TimeformBlog

Timeform look back over a weekend on which there were plenty of ante-post pointers for the season's top NH races...


Saturday's Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby went the way of clear form pick Nacarat, who allayed doubts that he might have needed the race in beating The Tother One by four lengths, with last year's winner Deep Purple a further two and a half lengths back in third. Nacarat's main target for the season is reportedly the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day and his form gives him excellent place claims at least, though he is currently a 13.0 shot for the race, which reflects that he still has plenty to find to get the better of a peak Kauto Star. The other performance of note at Wetherby came from Fair Along, who won his second successive West Yorkshire Hurdle with a typically resolute front-running performance.

The feature at Ascot was the three-mile United House Gold Cup Handicap Chase in which Massini's Maguire made a successful debut for David Pipe, rallying to beat the gambled-on Nicholls inmate Take The Breeze by one and a half lengths. Both look sure to be contesting the better handicap chases throughout the season, with the former reportedly on track for either the Hennessy or the Paddy Power. One who is going to be taking part in the top handicap hurdles is Tocca Ferro, who built on the considerable promise of his 2009/10 campaign in making a successful reappearance in the two-mile event on the card. One of last year's top novice hurdlers, Get Me Out of Here, finished down the field in the same race, but shaped well all the same and remains capable of better, with the Greatwood at Cheltenham, for which he can be backed at 7.0, the likely next port of call.

There was also good NH racing at Naas on Saturday, where Captain Cee Bee made a winning return to action in the Grade 3 Poplar Square Chase over two miles. He's currently available to back at 12.5 for the Champion Chase, but has about a stone to find with the top two-milers like Big Zeb.

There were a trio of listed races at Newmarket's final meeting on 2010 on Saturday, where last year's Group 1-winning juvenile Kingsfort regained the winning thread in the Ben Marshall Stakes over a mile, in so doing looking an ideal candidate for the Dubai Carnival over the winter. It was a day of mixed fortunes for Henry Cecil, whose Timepiece landed the spoils in the James Seymour Stakes, though his promising two-year-old colt Picture Editor met with his first defeat in the Zetland Stakes, which was won by the Brian Meehan-trained Indigo Way.

Saint-Cloud was the venue for Group 1 action on the Flat on Sunday, where Dewhurst runner-up Roderic O'Connor went one better in the Criterium International, advertising his claims for the 2011 Classics as well as giving a further boost to the form of Champion two-year-old in waiting Frankel.

There were plenty of interesting novices over jumps on Sunday over both hurdles and fences, with the day's best performance coming courtesy of Weird Al at Carlisle, who maintained his unbeaten record as a chaser by the narrowest of margins, dead-heating with bold-jumping front-runner Little Josh. He's now likely to head to the Hennessy, for which he is the 8.0 third favourite behind the Nicholls pair Denman and What A Friend.

(read more at betting.betfair.com)