Coral Racing Club Handicap Chase – Kempton Park – Saturday 14th January

Coral Racing Club Handicap Chase Preview & Betting Tips – Will Smith

This weekend’s big betting races are the Coral Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle at Kempton Park and the Wigley Group Classic Chase at Warwick, and for all that a number of horses catch the eye for both races, in terms of a value betting perspective right now, there isn’t much scope. So, best to wait for final declarations and the undoubted extra places and more competitive pricing.

There is however, one horse running on Saturday that is worth investing in at the midweek price – Smarty Wild at 6/1 each-way with Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook, Boylesports or Betway for the Coral Racing Club Handicap Chase at 1.30 at Kempton Park on Saturday.

A record of 1 win from 13 chase starts is perhaps not the tally that Philip Hobbs and connections would have hoped for when sending the 4-time winning hurdler over the bigger obstacles. For all that perhaps Smarty Wild has flattered to deceive a little, he is admirably consistent and due to the seriously competitive races that he often contests, his win record has suffered.

However, Saturday’s race looks to hopefully present him with a cracking opportunity to step on to the winner’s podium for the second time.

The reasons for this hope are manyfold – firstly, the soft ground that will prevail will be suitable for Smarty Wild, whereas for the likes of Annsam, Enrilo and Kitty’s Light it may not be.

Next up is the potential for the race to seriously cut up at the declarations stage, as Slipway looks set for the Classic Chase, so too potentially Tile Tapper, while Danny Kirwan will run in the 2m4f race later on the card, and Percussion looks to have a better opportunity at Kelso on Sunday.

Take all of those out, and suddenly 6/1 each-way for 3 places about Smarty Wild could look mighty generous.

A further boost to Smarty Wild’s claim is his record when coming back to the track within 21 days of a previous run, as he last ran 18 days ago. When reappearing within that timeframe, his finishing positions have been: 1, 1, 1, 3 – with a further win and runner-up finish amongst his record if you stretch that out by another 4 for 5 days.

Given the fact he is a big, stuffy horse, who has taken time to rid himself of greenness and inexperience, and whose profile suggests he runs himself into peak fitness – after two very respectable runs this season, Smarty Wild looks now ready to run a race consistent with his peak form, if not better.