DAILY RACING PREVIEW BY ANDY HOLDING
SATURDAY DECEMBER 20
2.05 HAYDOCK
GRAND GESTE left the impression he should have gained his first victory over fences at Newcastle last time out and he rates a strong choice to make amends over a course that should play into his strengths.
Interestingly, the Racing Post comments from his latest encounter suggested he “jumped well” which is certainly the correct observation of his final circuit, but up that point, the six-year-old grey was decidedly sloppy.
A slow beginning led to him being crowded and short of room through the first mile and that’s when the mistakes crept into his game but once he was switched out wide and could see the fences clearer, he became much more proficient.
Ultimately, the ground he gave away early on took its toll when challenging the more prominently ridden Alcedo at the business end, but he only went under by a narrow margin, and it was testimony to his ability and battling qualities that he was able to pull well clear along with the winner.
Hopefully this afternoon, he will be gunned out of the gate and get into a better rhythm through the early exchanges and if so, Joel Parkinson & Sue Smith’s inmate can prove a difficult nut to crack.
GRAND GESTE – 1-point win@7-2
2.48 HEREFORD
MOVEIT LIKE MINNIE can be considered a shade unfortunate with how events transpired against him at Ascot last time out and he is afforded another chance to confirm his form behind Alexei and Indemnity the time before (Dance And Glance, fourth, won yesterday).
Only beaten three lengths by a horse who went on to land the Greatwood Hurdle next time out, the eight-year-old was understandably a warm order to prove the value of the same form on his return to the C&D next time but his winning opportunity was ruined when almost brought to a standstill by a faller down the back straight.
Under the circumstances, he did well to only get beaten six lengths at the Berkshire venue and with the likes of Fortune De Mar and Poet Laurette going on to score next time, he may well follow suit if avoiding any mishaps along the way.
MOVEIT LIKE MINNIE – 1-point win@7-2
3.00 ASCOT
The standing start to the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury last month proved a costly experience for several of the fancied runners and chief sufferer PIC ROC, rates a confident choice in his bid to atone for what occurred at the Berkshire venue.
Extremely well supported in the lead up to the race (14-1 into 6-1), any chance Ben Pauling’s inmate may have had went up in smoke as soon as the tapes went back and he was one of at least half a dozen that ended up having to take his medicine throughout the remainder of the 3m2f journey.
As events transpired, he did best of those a long way off the pace with a circuit to run and according to the data, his final lap suggested he would have very close to landing the big prize with a better rub of the green (3.13.5 compared to Panic Attack’s 3.13.2).
The fact he has evaded any punishment from the assessor despite easily being one of the best horses in the race a month ago points towards him still being extremely well treated and having proven himself to be a different proposition when making all in the first time cheekpieces at Huntingdon previously, a brighter beginning can lead to him being difficult to peg back at a track where he has won in the past.
PIC ROC – 1-point win@7-2
3.35 ASCOT
It could well be that Mondo Man proves to be extremely leniently treated on handicap debut off 123 but he has looked a tricky ride in the past and whether odds around 5-2 represents good value is a moot point.
If the favourite does come up short, the floor looks wide open for the pair with the best form, namely ALEXEI and WILFUL, to take full advantage and they deserve to be played against the field accordingly.
The Welsh Champion Hurdle is the race in question, and it went the way of well backed Celtic Dino on the day but the performances of both Alexei and Wilful were extremely notable and it came as no surprise to see the former boost the form with a decisive victory over today’s C&D next time.
Since then, Joe Tizzard’s inmate has gone on to continue his progression by landing the Greatwood Hurdle at Cheltenham and even though the handicapper has done his best to seek retribution, he is still likely to go well again in his bid to sneak into the Champion Hurdle conversation.
Wilful hasn’t been seen out since due his stable being under lockdown, but he clearly goes well fresh and his yard’s runners have been going much better of late.
Given the subsequent events since that strong heat at the Welsh venue, there could be a serious argument made for him being raised retrospectively by the handicapper but the fact he still gets to run off 135 makes him a tempting proposition at a track where he went well on his only other previous visit.
ALEXEI – 1-point win@7-2
WILFUL – 1-point win@9-2
6.15 WOLVERHAMPTON
CANNON ROCK narrowly failed to wrestle the prize late on when donning the blinkers for the first time at Kempton on his most recent start but the subsequent data from the race pointed towards a massive hike in his performance levels and a run of similar magnitude can see James Owen’s inmate go one place better.
Al Rufaa served up a very strong pace at the head of affairs at the Sunbury venue and the son of Fastnet Rock was one of many in with a squeak when the front runner fainted at the cutaway.
From that juncture the race turned into a dash for the line between three that broke clear and despite straining every sinew, he just got the worse of the verdict in a head-up, heads, down driving finish.
As far as class 5 events go, that race 17 days ago was about as good as it gets for the grade based on the numbers and providing the five-year-old can translate the same level of form to tonight’s slightly slicker surface, he has every chance of returning to winning ways.
CANNON ROCK – 1=point each-way@5-1