Horse Racing Betting Tips: Dingo can leave King counting the Dollars
MANY people argue the jumps season is focused too heavily on the Cheltenham Festival. While there is a degree of truth in that, you can be certain connections of all the runners in tomorrow’s £250,000 Ladbrokes Trophy (3.00pm) have their eyes firmly fixed on one prize.
This is the richest handicap chase in Britain outside the Grand National and it has a brilliant roll of honour, with the likes of Native River, Many Clouds, Bobs Worth and Denman all successful in the past decade.
All four went on to win either the Cheltenham Gold Cup or the Grand National, so we know the quality of horse you need to win it.
It would be surprising if any of this year’s field was to prove good enough to land the blue riband event in March but stranger things have happened.
Paul Nicholls’ Black Corton carries top weight after an excellent novice campaign last season and a fine second in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on his reappearance.
Bryony Frost performed miracles to keep the partnership intact that day after a terrible mistake early on, so it was a very good performance to get as close as he did.
However, Black Corton is running off a mark just 3lbs lower than when Bobs Worth took this prize in 2012 and he’s surely nowhere near as good a horse as him.
Alan King won this race for the first time three years ago with Smad Place and the local trainer could be celebrating again with DINGO DOLLAR.
This six-year-old bolted up at Newbury on soft ground last December before following up in a novices’ chase at Doncaster in February.
He was then kept back for Ayr where he finished a good second in a novices’ handicap chase.
King has said the Ladbrokes Trophy has been the plan since then and he sensibly gave him a pipe opener over hurdles at Newbury earlier this month.
His fourth-place finish there will have blown the cobwebs away and second-season chasers have an excellent record in this race over the years.
The only worry is if the ground gets really testing, as his trainer says he doesn’t want a bog, but he looks a strong each-way bet at 7/1 with the sponsors.
ELEGANT ESCAPE returned with a win in the Future Stars Chase at Sandown, but he now has to shoulder another 4lbs.
It was a gutsy display from Colin Tizzard’s inmate, as he made a couple of mistakes, notably one at the last fence when still in second.
He is certain to improve for that run and the Tizzards think he is similar to Native River, so you’d be crazy to write him off.
The six-year-old had some excellent form last season, beating Black Corton in the novices’ chase at this meeting before being placed three times in Grade One company at Kempton, Cheltenham and Aintree.
Connections may live to regret the penalty he picked up at Sandown, but regardless he looks very difficult to keep out of the frame.
There really shouldn’t be much between him and the horse he beat last time THOMAS PATRICK.
Tom Lacey’s progressive chaser was weak in the market before the off and looked like the race would bring him on plenty.
He jumped like a stag that day, building on his fine partnership with Richard Johnson.
A 5lb swing at the weights with Elegant Escape could sway the balance in his favour, although he has generally been plying his trade in handicap rather than graded territory.
Soft ground is important to him, so every drop of rain that falls before the race will increase his chance.
Currently available at 4/1 with Ladbrokes, it actually wouldn’t be the biggest shock if he goes off favourite.
Ms Parfois is another who relishes soft ground and will enjoy the stamina test, while American, who was sent off at just 5/1 last year, could be well-handicapped.
BILL ESDAILE’S LADBROKES TROPHY 1-2-3
1 DINGO DOLLAR
2 ELEGANT ESCAPE
3 THOMAS PATRICK