The Open Meeting Exclusive - Friday Selections

1:15 - 2 Miles 4 Furlongs. Steel Plate And Sections Novices Chase
Selection - Fingal Bay

Dynaste - Looks The best Alternative To Fingal Bay

This looks a really hot race, you will see many of these come the Festival in March. I have sided with Fingal Bay (Fingal Bay - 10 To Follow) because I feel he is the best horse in the race, he has been described by Phillip Hobbs as 'Phenomenal'. His chasing debut victory at Chepstow was easy enough without being flashy, but he's not that type of horse, he does what is required but nothing more. Hobbs has been public in saying he shows nothing at home but saves his best for the track. I think a stiff 2 1/2 miles will be absolutely perfect and with some chasing experience in the locker, I expect him to win. It cannot be forgotten he is the only horse to beat Simonsig under rules, and although the grey had excuses, I thought he beat him pretty fair and square. In terms of betting, if he's anything shorter than even money I will be staying away, there's too many other really talented horses in the field for him to justify that price in my opinion. If even money about Fingal Bay fails to materialise, Dynaste is my second preference (Dynaste - Novice Chase Insight). The grey was rated 161 over hurdles and David Pipe has said he's been schooling well at home. He has course form under his belt when he was 2nd in the Cleeve Hurdle last year and 2nd to Aegean Dawn at this meeting 2 years ago. In between those efforts he gave Big Bucks a scare at Ascot in the Longwalk Hurdle. Unioniste won on his British debut for Paul Nicholls at Aintree 3 weeks ago, he receives a 4 year olds weight allowance here. This is a big step up in class and he will need to build on that performance, but as we know the French breds tend to peak at a younger age and a Paul Nicholls novice chaser is always respected. In conclusion, I think Fingal Bay will win but in terms of which horse I will be backing, it's very dependent on price.

1:50 - 2 Miles. Paddypower.com Handicap Chase
Selection - Free World E/W

Free World Will Appreciate The Better Ground

I know this is a bit of a random one, but I think the race looks very open and I am struggling to find a winner. Owned by Clive Smith, Free World was rated as highly as 153 over fences when trained in England by Paul Nicholls. Transferred to Ireland in the summer of 2011, his handicap mark has steadily been falling to the 134 he finds himself off here. His form figures don't read too well, but I think he is a good ground horse who doesn't like it worse than good to soft. I don't really understand why he went to Ireland where the ground is always worse, but back on decent ground in last years Grand Annual he was running a much better race until coming down 4 out. I thought he was travelling pretty well and was just starting to make his move when he met the 4th last all wrong, he was 25/1 that day and I fancy you may get a decent price here. I think he is an ok each way bet when I feel many of his rivals have question marks over their heads. Kid Cassidy needs to learn to settle He has had a hard life and it shows because he looks like a worrier whose not keen on hustle and bustle, consequently he's kept out of the way at the rear of the field. He is obviously immensely talented, but looks difficult to win with and I can't be having him. The market will be telling of his chance. Astracad could potentially be an improver this year after a decent novice chase campaign last year. He was down the field in the Grand Annual but ran ok in the Aintree equivalent the following month. He ran off 145 in those two races and on the back of the Aintree run he has a squeak if he's improved for the summer, his consistency is admirable. However, the Aintree race was much weaker than the Grand Annual and 145 does look harsh. Consigliere has a poor first time out record and still looks plenty high enough in the handicap.

2:25 - 2 Miles. Sharp Novices Hurdle
Selection - Dodging Bullets

Dodging Bullets (Green Sleeves) - He Has Experience To Fall Back On

Dodging Bullets got his career on track when losing his maiden tag at Cheltenham last month. Although he ran in snatches, he was well on top at the end and will appreciate a faster run race. The run will have brought him on and was a nice starting point to follow on from a successful juvenile campaign last year, it should have put him spot on for this race. He was travelling very strongly in the Triumph as they turned for home but maybe didn't quite stay up the hill, although he was only beat 4 lengths. I would say he ranked highly as a juvenile last year and retaining his novice status this year is a huge plus. He has the experience that some of his rivals may lack in this race and I expect him to capitalise on it. Whether he's more talented than his rivals is unknown, the beauty of the race is they are all unexposed, but he will have more street sense, I expect him to use this to his advantage. Court Minstrel won well at Cheltenham last month quickening nicely to score by 4 lengths. He proved he was a smart bumper horse last year, 9 lengths separated him and My Tent Or Yours in the Grade 2 contest at Aintree and there may not much between them again here. I see no reason why he can't make the step up here but I wonder if that was 'his day' last month. Previous winners of the maiden hurdle he won last month include: Court In Session, King Of The Night and The Jigsaw Man. It would be fair to say that none of those have progressed to be top class. When you compare Court Minstrel to Dodging Bullets, I feel he may be a notch below him. However, in terms of betting, if 3/1 or bigger materialises about Court Minstrel I feel he is worth the punt to make the step up in class. Tominator was impressive last time out and ran well in the Ces, but I feel he may need further than 2 miles.

