Fantasti.k.a.s. 0
Silver Hallmark. +3
Oscar Elite. +3
Good Boy Bobby +4
Adamantly Chosen +5
The Goffer. +5
I Am Maximus. +5
Broken Halo. +5
............
Co.r.ach Rambler +11
Into Overdrive +13
The market leaders have a lot to do and I can not have either of them .
Silver Hallmark looks a great price for e/w purposes but he is engaged at the weekend .
Greaneteen. 0?
Energumene. +1
Edwardstone. +1
Nube Negra. +1
Gentleman De Mee +3+
Blue Lord. +4+
Coeur Sublime +4?
Editeur Du Gite +5
Before I ran the race off I thought it looked so easy . Coeur Sublime stands out like a sore thumb and it must be said that his high rating looks like a fluke . However the rest of the field keys nicely for that particular event . Maybe he was the only one to run his race that day .
.....Gentleman De Mee nrnb looks a fair bet e/w at 8/1 .
Ryanair
Shishkin 0
Allah. +2
Conflated. +5
Blue Lord. +6
Janadil. +7
Hitman. +7
Pic D' Orhy. +8+
The favourite looks too skinny .Edit: the main dangers are out but he still looks short . The 16l winning margin last time was only because Cobden coasted home and Nico pushed out Shishkin all the way .
Gold Cup
Stattler 0
A Plus Tard 0
Galopin Des Champs +1+
Bravemansgame. +4+
Noble ****. +4
I think the top one should be placed and 8/1 e/w is OK if far from inspiring .
...............................................................
If The Big Bite was guaranteed to jump well he would be nearly favourite off of his present perch , as it is 25/1 is way too big a price . He should be on all short lists .
Windsor Avenue is weighted to win at Doncaster and Empire Steel might take advantage of the fact that both Le Milos and The Shunter are unlikely to be fully wound up as they appear to be Aintree bound .
Chris's Dream. -1 ?
Battleoverdoyen. 0
Gaillard Du Mesnil. +3
Death Duty. +4
Capodanno. +5
The Shunter. +5
Cape Gentleman. +5 P
Fantastik.a. +5 Our Power. +5. Delta Work. +6
Back On The Lash. +6 Corach Rambler. +7+
Quick Wave. +7
Eva's Oscar. +7
Ain't That A Shame +7
Velvet Elvis. +8+
Vanellier. +8
The Big Breakaway. +8
Roi Mage. +8
Noble ****. +8
Mister Coffee. +8
Le Milos. +8+
Hill Sixteen. +8
Gabby Cross. +8
Franco De Port. +8
Francis Du Berlais +8
Dunblane. +8
Diol Ker. +8
The Bobbyjo is tricky . Clearly Kemboy can not be used as key as he nearly nodded off mid-race . The third horse seems to have improved therefore I have worked from Vanillier .
At Kelso Le Milos fell into a hole but stopped far too quickly for my liking . You could put him up a few pounds on a provisional basis but I will leave him where he is .
Longhouse Poet has gone up a few pounds but is still not on the list . Roi Mage I have left on 8 as I think that is probably high enough for him but I am aware that he could be a deal higher . The Down Royal chase looks messy on paper but maybe Wee Small Hours will tidy things when we see him again .
Any Second Now is a horse that you can rely on therefore Velvet Elvis has to come into the reckoning . His figures suggest improvement , he has not been over raced and could be a live one if his jumping holds up .
Snow Leopardess. 0
Bristol De Mai. 0
Notachance. 0
Time To Get Up. +1
Grumpy Charley. +1
Tim Pat. +2
Two Amigos. +2
Quick Wave. +4
Omar Maretti. +5
First Lord De Cuet +5
and the rest are only just below . The o/h has done a great job .
At Ascot he might have let Regal Encore in with a squeak .
The money for Third Time Lucky must be because he looks so well treated . However , he might not be best suited to this track and he is not the most fluent of jumpers . Barring Dolos and Third Time Lucky there is nothing between the runners at the weights . Éclair D'Ainay looks overpriced now .
Empire Steel looks best at the weights in the 3.30 and might be a bit better than a handicapper , might being the operative word . The 14/1 on offer early was too big but 6/1 is too short . Kauto Riko is around 80 on here and that is worth a couple of quid e/w .
Truckers Lodge looks sure to run well across the border .
The best handicapped horses are Windsor Avenue and Cap Du Nord . The former is a monkey and the latter is too short .
The plot horse is Java Point of course .
Cloth Cap will have admirers but his Kelso form is open to criticism . Two For Gold hated the outing for much of the trip therefore the form is not worth a light . Cloth Cap did nothing wrong but the form is no better than his Hennessy win . That sort of performance would give him a chance here but he is short for all that
The value bet is to lay Ga Law . He needs to improve and is far too short .
I like monkeys and have taken a chance with Windsor Avenue .
In The Thelwell Stakes the value is to lay Delta Work . He has a lot on his plate but with the energy bills rocketing I am obliged to back Snow Leopardess . 18/1 is too tempting .
But enough of the bullshit , the good stuff is Precious Eleanor who looks well handicapped and has Simply The Betts to beat at the weights .