Uttoxeter – Friday 15th October

Another solid day yesterday clocked up as all three selections were in the money and yielded a healthy day of profit. Malpas got the job done at Carlisle in taking fashion, while we were left to feel a bit aggrieved that both She is a Contender and Seattle Creek were both just edged out in tight finishes at each way prices. With no jumps action in Ireland today and tomorrow – I have had to put the thinking cap on and get into the fine print of some of the British jumps action, starting today with Uttoxeter. 

The first race I am looking at is the 2.30 race, which is a 2m6f handicap chase and sees a strong field of seven go to post. Plenty of these arrive in good form or are lurking on good marks, so therefore you could make a case for plenty of them. The fact that the betting is spread between 3/1 & 8/1 for all seven runners would be a fair indicator of how close this race is. The one I have landed on is Dog of War, who must still be able to improve to defy a mark of 124 on his seasonal reappearance for the Skeltons. He was in fine form at the backend of last season, winning three of his four starts over fences and looking in good terms with himself on the switch to the bigger obstacles. The form of his won over 3m at this course has been well advertised since and he returns on a workable mark with conditions in his favour. At a best price of 7/2 with SkyBet, he should be going close. 

The 3.05 race is a staying handicap hurdle over just short of 3m and is for horses rated between 0-145. This high quality race also is a small but select field of six on this occasion. On this occasion, I will be siding with the highly likeable mare, Bannixtown Glory for Donald McCain and Peter Kavanagh. This mare has progressed in leaps and bounds in recent seasons, including a superb season last year and she won on chase debut last time out despite not looking like a natural over the larger obstacles. She now returns to hurdles and Peter Kavanagh takes a useful 10 pounds off her back which should be able to defy her hefty burden. At a best price of 9/2 with Bet365, I am hoping she can do the business one more time. 

And the final selection of the day comes in the 3.40 race, which is a 3m handicap chase for horses rated between 0-110. Obviously No No Maestro is a worthy favourite on this occasion, and his hand might be strengthened even more if Dog of War goes and collects the second race on the day. However, I am going to be siding with a less convincing runner on this occasion, and the formerly talented Normandy Soldier, who is on a recovery mission this time around after a sour finish to proceedings last year. However, he used to be rated in the 120s over fences and lurks off a tempting mark of 107 on this occasion, and he has run some credible races over this distance before. If returning to his best form, he could run very well today. At a best price of 13/2 with William Hill, he is an each way bet.