DAILY RACING PREVIEW BY ANDY HOLDING
FRIDAY MARCH 27
3.20 WETHERBY
Qualifying for the final of this contest without totally showing your hand is an art in itself and there is a decent chance BRAS D’OR has a bit up his sleeve based on the visual aspects of his displays to get here.
David Pipe’s inmate began his life over hurdles with a promising effort in a warm event at Cheltenham back in November which contained the likes of Soldier Reeves (third in the Turners), Gaelic Pride and Ambiente Friendly to name three and it was only in the closing stages that his lack of a previous outing took its toll.
The only one to offer any sort of resistance – albeit minimal – to the smart 130-rated Un Sens A La Vie at Ludlow next time out, he looked likely to play a major role in the finish at Ayr last time out until emptying out on the run-in but he wasn’t knocked about once he winning chance had evaporated.
On the evidence of that performance, being asked to quicken on heavy ground over two miles against horses of a slightly better quality wasn’t his bag but now up in trip and under conditions that should see his high cruising speed come into full effect, the son of Barastraight makes quite a bit of appeal despite being up against several rivals that are also not fully exposed – Daylatedollarshort and Keno Black being the obvious pair from that category.
BRAS D’OR – 1-point win@4-1
4.30 FONTWELL
MON CHAMPION qualified for the final of this series with a gutsy success here last time out and with the return to cheekpieces seen as one of the main reasons for the more positive outcome, Paul Nicholls’ inmate can repeat the dose with the same headgear in place.
There were times when the six-year-old took his supporters to a dark place at the Sussex venue 13 days ago but ultimately, he ran out a fairly comfortable winner over three rivals who all had their backing in the market.
Very strong when he needed to be in the latter stages, he ended up posting a useful speed figure for a race of its kind and it was the second time he has managed to achieve such a feat, the other coming courtesy of a hard-fought victory at Hereford.
The common denominator for both performances was soft ground, so if today’s track soaks up a bit of rain that is forecast, the better his chances become.
MON CHAMPION – 1-point win@7-4