Friday 12th January
13:42 Naas – Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle (Grade 1) – Firefox
AFTER this race was rescheduled last week due to heavy fog, Firefox will take on a competitive field but should have the edge over this field. Gordon Elliott has won four of the last eight renewals with the likes of Ginto, who won this race for the same ownership two years ago, and Envoi Allen. Firefox has won four in a row and won on hurdling debut last time out against a smart prospect in Ballyburn, who has won the rest of his runs with four wins. This included his next start which was a massive 25 length victory in a maiden. Firefox also boasts a victory ahead of his market rival Ile Atlantique who runs for Willie Mullins which is a plus. If the ground goes heavy however that may level the playing field in Ile Atlantique’s favour after he won in testing conditions at Gowran Park in his last run.
Saturday 13th January
13:10 Wetherby – William Hill Towton Novices’ Chase (Grade 2) –
Colonel Harry
THE price at the time of writing may have already gone on this one but it still might be worth covering due to the quality of his form. He finished second behind the impressive, powerful travelling Le Patron in the grade one Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at Sandown just before Christmas. He has been stepped up in trip after that run because he hit a flat spot before finishing very strongly, making up plenty of ground on the eventual winner in the process. Not only was the run impressive in defeat, but the rest of the runners in this race have yet to run in a graded contest over fences. A third-place finish in a grade two novice hurdle by The King Of Ryhope is the highest quality form he will face here.
14:42 Kempton – Coral Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle – Impose Toi
NICKY Henderson’s runner is currently favourite at the time of writing and it’s understandable. With three wins so far from five runs over hurdles, he was brilliant in defeat to stablemate Luccia last month at Ascot at odds of 11/1. He lost by a neck after travelling sweetly into the race uphill before the final bend, but made a costly mistake at the last hurdle before making ground again to lose by a narrow margin. It was his first step up from novice company and will only carry 2lbs more here. If he can replicate his recent prolific form and reproduce something similar to what he showed at Ascot he should be close. Grade-two winner Nemean Lion and Cheltenham festival winner from last season, Langer Dan, have great appeal on paper but they are carrying a hefty amount of weight for their past successes.
15:00 Warwick – Wigley Group Classic Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race) – Guetapan Collonges
THIS horse is a seriously consistent performer for Charlie Longsdon, who always seems to be in the picture in these long distance chases. Due to the testing nature and unpredictability of staying chases that are over three miles long, that consistency is very important. This season he picked up a win at Carlisle in October, before finishing third behind runaway winner Malina Girl at Cheltenham in November. On that occasion he carried 11 stone 8lbs in arguably his toughest race since last year’s renewal of this race. He will carry 4lbs less than that here, while Malina Girl fell in her last run and will carry top weight for this race. Guetapan Collonges won’t want heavy going after a brave but tired effort in fourth behind Iwilldoit here last season, so the weather must be monitored. if the weather forecast is accurate, it should be cloudy but dry leading up to the race. His trainer, Charlie Longsdon, opted to skip the New Year’s Day meeting at Cheltenham to target this race. Longsdon sees this horse as a potential future Grand National runner and a win in this race would be a big step towards that.
Hawkinsport 