The pick of the prices at Aintree & Wincanton....

Friday, 10th November 2023

The pick of the prices at Aintree & Wincanton….

They inspected the track at Aintree this morning….

…. and the Grand Sefton (2.45) goes ahead tomorrow….

… at least for the time being….

…. on ground described as heavy (soft in places)….

…. and with some forecasters (but by no means all) predicting more rain….

It’s going to be a test of stamina – that’s for sure….

Gesskille – 2nd last year before coming 2nd in the Becher over the 3m2f trip….

…. comes into this season’s renewal off a win in France on soft ground….

…. and represents a worthy favourite off a mark just 5lb higher than last year’s….

My job is to find a ‘live’ one at a price….

…. and FRERO BANBOU is the bet at 11s….

…. decent e/w odds in a race that could produce more non-runners yet….

Let me be straight, I’ve done a few quid on him over the last couple of years….

…. not least in the Plate at the Cheltenham Festival in March….

…. where he was finally stepped up to intermediate trips….

I’d been banging on about that trip being right for him for well over a year….

…. and I’d expected a much-improved performance….

…. but – on the day – he did what horses are always prone to do and totally flopped….

I wondered at the time how literally that outcome should be taken….

…. given how he drifted in the exchange markets – doubling in price – ahead of the off….

Perhaps something went wrong that day….

…. but I’m happy to give him another shot at the trip tomorrow afternoon….

He’s rated just 133 right now – a very competitive mark….

…. he won’t mind the ground….

…. and he was ready to go first time out last term….

The problem is that he can start his races slowly and get too far back….

…. and over these big Liverpool fences – at this trip – that amounts to suicide….

He’ll need to do it differently tomorrow….

…. connections know all that though….

…. Charlie Deutsch won the race last year – this column was on – with Al Dancer

…. and Venetia Williams is no neophyte at this game….

Moving onto the 62nd Badger Beer Handicap Chase at Wincanton (2.25)….

SAM BROWN ran a cracker on seasonal debut last term in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby….

…. where he got beaten just 4.5 lengths by Bravemansgame (winner of the King George on his next start) on ground that would have been quick enough for him….

He was going well at Punchestown in April too – in front and going well when coming down two out….

…. we’ll never know if standing up would have amounted to the same thing as victory….

…. but it was a fair run – and improvement on his most recent efforts – and probably testimony to the wind-op he’d had in the March….

He was rated 159 as recently as last December and tomorrow’s mark of 152….

…. on ground that should be soft enough for him….

…. makes him an interesting candidate at handicap level….

He may be 11 – but he’s not a typical 11yo chaser. He’s only had 14 goes over fences to date….

…. he could still have a decent pot in him under the right circumstances….

…. and he’s a fair bet tomorrow at the 9s….

Up at Newcastle and back on the flat for the day….

…. in the rescheduled November Handicap (3.45)….

…. BERAZ is the one I want to back at the general 9s & 8s….

He’s up just 3lbs for a last time out victory at Leicester over the 10f trip….

That was a step-back in distance and after working through horses gamely he finished off strongest of all….

…. a performance that suggests a return to tomorrow’s mile-and-a-half has the potential to see him to better effect still….

Plenty of his opponents have been on the go all summer – while he’s hardly got started for Julie Camacho…..

…. whose either been very patient with a big-framed horse or she’s been putting right some niggle he arrived with from Dan Sketon’s yard in May….

Whichever it is, he turns out tomorrow in form….

…. a sight fresher than most….

…. and open to progression at a stage of the season when most are pulling up stumps and looking to next term….

• Finally…. 

That’s all for today….

I’ll be back next week….

Meantime – win, lose or draw – enjoy the racing….

Stay tuned….

Against the Crowd