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What a mad response to Getaway Glory, our 9th Syndicate horse. In just 21 hours we've nearly sold out, with just 5% remaining. Don't miss out :) Thanks for your support!

Moving on to today and a guest preview for you from Phil G (aka Snowy) ...

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SATURDAY SIZZLER: Two At Big Prices For Kempton Opener

There aren't many handicaps with double digit fields this Saturday, so the preview options are a little thin on the ground.

There are two fair options at Kempton, both are on terrestrial tv (itv4) and I could give my views on them both but I won't. For what it's worth, I think Bowtogreatness is worth considering in the feature Coral H'cap Chase (3m) at 3:37, but my analysis will be on the first race on the card, as I fancy something at big and rewarding odds.

The 1:15 has 15 runners and it's the biggest field over Jumps anywhere on Saturday.

Quick Look At The Stats

I won't go deep into the stats here, as the ground is going to be testing (currently soft/heavy) and will probably be the toughest it's been in the last 10 years. During that time there have been 4 winning favourites and the average price of the winner has been around 6.5/1 (biggest price 12/1, shortest 5/2).

It tends to go to a well fancied runner and horses aged between 5 and 7, but they have made up a vast majority of the runners. A 10yo won it back in 2015 and older horses have been placed on occasions as well (12yo 2nd last year, with 8 and 9yo in 3rd and 4th). I don't think age is a barrier, with deeper ground this time, it could blunt the speed of those younger anyway (we shall see).

Trainers Are Key As Usual

Trainers may often target this race, but only Nicky Henderson has won this twice in the past 10 years. He saddles the top 3 in this race and I suppose could win it once again. However, Pentland Hills may need better ground and Fantastic Lady has been chasing since late 21, this could be a prep for a view to her running over the big fences at Aintree. Meanwhile top weight (12st) No Ordinary Joe could be using this a springboard for a run at Cheltenham next month.

Dan Skelton hasn't won this (yet) and he saddles 3 this year. His best chance might be Get A Tonic, who is the choice brother Harry, but she is lumbered with 11st11lb and she might find the ground just a bit too deep possibly. Dan Skelton also saddles West To The Bridge and Boombawn, but both haven't run for a while (126 and 281 days respectively) and they might have other targets down the line.

Paul Nicholls will be seeking his first winner (of this) with the unexposed 5yo Largy Poet, he's only run 4 times and easily won a novice hurdle last time at Exeter. He is making his handicap debut off a mark of 127 and based on form, that may be a little too harsh, but he's a little difficult to assess.

Favourites To Oppose

At the time of writing, Sea Invasion is just about the favourite, with Joker De Mai and Largy Poet fractionally behind. Sea Invasion hasn't yet won a race and has only raced in novice company and under rules, he hasn't yet run beyond 2m (was placed in a 3m Irish Point). His novice form is ok, but I can't back him on what he's actually achieved.

Neither can I back Joker De Mai also, it's not the horse as he could be pretty useful (still young and lightly raced), but his owner is once again on board. As much as I admire David Maxwell and all the effort and money he puts into racing, at the end of the day he's still an amateur and often he loses races he should win (even against amateurs). Still, he won't be too far away at the finish and I wouldn't say his horse cannot win as well (he's made me eat humble pie before).

Shortlist Horses

I prefer to back horses in handicaps with more experience and prefer riders who know how to ride in big field handicaps as well. Lord Of Cheshire and Mark Of Gold are both on my shortlist, but both fell on their latest starts, which is not an ideal prep for a race as tough as this. The trip and track look fine for both and if none the worse for their falls and handling the conditions, both have reasonable enough e/w claims.

Two Against The Field

I'm backing 2 in this race (sorry folks), but with so many runners, RESPLENDENT GLORY (12/1) and UP FOR PAROL (22/1) have to be backed at their odds at the odds.

I feel there is a good prize to be won by RESPLENDENT GLORY over hurdles, before connections send him over fences a bit further down the line. He ran well behind the useful and Cheltenham bound Captain Teague (won Newbury's Grade 1 Chillow after) on his debut in the Persian War hurdle at Chepstow and hasn't run too badly on 2 subsequent starts since.

He finished 9 lengths behind that Nicholls hotpot at Chepstow, but was said to have had a hard race, so it's possible that his next run came too soon after and Cheltenham may not have suited him as well. It was his handicap debut and he finished 20 lengths back in 7th of the 9, he was better at Aintree on his 3rd start (7 lengths 3rd), but a steadily run 7 runner contest didn't suit him on the day.

I think a bigger field will suit him and I like the fact that he's been given a few months break since Aintree as well, this 6yo grey looked a promising sort when winning 3 from 4 last season and I'm sure he's better than he's shown in 2 handicaps this term.

If anything, I like UP FOR PAROL a little more, as he's already had plenty of races (18 career) and has plenty of experience in handicaps like this one as well. He's won 3 from 14 over Hurdles (placed 4), although yet to win beyond 2m3f, however, he's twice run well over this C&D in the valuable Lanzarote hurdle (22 and 23, run in Jan) and although beaten further this year, the ground was too dry for him and he ran a lot better than his finishing position would suggest anyway (weakend 2 out, not pushed, 31 lengths 13 of 19).

He was better on soft ground on the 2 previous occasions, finishing 6th of 19 in 22 beaten 8 lengths (mark 133) and was 3rd of 20 beaten 4 lengths last year (mark 129). All wins have come at flat track venues, though he hasn't won at Kempton in 4 outings so far, but he's either not had his ideal conditions (needs soft, good twice) and he's been taking on class 1 or 2 company as well (Class 3 today).

He arrives here quite a fresh horse, with just 2 outings under his belt this term, his debut run was just ok as it was over just 2m3f in mid November, but he would have been primed for another tilt at the Lanzarote last time. He's had 42 days to get over that, which means he should be fresh and ready to go once again, the handicapper has dropped him down to 124 and I'm expecting Gavin Sheehan will ride this Jamie Snowden trained 8yo prominently, which could be the best place to be.

Verdict: Back both RESPLENDENT GLORY and UP FOR PAROL each way.

Philip ‘Snowy’ Griffiths

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Please note that these articles are written shortly after final declarations so any prices, whilst available at time of writing, are subject to plenty of fluctuation. There will hopefully always be value in the content and some of the shortlisted horses even if the main selection has shortened considerably.

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Best of luck and as always, thanks for reading,

Josh