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| Punter's Diary by Malcolm Heyhoe |
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| Updated: 29th October 2009 - GG.com |
November's Jumping Gems
The curtain finally falls on a long and often dreary Flat season at Doncaster on November 7 when the November Handicap gives backers one last chance to wrong-foot the bookmakers in a battle of wits in the last big handicap of the turf campaign.
Shock results have made this race a minefield in recent seasons but if the ground rides on the easy side at Town Moor then punters need look no further for a bet than Opinion Poll, a strikingly progressive three-year-old from the Michael Jarvis stable. Restricted to just a handful of runs on account of the firm ground, the recent Ascot winner has the makings of a pattern-race performer and this race looks well within his grasp.
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The jumps season starts with a proper bang on November 14 with the BetVictor Gold Cup and after some crazy and outlandish results this autumn on the Flat it is a real pleasure to welcome back the jumps and consign the Flat to its winter quarters. The Paddy Power Gold Cup almost always falls to a second-season chaser and Paul Nicholls should hold a strong hand with Chapoturgeon and Tatenen while Alan King’s Taratino is another with pressing claims.
On November 15, the third and final day of the Cheltenham Open Meeting, the Greatwood Hurdle takes centre stage and Alan King has a lively one for this valuable 2m handicap hurdle in the shape of Medermit, who ran so well at the Cheltenham Festival in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and this lightly-raced type looks to be a horse to follow this season. The same is also true of Noel Meade’s fast-improving Donna’s Palm.
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On the same day an enthralling clash of top young 2m novice chasers is on the cards in the Independent Newspapers November Handicap Chase where Sizing Europe, Snap Tie and Tataniano should put their burgeoning reputations on the line. The former looked freakishly good when beating Harchibald in Ireland the other day but a word of warning about trainer Henry de Bromhead and his stable star. This horse went from moving like a winner to tailing of in a matter of strides in the 2008 Champion Hurdle and Sizing Europe may not be the most reliable of racehorses from a yard with a poor Festival record..
The weekend of November 21 and 22 ushers in yet more compelling jumps action beginning with the Amlin 1965 Limited Handicap Chase at Ascot, a race that is often won by a second-season chaser while over at Haydock dual Gold Cup hero Kauto Star might well be action against Ryanair hero Imperial Commander in the Betfair Chase at the Lancashire course. On the same day globe-trotting titan, Presvis, warms up for a crack at the Hong Kong Cup by running in the Churchill Stakes at Lingfield.
At Aintree on the following day, November 22, there is a high-class card at the Merseyside venue including the Becher Chase where the winner will need to successfully negotiate the big Grand National fences while the same will be expected of the runners in the Grand Sefton Chase at the same Aintree meeting. November’s high-class jumps action comes to a peak with the three-day Hennessy meeting at Newbury, beginning with the Worcester Novices’ Chase on November 26 and the Berkshire Novices’ Chase on November 27.
The latter can often be an accurate pointer to the outcome of the RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March and a handful of the best young staying chasers seem sure to be in action at Newbury. My early preference would be for Pride Of Dulcote, a facile winner at Worcester in October and one of the better staying novices from the Paul Nicholls stable.
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The Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup is one of the very best races of the entire jumps season and Denman, a swash-bucklingly brilliant winner in 2008 may well take his chance again at the head of the weights. In the Long Distance Hurdle Big Buck’s a stable mate of Denman, will be making his seasonal debut while over at Newcastle there is sure to be a good field for the Fighting Fifth Hurdle. Punjabi, the reigning Champion Hurdler could make his return to action at Gosforth Park.
Malcolm Heyhoe writes weekly horse racing articles for GG.COM-Horse racing betting, information, news, results and free daily tips
Archive October 2009