My selections for the day:
1:15 - Fingal Bay
1:50 - Free World E/W
2:25 - Dodging Bullets
3:00 - Deutschland
3:35 - Titan De Sarti
4:05 - Pentiffic

Any questions or comments? Contact me through Twitter:

@JoshRWDown

A Novice Chase Insight.....Continued

Dynaste: http://www.racingpost.com/horses/horse_home.sd?horse_id=744041#topHorseTabs=horse_race_record&bottomHorseTabs=horse_form

Front running grey who had a progressive year over hurdles last year with the highlight being a runaway 8 length victory in the valuable 3m fixed brush hurdle at Haydock in November. A step up in class meant that the 6 year old was now standing toe to toe with the highest class staying hurdlers around, more accurately against the greatest staying hurdler of all time Bug Bucks. The former was his conqueror in his next 3 starts in the Longwalk, Cleeve and World hurdles respectively. However, it is Longwalk hurdle at Ascot which interests me most. Since Big Bucks reverted to hurdles I can only think of one occasion when a horse seemed to get Big Bucks off the bridle and in trouble, this horse was Dynaste in the Longwalk hurdle where Tom Scudamore kicked for home when leaving the back straight looking to steal a march. For a few strides Ruby Walsh became increasingly animated on Big Bucks but as the result shows Big Bucks was an easy winner in the end after getting on terms with Dynaste. As a result of kicking for home early Dynaste had little in tank and he tired into 4th beaten 19 lengths. I thought this was an unfair reflection of his efforts, he probably deserved 2nd at least. As with many David Pipe horses he if often sent on to bowl along in front, his high natural cruising speed could bring out any flaws in his competitors jumping. His front-running style may also be beneficial in keeping him out of trouble in novice chases where an increased amount of mistakes and fallers can create traffic problems for horses racing further back in the field. If he takes to fences like he has attacked his hurdles you can expect this horse to be a prominent figure in 3m novice chases this year without quite having the class to beat the top draw horses. You would expect to see him in the RSA and may target the 3m novice chase at the open meeting as a pre-christmas target.

Get Me Out Of Here: http://www.racingpost.com/horses/horse_home.sd?horse_id=734779#topHorseTabs=horse_race_record&bottomHorseTabs=horse_form

Widely recognised as the most unlucky horse in training having finished runner-up at 3 consecutive Festivals. Having finished second last year in 2 of the most competitive handicap hurdles in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury in February and then behind Son Of Flicka in the Coral Cup at the Festival, he finally get his head in front at the Fairyhouse festival in April. Unfortunately, this string of brilliant efforts have come at a cost. His rating has headed skywards to 158 meaning he will almost certainly carry top weight in every handicap he runs in and as a result he may have to step up to championship class. An alternative option is to head novice chasing. This idea was on the table last year but the decision not to can be supported by the amount of prize money he has picked up in the handicap hurdles. Finally, this year may be the year and Jonjo has made it public that Get Me Out Of Here is a fine jumper of fences when schooling at home. Having been stepped up to 2m 4f at the end of last year at the Festival and at Fairyhouse, this would suggest that 2m 4f novice chases would be his target. Although, Jonjo may consider 2m novice chases bearing in mind his 2nd place finishes in the Supreme Novice Hurdle and County Hurdle at the festival were over 2miles. The Arkle could possibly be the long-term target this year but I would expect him to prefer the extra stamina test of the Jewson over 2m 5f. We know that he has high class form at the Festival and has appeared to run better in the spring. All things considered expect to see him in the shake up at the Festival again this year and fingers crossed he gets his head in front this time!

Smad Place: http://www.racingpost.com/horses/horse_home.sd?horse_id=764650#topHorseTabs=horse_race_record&bottomHorseTabs=horse_form

Smad Place is another advert for he strength in depth of the juveniles who ran in the 2011 triumph hurdle. Quality animals such as Zarkandar, Grandouet, Unaccompanied, Sailors Warn and Brampour are all graduates of the race that year. Bearing in mind Smad Place finished 10th that day he was only beaten 11 lengths. 2011/2012 saw massive progression in this grey culminating in a superb 3rd place finish in the World Hurdle, this was with a distinct lack of experience compared to his rivals in only his 1st attempt outside of handicap company (as a second season hurdler). Before the spring he had won a very competitive grade 2 handicap hurdle at Ascot in January by 7 lengths in ultra impressive style after an extended spell on the sidelines, beating home decent yard sticks such as Pateese. More eye catching perhaps was his next run on a return to Ascot in February. He conceded more than a stone to some seasoned campaigners such as Aimigayle and the progressive Lanzarote hurdle winner Swincombe Flame, although he was runner up it was it was a memorable weight carrying performance. Particularly as he gave 29 pounds to subsequent unexposed Cheltenham Festival fancy Bourne. Putting a line through his only blip last year when unseating at Aintree, Smad Place has the potential to improve again this year due to being so young. However, at the tender age if 5, it could be his age that is the main counter-argument to novice chasing this year. Another years experience over hurdles is likely beneficial as it is expected he may still have some degree of immaturity. Also bearing in mind he is a 3 miler, the obvious target would be the RSA but in such a grueling race would it be appropriate to put him through such an experience at such a young age? Probably not. Also at 14-1 for the RSA I'm not sure this represents any value at this time with such a young horse going novice chasing. My track of thought is persuaded by Sam Winner's novice chase campaign last year. Although, if you do see Smad Place's name entered in a novice chase anywhere this year expect a run for your money.