TimeformBlog

Timeform look back at the weekend's action...


Saturday saw the reappearance of both Master Minded and last year's Gold Cup winner Imperial Commander, and neither disappointed. Paul Nicholls' charge went with all his old fluency under the excellent Noel Fehily, jumping particularly boldly, and he was going better than Albertas Run before that one gave Tony McCoy his third fall of a truncated afternoon. Over at Haydock, Imperial Commander produced a gritty display to hold off the enigmatic Tidal Bay in the Betfair Chase, and Nigel Twiston-Davies' runner will surely improve for the outing, though a cut to his leg may leave his intended next outing in the King George Chase on Boxing Day in some jeopardy.

The Ascot Hurdle threw up a potential superstar as Silviniaco Conti completed a hat-trick of British successes by easily beating the in-form Alan King's Karabak. The favourite, Zaynar, who had been teetering on the brink temperamentally prior to this, was never travelling, trailing home fourth, and is one to be wary of now. It's hard to know quite where the winner will go from this considering the stable have Big Buck's for the World Hurdle, but he looks to have the ability to make his mark at the top level.

Other notable performances from the weekend include the effortless victories of the Paul Nicholls-trained Toubab in the Listed hurdle and David Pipe's Grands Crus in the valuable 'Fixed Brush' handicap, both at Haydock. Also on Saturday the admirable pair of chasers, Mister McGoldrick and Golan Way, recorded impressive successes at Huntingdon, and Pam Sly's Risaala created a good impression when landing the novice hurdle under Gina Andrews at the same course.

The main meeting on Sunday was at Aintree and it saw several horses enhance their Grand National claims with impressive displays of jumping, notably Frankie Figg and Hello Bud, who won the Grand Sefton and the Becher Chase respectively.

(Read more at betting.betfair.com)