It’s Tolworth Hurdle day at Sandown on Saturday and the Sky Sports Racing presenter looks ahead to the action, with Rachael Blackmore backed for victory.
Happy New Year! I don’t know about you, but I always forget to say that when I see someone for the first time since the change of the year. The period between Christmas and New Year (I got many an eye roll for calling it Twixmas!) blurs into a succession of days and as I was in bed before 9pm on New Year’s Eve, 2022 rolled into 2023 almost unnoticed; I didn’t even wake for the dreaded midnight fireworks (neither did my dogs thankfully).
I’ve already discussed what I’m looking forward to this year, so let’s get to the nitty gritty and try to find some winners this weekend.
The feature meeting comes from Sandown where the Grade 1 Unibet Tolworth Novices’ Hurdle is the main event. There are some big boots to fill for this year’s participants after Constitution Hill won the prize twelve months ago. He’s not the only star to have won this en route to bigger things. The race was first run back in 1976, and since then some familiar names have prevailed at the Esher track. Desert Orchid in 1984, Silver Wedge in 1995, French Holly in 1998, Monsignor in 2000 and more recently, Yorkhill in 2016. Nicky Henderson is the leading trainer in the race with six winners but isn’t represented this time round.
Paul Nicholls had a good spell in the race in the 2000’s with victories in 2003 with Thisthatandtother, 2006 with Noland, 2007 with Silverburn and saddling Breedsbreeze to win the year after that. So, he will be hoping that Tahmuras can become his first winner for fifteen years. He’s Sky Bet’s 15/8 favourite thanks to wins this season in a maiden hurdle at Chepstow, followed by his victory in a Listed novices’ hurdle at Haydock in November.
He’s big prices for the Festival novices’ hurdles, however, the 33/1 for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle with the sponsors and the same price for the Ballymore won’t be around if he wins nicely on Saturday.
Authorised Speed in next in the betting at 2/1 and could be part of a big day for trainer Gary Moore. He’s already a course and distance winner having overcome a last hurdle blunder last time out, and it’s worth reminding you he was the first British trained horse home when fifth in the influential Champion Bumper at Cheltenham last March behind Facile Vega.
The presence of ARCTIC BRESIL adds spice to this race, with the Henry de Bromhead-trained youngster having just had the one run over hurdles prior to this assignment. That was a winning one at Cork in maiden company and has earned him a price of 11/4 for this.
What catches your attention with this lad is his eyewatering price tag of £305,000 which came after a second place in an Irish point to point. Imagine what he’d have cost if he’d won it! He’s a son of Blue Bresil, who is hot stuff thanks to progeny such as Constitution Hill, Blue Lord, Royal Pagaille et al. The fact he’s being brought over for this instead of tackling something closer to home, tells you plenty.
We are teetering into double-figure prices now with 12/1 shot L’Astroboy, who is unbeaten in two starts. He won a Ffos Las bumper in February where he beat Tahmuras, no less, and returned to the same venue for his hurdle debut in November. No winners have come out of his hurdle race just yet, but he did it nicely. There are 8 runners declared, so the 12/1 about him is of interest each way.
If you nail me down to a selection, I’d have to side with Arctic Bresil, but L’Astroboy is on my radar to finish in the three.
Elsewhere on the card is an ultra-competitive Veterans’ Handicap Chase, that being advertised by Sky Bet offering six places. The Unibet-sponsored contest is the final in this series and has attracted a maximum field of eighteen.
You’d have read elsewhere on this website about Lily Pinchen, and how a win on Saint Xavier would mean the world to her. His trainer Richard Hobson helped Pinchen when she returned from her serious back injury, sustained in April 2021, and the duo have enjoyed a handful of successes together over the past few seasons. Hobson has his team in excellent form and this horse comes here off the back of a win in a Haydock qualifier, for which he has been raised 5lbs. He’s an 8/1 shot.
Favourite is the David Pipe-trained Ramses De Taille at 9/2. The grey benefitted for a wind op when winning leg 10 of this series at Warwick last time out, but that win hasn’t gone unpunished by the handicapper with a 6lbs rise.
Another recognisable and popular grey is the mare, Snow Leopardess, who is 11/2 second favourite for Charlie Longsdon. She ran in the Becher last time out and looks fairly handicapped (none of these have any huge secrets from the handicapper).
Having said that, one that catches the eye off his last winning mark is Prime Venture, who has slipped to the same mark that saw him win this race last year. Like many of these, it looks like this has been his main target and two runs over hurdles this season should have put him spot on for this repeat bid. At 13/2 with Sky Bet, I can’t overlook his chance.
I’m not a fan of horses having their second start after a layoff with the bounce factor often coming into play. To contradict myself here, though, the Venetia Williams trained Coo Star Sivola comes into calculations despite his run at Haydock at the end of November being his first for nineteen months. The reason being, he has been given time to get over his reappearance run, which was also his first start for this yard.
Williams will know much more about her charge now and whilst he hasn’t won since the Ultima Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham festival in 2018, he’s over a stone lower in the weights now. And so he should be, with so long since his last win, but he showed some spark last season, and his new trainer may just be able to get him back in winning mode. He’s 7/1.
CROSSPARK is another smashing old horse with a new trainer. He was formerly with Caroline Bailey, who doesn’t train any more, and is now with Nick Kent. He also returned to the fray after the same absence as Coo Star Sivola, but unlike that horse, this lad may not be quite as well handicapped.
Having said that, he’s dropped a fair few pounds in the weights and has run well off higher marks. I’ve always been a fan of his and he’s a dour stayer. At 11/1 I’d be temped to have him on my shortlist to finish in one of those six places.
With powerful connections, it would be foolish to overlook Chirico Vallis. The JP McManus-owned horse is back to his last winning mark. As you can see, you can make a case for several of these. I want Prime Venture on side, and for old time’s sake, I hope Crosspark can run well too.
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.