10 Dec

Three to follow from the Weekend: 6th, 7th & 8th December…

Racing took a bit of a hit over the weekend as ‘Storm Darragh’ caused havoc up and down the country…

I personally preferred it when they were called names like ‘Hurricane Bawbag’!

Can we not get back to that?! Storm Sh!thawk maybe… or Stormy McStormface… or Storm tie your trampoline down mate…

No one is going to be scared of ‘Storm Darragh’… but ‘Hurricane Bawbag’… yeah, you know he’s going to be a pr!ck!! 🌬️😱

Anyway… back to the racing…

Despite the wind disruption, there was still plenty for us to get stuck into and I’ve plucked the following three from my latest NTF Members Weekend Notes… for this week’s installment of…

Three to follow from the weekend: 6th, 7th & 8th December…

FIRE FLYER (Paul Nicholls)

2nd in a Class 3 Novices’ Handicap Chase – 2.10 Exeter (Friday 6th Dec)

Much better from the 6yo after his PU on seasonal debut at Cheltenham LTO… and this again suggested he’s a better horse going right-handed, with his LH/RH splits now reading…

LH tracks = 0/4, 2p on LH tracks

RH tracks = 3/6, 1P on RH tracks

He’s by Shantou and his offspring do have strong stats on their first two chase starts, especially under the following…

Shantou IRE bred 6yo & 7yo’s | 1^st & 2^nd chase start | SP <8/1 = 62/164 | 38% S/R | +£85.94 – W&P 90/164 | 55% S/R

…and he’s worth looking out for next time out…

INTIMATE (Venetia Williams)

2nd in a Class 3 Handicap Chase – 1.23 Sandown (Friday 6th Dec)

A solid intro to the chasing game for the 6yo and this was a fine effort, especially given the fact he was facing some experienced handicappers… it was his seasonal debut… and the winner (Mount Tempest) had his PC to shoot for…

He was last seen in March when winning a Novice Handicap Hurdle at Hereford by 10L and that race has worked out very strongly since… the 2^nd horse has future form of 3w and 2p from 7 starts… the 3^rd horse has future form of 2w, 1p from 7 starts… and the field as a whole have future form of 9w, 6p from 32 starts… which suggests the handicap mark INTIMATE ran off here – OR 113 – should be well within range for him (went up 1lb to OR 114 for this Sandown effort)…

It’s also worth noting that offspring of his sire – MONTMARTE – have some solid stats on their 1^st & 2^nd Chase starts…

5yo-6yo FR bred Geldings by Montmarte | 1^st & 2^nd Chase starts = 14/35 | 40% S/R | +£97.80 – W&P 20/35 | 57% S/R

…and INTIMATE is worth looking out for on his next start (and beyond)…

BALI BODY (Dr Richard Newland & Jamie Insole)

PU in a Class 3 Handicap Chase – 3.03 Sandown (Friday 6th Dec)

Will almost certainly have needed this first run off a 377-day break and he’s now 0/4 on seasonal debut runs and 0/5 off breaks of 31-days or more… he should come on plenty for the outing as he is 3121 (2/4, 2p – both career wins) off breaks of 30-days or less and he only started to give way approaching 3-out here, which is understandable given the lengthy break…

The 9yo posted some decent efforts last season over fences, the form of most of them looking strong, and, providing no ill effects off this return effort, connections should be able to find races for him off or around his current mark of OR 115 (went down 3lbs from OR 118 for this Sandown run)…

I’ll be back next Tuesday with the next installment of… ‘Three to follow from the weekend’…

And remember… the ‘Three to follow…’ horses are all taken from the full copy of NTF Weekend Notes that I provide for NTF Members every Monday…

To receive those detailed notes… and all the other in depth analysis I produce for full NTF Members… then make sure you pick up your NTF Season Ticket today…