Today's Racing is all about the staying chases we get to enjoy at both Kempton and Newcastle. These long distance handicap races taking place over the larger obstacles are seldom uneventful and both races look super competitive on paper. In a game of limited certainties, one thing we can be sure of is that the winner of either race will be required to jump fluently and dig deep into their stamina reserves.
The Eider Handicap Chase at Newcastle (14:10) is run over the marathon trip of 4 miles and a furlong. The progressive O'Connell (6/1) heads the market after landing a hattrick of wins, unsurprisingly he's been hit with an 8lb rise from the handicapper for the latest of them. Although lacking Course experience, there are no stamina doubts for him and Peter Kavanagh takes off a handy 3lb in the saddle.
Anglers Crag (10/1) knows where the finish line is at Newcastle after taking victory in last year's renewal of the race. He's only 4lbs higher this time around and we can be confident that Brian Ellison has been lining him up for this repeat attempt for some time. Ilikedwayurthinkin (9/1) is another with claims after landing a handicap over 3 and a half miles at the Course in November. He's consistently been posting strong Average Speed figures as he continues to take the Class rises in his stride.
Nicky Henderson is responsible for Hyland (7/2), the favourite for the Ladbrokes Trophy Handicap Chase at Kempton (15:35). The Ground is certainly in his favour, he boasts a career strike rate of 37% on the forecast Good ground conditions, superior to almost all of his opposition today. In contrast, Katate Dori (7/1) and Golden Son (8/1) would have a bit to prove on the quicker conditions; the data suggests they'd both prefer more juice in the ground.
Micheal Nolan will be hoping to guide Lowry's Bar (6/1) to victory, if he's to do so it will break his Kempton duck, as he's currently without a win from 23 rides at the track. Our Power (8/1) for Sam Thomas is likely to hit the frame given he's placed or better in 5 of his 6 races at Kempton, some of those coming in similarly competitive heats.
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