Paddy Brennan: I fancy Bristol De Mai all day long
3.05pm Kempton – 32Red King George Chase
I think Might Bite is every owner, trainer and jockey’s dream. He was a brilliantly-talented novice last season who did all that could be expected of him on his Sandown reappearance, but I fancy Bristol De Mai all day long.
And all the through the night as well, if Kempton gets plenty of rain on Monday and Tuesday.
If they do, I think Bristol De Mai will not only win, but win well.
We saw what he can do in testing conditions at Haydock, and I can’t see anything living with him on ground that could be borderline heavy come the off if they do get plenty of rain. But it looks like the forecast is ever-changing, so let’s see what happens with the weather in the coming days.
I know he has to do it on a right-handed track, as all his best form has come the other way round, but he won a Grade 1 at Sandown and people do lose sight of the fact that he is still only six. He will do for me.
Whisper is now rated 169 after his Hennessy second and I can see him coming into it late if the front two in the market take each other on, or go too quick.
If he stays out of the race early, and only gets involved late on, then I can definitely see him giving Aidan a great spin.
I think 2m is sharp enough for Fox Norton now and when he was beaten in the Tingle Creek last time he was simply outspeeded. The ground at Sandown that day was no worse than good to soft, and the best I have seen at the course at that time of year.
To me, his best effort yet came over 2m4f at Aintree last season, and I can see the case for him at this trip, although 3m on possibly testing ground is clearly a big unknown.
I can’t have his stablemate Thistlecrack at all, though. This looks a better race than the one he won last year and I think he has a lot of questions to answer after his comeback run over hurdles at Newbury, though in his defence I rode in that race and it did ride like a good contest.
In testing ground, I can’t see beyond Bristol De Mai, and I take Whisper and Might Bite to follow him home.
My 32Red King George 1-2-3
Bristol De Mai
Whisper
Might Bite
I ride at Huntingdon, where hopefully I will have a winner or two.
Seven Kingdoms
He doesn’t look to have shown a lot in three starts this season , so his chance isn’t obvious and the trip is a slight question mark as well. But he has plummeted down the handicap – he was rated about two stone higher than this last year – and hopefully the first-time visor can spark him back to life.
Land League
I don’t know much about him to be honest, but he looks to be a decent ride to pick up. He looks a good-ground horse who won well on his return in a maiden hurdle at Bangor and the handicapper has given him a chance after his first two runs over fences, dropping him 6lb. And maybe the step up in trip will suit this winning pointer.
Grageelagh Girl
She was going to run in this race at the abandoned Peterborough Chase meeting, so hopefully this is a belated Christmas present for connections. I think the ground went against her at Cheltenham last time as, by the time of the last it was soft, heavy in places, and that wasn’t ideal. So hopefully the ground here isn’t that bad, and it isn’t at the moment. But, anyway, she clearly ran really well in finishing second to a very good mare in Posh Trish, even though the winner finished down the field at Ascot on Friday. The level of ability that she has shown in her last two starts makes her one of the form horses in this race, so here is hoping she can follow up Oscar Rose’s win in this race last season. I’m confident of a very big run on better ground, for all this looks a very strong race full of promising and unexposed rivals.
Shouldagonetovegas
He is unraced and another one I don’t know a lot about. All I know is that he is a half-brother to a winner, so I can’t tell you anything really.
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