who runs here for the first time since an impressive win at Kempton on Boxing Day. This lightly-raced 7 year-old was switched to fences this season, following a summer breathing operation, and, although unseating on debut, has improved with each start. The form of his 3rd place finish in a novice handicap at Sandown in December is working out well, with 4 of his opponents that day winning since, whilst he, himself, won next time at Kempton. He won easily that day and the second horse home has, also, won since. He travelled strongly on that occasion and jumped well but he has been hit hard by the handicapper and is now up 15lbs from that run. He is, clearly, still unexposed over fences but is a bit short in the market for me, in a race like this, based on what he has achieved so far.
The Pipe yard have won this race twice in the past and they are represented here by another who has been well-supported in the market in the shape of UMBRIGADO. This useful hurdler has taken well to fences this season, winning two and finishing 2nd in the other of his 3 races over the larger obstacles. His last run came with a win at Wetherby last month over what was possibly an inadequate trip, albeit in deep ground, and this distance should suit better but he has gone up 5lbs as a result and this is a much tougher race than those he has been contesting so far. Tom Scudamore has gone up to Kelso, to ride Cloth Cap, so David Noonan takes over in the saddle.
There are several course winners in here and one of those is ANOTHER CRICK. He has had his problems in the past and, after failing to win in any of his hurdle or bumper races, he has won twice over fences in just five attempts. He has, also, finished 2nd twice and the only time he has finished out of the frame was last time out at Warwick where he finished a very creditable 4th. That, like this, was a very competitive affair and was, also, run over 2 ½ miles. He stayed on very nicely that day on a track that is a little sharper than here and, with it being his first chase for almost two years, he should, also, improve for the experience. This galloping track and the drier underfoot conditions should suit him more and he is, also, 1lb lower than at Warwick. Paddy Brennan takes the ride again and this horse, who looked like a chaser on the up before his injury, is one for the short-list.
Another course winner is GOLD PRESENT and his win here came back in December 2017. He, subsequently, beat Frodon in the same month in what was his last victory and this 11 year-old, who still holds entries at Cheltenham and in The Grand National, comes here off a mark that is 2lbs lower than that last winning one. He very rarely runs at a trip this short these days and he may find things happening a bit quick for him. Whilst he has the possibility to stay on past beaten horses into an enhanced each-way place, this may well be a ‘prep’ for his main spring targets.
THE RUSSIAN DOYEN is another course winner and he makes his debut here for Jeremy Scott after leaving Colin Tizzard. He runs off the bottom weight having gone down 8lbs since the end of last season as a result of some very poor runs. He had some very good form as a novice, just two seasons ago, and that included a very good 4th place finish at The Cheltenham Festival, behind A Plus Tard, in the now scrapped novice chase over this distance, and he is 9lbs lower here than he was for that particular contest. They go without the blinkers today and he gets the services of Nick Schofield who has a good record in this race.
The final runner in here who has tasted success at this venue is GALA BALL who lines up for Philip Hobbs. Unlike the other course winners, this 11 year-old has, actually, won over today’s course-and-distance and that win came off the same mark that he runs from today. His record at this venue, indeed, is very good and has to make him of some interest here at a nice each-way price. In 6 chases here he has won once, finished 2nd on a further 4 occasions and finished out of the frame just once and, even then, there seemed to be an excuse as he lost a hind-shoe. Extend his runs here to include appearances over hurdles and you can add another win and another 2nd place from his other two runs. One of his runner-up finishes came in this race the last time it was run, in 2019, when he finished just over 2 lengths behind San Benedeto off 3lbs lower. Much of his best form has come in soft ground but the ground was officially described as Good when he finished 2nd on his last visit here, in November, behind Clondaw Castle who, of course, has since franked that form by winning last week’s big grade 3 chase at Kempton and is now rated at 160. A repeat of that run would see him very much in the shake-up here and, with blinkers replacing the usual cheekpieces, he could run a very good race at nice each-way odds under a jockey who has ridden him to 4 of his 6 career wins, so far, from just 9 rides.
Alan King runs SENIOR CITIZEN here. He has been given a break since running in The Grand Sefton at Aintree in December where he seemingly failed to get home in testing ground over the National fences and finished 7th. His form prior to that saw him win 2 and finish 2nd in another couple of his 5 chase starts and he started this season with a win at Newton Abbot back in September. After that he just failed to give 10lbs to Espoir De Romay, when finishing 2nd at Huntingdon at the start of November and that horse, who is now rated 140, finished just 7 lengths off Gold Cup contender Royal Pagaille, conceding 5lbs himself, in December at Haydock. He will prefer the better ground here and has a nice racing weight but, after a break, this is a step on the way to his attempt at winning The Topham back at Aintree next month.
