King’s Doyen can be Chief at Kempton once again
KEMPTON is the main port of call this Saturday with a competitive card featuring three Grade Twos as well as the Ladbrokes Trophy Handicap Chase (3.35pm).
Last year’s winner Katate Dori returns to defend his crown in the feature handicap and is worthy of the utmost respect for trainer Sam Thomas, who has won this race twice in the last three years.
At 5/1, he isn’t much of a price though and my eyes are been drawn to THE DOYEN CHIEF at nearly double the odds.
Alan King has his horses in good form at the moment and looks to have prepped his nine-year-old for this valuable prize after winning a handicap over course and distance in January.
While he only prevailed by a neck that day, the way he battled back to lead on the run-in after being headed approaching the final fence suggested he had more still to give.
The handicapper has only put him up a pound to a mark of 139, and Your Darling, who finished second, ran a good race at Ascot last weekend.
He didn’t look to stay the three-and-a-quarter-mile trip at Cheltenham the time before last, but three miles around Kempton on decent ground is ideal for him.
Lightly raced for a nine-year-old, he looks like he has more to offer and is well worth supporting each-way at 9/1.
The Grade Two Dovecote Novices’ Hurdle (3.00pm) features plenty of unexposed types.
MATIWO is in the ‘could be anything’ category after only three starts, but by the look of his seven-length victory at Newbury last time, he is not short of ability.
After falling when setting out to make the running at Cheltenham the time before, Ciaran Gethings once again seized the initiative and went to the front early on, putting his rivals to the sword in the long home straight.
Kempton is often a course for front-runners and if he is able to jump well and put his rivals under pressure, they might just struggle to reel him in.
As a four-year-old, he gets 12 pounds from his older rivals, and at 16/1, I think he is worth chancing.
Staying chasers are the order of the day at Newcastle for the Eider Handicap Chase (2.43pm).
Run over four-miles-one-and-a-half furlongs, there aren’t many more exacting tests of stamina, particularly when the ground is bad.
Had the going looked set to be soft, the pick would have been the progressive Aworkinprogress, who loves a slog in the mud.
However, with the forecast settled and the ground drying out, I’d rather look elsewhere and I’m keen to fire two darts here.
The first is DOM OF MARY, who has winning Newcastle form on good-to-soft ground from earlier in the season.
James Owen’s 10-year-old is competitively weighted just four pounds above his Newcastle win and was far from disgraced in the Welsh National last time, when finishing sixth behind Haiti Couleurs.
This race will suit him and at 12/1, he should go well off a low weight.
The Venetia Williams yard finally emerged from their time in the doldrums with a brace of winners last weekend.
Now with the stable back in some form, TANGANYIKA looks an interesting prospect here at 16/1, especially as he runs off a mark of 135, just a pound higher than when beaten by Mr Vango in last year’s Midlands National.
After a good run at Cheltenham on his seasonal reappearance, he was pulled up on his last two starts, but it’s worth forgiving those efforts considering the form of Williams’ yard at the time.
POINTERS SATURDAY
Dom Of Mary e/w 2.43pm Newcastle
Tanganyika e/w 2.43pm Newcastle
Matiwo e/w 3.00pm Kempton
The Doyen Chief e/w 3.35pm Kempton