Something for everyone today with the first meeting of the year at Epsom and the battle for the NH Trainer's Title goes to Perth with Willie Mullins saddling two in the feature race the £18,000 Future Champions Novices' Hurdle.
Both Nambour and Up For Review will have their supporters in the four-runner field but Gordon Elliot saddles Fagan (3.15) and his Albert Bartlett runner up is hard to oppose. The forecast good ground is a positive for the selection who won a Bumper here back in September and bounced off the ground when second to Unowhatimeanharry at the Cheltenham Festival.
Willie Mullins is Evens to win a first British Trainers' Title at BetVictor with Paul Nicholls a shade of odds on at 8/11; at the time of writing Mullins leads by £45,380 but the Irish handler has a number of his big guns entered for the season finale at Sandown on Saturday. This is going right down to the wire.
The feature Handicap Chase over 3m is a cracker and I am sweet on the chances of Jennys Surprise (3.50) who did the Sandown Royal Artillery/Grand Military Gold Cup double for Fergal O'Brien earlier in the year. The selection is a sound jumper and the handicapper might have taken a chance leaving her on the same handicap mark for those two wins. Conor Shoemark takes off a valuable 3lbs and she can make all with Tom George's No Duffer considered the main danger.
This track should suit Banyu (5.30) who settled better than he had in his previous couple of starts fitted with a hood for the first time at Taunton last time; Philip Hobbs brings the 5-year-old up all the way from Minehead and he can take what looks a competitive finale.
Aidan O'Brien brings across Claudio Monteverdi (2.30) for the Derby Trial at Epsom and the colt is Even money with BetVictor to supplement his recent Leopardstown maiden win over a mile; the colt is a brother to triple Group One winner Lush Lashes and he looks ready for a step up in trip to todays extended 10f. The selection (20/1 for the Derby with BetVictor) is ridden by Ryan Moore for the first time, and he will have to go very close in this field if he is to book his place in the Epsom classic back here on the first Saturday in June.
The once-raced filly So Mi Dar runs in the colours of Lord Lloyd-Webber and is a daughter of the cracking mare Dar Re Mi; she was allowed to go off 6/1 in a back-end Windsor maiden in October but got up close home and is entered in both the Derby and Oaks. She is 25/1 for the latter with BetVictor (from 33s) which suggests she has been working well at Newmarket.
In the Great Metropolitan Handicap top-weight Scrutinise must go close for Ed Dunlop whose string are in good form but the lightly-raced Prendergast Hill (3.05) won his maiden over today's C&D back in September and made a highly encouraging reappearance when fourth at Kempton last month. He is 5/1 with BetVictor and gets the each way vote.
Showers are forecast at Taunton which tempers confidence in I'm In Charge (7.35) who goes well fresh, gets on well with Nick Schofield and connections look to have found a decent opportunity returning from a five-month break. Significant rain would be a negative though.
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