Good to Soft Gold at Market Rasen
Saturday afternoon at Market Rasen serves up a proper feast of National Hunt action, with seven races on the Market Rasen racecard headlined by a cracking £65,000 Grade 2 Mares' Novices' Hurdle final. The Lincolnshire track is riding good to soft, which should suit the stamina types and give us some honest jumping throughout the afternoon.
The going description has me licking my lips - good to soft is often the sweet spot for proper National Hunt racing, allowing the horses to get a good grip without the energy-sapping qualities of heavy ground. It'll favour those with a bit of substance about them, and punish the lightweights who might struggle when the ground has a bit of cut in it.
Feature Race: The Mares Take Centre Stage
The 3:00 BetVictor British EBF Mares' Novices' Hurdle is the day's feature, and what a competitive affair it promises to be with 16 runners going to post for £65,000 in prize money. This is a proper Grade 2 contest that'll take some winning.
Charisma Cat heads the weights for Alan King on a mark of 124, and she's got Tom Bellamy in the plate. King knows how to get a mare ready for a big day, and this one has shown enough ability to suggest she could be competitive at this level. Betty's Daisy for Ben Pauling is another to note - she's only 1lb lower in the handicap and comes here with solid form credentials.
But the one that catches my eye is Watamu for Emma Lavelle with Harry Cobden aboard. Cobden's booking is significant - he doesn't waste his time on no-hopers, and this mare has been campaigned with a race like this in mind. At 120 in the ratings, she gets a handy 4lb pull with the topweight, and that could be crucial in a competitive heat like this.
The Big-Money Bumper Bonanza
The 3:35 Goffs Hundred Grand Bumper is exactly what it says on the tin - £100,000 up for grabs in what promises to be a right old cavalry charge with 20 runners declared. These bumper races can be absolute lotteries, but there are a few with solid point-to-point form that stand out from the crowd.
Diamond Street represents the Dan Skelton yard with Harry Skelton taking the ride, and you know this pair don't rock up anywhere without a serious chance. The 'D' next to the name tells us this horse has course form at Market Rasen, which is worth its weight in gold around this quirky track.
Irish Goodbye for the Twiston-Davies father and son combination also catches the eye. Sam Twiston-Davies is a wizard in these big field bumpers, and this four-year-old could be anything. The name suggests there might be some Irish point form in the background, and we all know how that tends to translate to these shores.
Chase Action and Course Specialists
The 2:25 BetVictor Handicap Chase is a proper Class 2 contest over an extended two and three-quarter miles, and it's here we see some battle-hardened campaigners lock horns. Twinjets tops the weights for Paul Nicholls on a mark of 147, and crucially carries both the 'C' and 'D' symbols - course and distance winner. That's gold dust around Market Rasen.
Hercule du Seuil matches Twinjets on the ratings and represents Neil Mulholland with Richie McLernon doing the steering. This is a proper staying chase, and both these horses have the stamina reserves to see out the trip when the pace inevitably quickens from the back of the last.
Don't overlook Knappers Hill though - another from the Nicholls yard with Harry Cobden in the saddle. The 'D' next to his name shows he's won at the track before, and getting 5lb from the joint-topweights could make all the difference in a tight finish.
Early Doors and Late Drama
The opening novices' hurdle at 1:15 sees Kocktail Bleu head the market for the Gordon father-son team, with Freddie Gordon taking the ride. Rated 125, this six-year-old should have too much class for most of these, though Lisbane Park for Joe Tizzard with Cobden aboard could provide the main opposition.
The card concludes with a couple of handicap chases that could throw up some decent each-way value. In the 4:45 finale over nearly three miles, Makin'yourmindup carries the 'C,D' symbols for Paul Nicholls and gets the services of Harry Cobden - that's a combination that demands serious respect in any company.
Tom's Ones to Watch
Here's how I'm playing Saturday's card at Market Rasen: Watamu in the feature mares' race looks overpriced with Cobden aboard and the Lavelle yard in good form. Diamond Street in the big bumper has the Skelton polish and course experience that could prove decisive in a cavalry charge.
For the staying chase, Twinjets might be favourite but those course and distance credentials are hard to ignore, especially with the good to soft ground playing to his strengths. And don't let Makin'yourmindup drift too far in the finale - Nicholls and Cobden with a course winner over the trip? That'll do me just fine.
The good to soft going should ensure we get proper jumping throughout, and with prize money like this on offer, expect every trainer to have their string wound up tight. Should be a cracking afternoon's sport in Lincolnshire.