SENIOR CITIZEN also has some form with THE BIG BITE as they met last January and they re-oppose here. THE BIG BITE was in the care of Tom George then as he got the better of Alan King’s horse by 3 ½ lengths at Doncaster over this trip. He switched stables at the start of this season and this will be his third run for Henry Oliver, having won one and finished runner-up in the second of his races for his new yard so far. His last run, when 2nd behind Ibleo, was a very creditable run and he finished ahead of a subsequent winner but he is 12lbs worse off with SENIOR CITIZEN from their meeting last year and may not be as well suited by the drier ground than that rival.
Nicky Henderson’s has a couple of runners here and the second of those is PISTOL WHIPPED. On jockey bookings, he looks to be the first string. He is very lightly-raced and, therefore, unexposed over fences and has only raced once this season. That was at Kempton in January when, after travelling smoothly, he looked the likely winner at one point only for the eventual winner to keep finding from the front. The winner failed to frank that form next time in the Warwick race that ANOTHER CRICK ran in (finishing 5th) but the 3rd horse home has won at Leicester since. He’s gone up 5lbs for that Kempton race, which seems harsh given he didn’t win, and that makes life a bit more difficult but he should enjoy the ground and his trainer’s strike-rate at this, his local, track warrants respect.
A horse now looking dangerously well-handicapped if returning to form is BORN SURVIVOR and he runs here for The Skelton team. Having been rated as high as 152 at his peak, he now finds himself 14lbs lower and is 4lbs below his last winning mark. That win came just under 2 years ago in a listed contest up at Ayr and that was the last time he raced on genuine good ground. Since then he has been racing on softer ground and mainly in higher class races than this. He has also run over the bare 2 miles in his last 3 races this season which is on the sharp side for him. All bar one of his career wins have come at or around this trip so the step back up 2 ½ miles on a sound surface is in his favour. There has been some support for him at big e/w prices on Friday and, with the yard still in decent form, he is one to take seriously at an each-way price.
A horse who is yet to really deliver on his earlier promise is WINDSOR AVENUE who seeks to give Brian Ellison a big handicap winner for the second Saturday in a row. Always held in high regard by his trainer, he finished 2nd on seasonal reappearance, at Carlisle, behind the progressive and impressive Imperial Aura. That horse is now rated at 163, following a win in a Grade 2 at Ascot, and WINDSOR AVENUE was only beaten just over 2 lengths in receipt of 4lbs. Taken at face value, he could, therefore, be very well-handicapped off 146 in here. Although he finished 3rd in The Rowland Meyrick at Wetherby over Christmas, he has largely disappointed since Carlisle and is fitted with both a tongue-tie and cheekpieces for the first time here as the trainer claims he concentrates more on what horses are doing around him than on his own job in the race itself. The claiming jockey takes off 5lbs from his back, which could prove handy, and, if the new headgear does the trick, he could run well on ground which should suit given his limited form on a sounder surface so far.
The final horse in here is BARTON KNOLL and he is another coming here after a break, having not raced since November. He is a horse that has to have decent ground, hence the break over the winter months, and he certainly gets his conditions here. His last run, at Doncaster, saw him with ease but he has been hit with a 7lb rise for that which will make it more difficult for him in this deeper race.
There are a few in here who are clearly on the upgrade and horses like UMBRIGADO, PISTOL WHIPPED and KILLER CLOWN warrant respect. They have, however, all been relatively well found in the market and for a couple of each-way plays in the race, the contrarian in me is looking for some better value than what is on offer for those horses. I like the claims of THE BIG BITE, for a trainer who can ready one, whilst BORN SURVIVOR is very tempting too off his current handicap mark but, for a couple of each-way bets, at the prices, I think that ANOTHER CRICK and GALA BALL offer us some value with the enhanced places on offer.
ANOTHER CRICK looked a chaser with a nice future two seasons ago before his progress was curtailed by injury but he has come back in promising form this term and has a nice low weight here as he looks to build on his good performance at Warwick last time. Like those mentioned above, he is one who could still be on the upgrade, with just 5 runs over fences behind him, and his mark may still under-rate him.
GALA BALL is one of the more exposed in the field, on the other hand, but his form at this track, and in this race in the past, makes much appeal. He’s now 2lbs below his last winning mark and ran an excellent race here back in November. The Hobbs stable has been in good form this week, with 3 winners on Thursday alone, and they apply the blinkers here in a bid to sharpen up his jumping that rather let him down last time out. Alongside GOLD PRESENT, at 11 years old, he is very much the veteran in here but, given his excellent course form, he looks good value for one of the enhanced places on offer at the very least.
Finally, given the fact that Paul Nicholls has farmed the race in the last dozen years or so, I think it may be worth having a small win ‘saver’ on GRAND SANCY to cover off the two each-way bets as, with no Cheltenham entries in the pipeline, he has clearly been laid out for this, his first venture into handicaps. Assuming they have him back after the reported breathing issues in November, he looks the one to beat.
TIP: ANOTHER CRICK. Tracker: GALA BALL. Win ‘Saver’: GRAND SANCY