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Debbie Burt
” title=”Dan Skelton: trainer’s Pembroke has been well supported at Cheltenham”
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By Harry Wilson
The Classic Novices’ Hurdle has been used as a stepping stone to the Cheltenham Festival for many of the previous winners and bettors seem keen that Pembroke is good enough to follow in their footsteps.
The eight winners before North Lodge, who won this last year, all went on to run at the festival and Pembroke holds entries in both the Supreme and the Ballymore for which he is 33-1.
Pembroke has won his last two starts in impressive fashion, including a 16-length success at Ludlow under a penalty, and he steps up in trip here as he looks to cement his Festival credentials.
The Skelton-trained six-year-old has hardened at the top of the betting and is now as short as 11-8, having been a general 15-8 shot this morning.
Gary Moore hurdler backed to halt Paisley Park’s Cleeve Hurdle domination
Popular stayer Paisley Park heads the market as he bids to land the Cleeve Hurdle for the fourth successive year but support has come against him for Botox Has, who is now as short as 11-2 (from 15-2).
The Gary Moore-trained seven-year-old was last seen finishing 28 lengths behind Marie’s Rock in the Relkeel Hurdle at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day but before that he finished second in a Pertemps series qualifier over course and distance, and won a premier stayers’ handicap at Haydock this season.
John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)
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title=”Botox Has: supported against Paisley Park in the Cleeve Hurdle”
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His backers will hope the return to the longer distance will help his chances as he looks to land a second Grade 2 victory over hurdles, having landed the National Spirit at Fontwell in February last year.
Paisley Park gave his rivals a headstart in this last year, almost refusing to race and letting the field get 20 lengths ahead of him before staying on strongly under Aidan Coleman, powering clear by three and a quarter lengths up the run-in.
Emma Lavelle’s superstar stayer has made a fantastic start to the season, going down by a neck to Champ in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury in November and getting the better of that rival in the rerouted Long Distance Hurdle at Kempton, a track which wouldn’t have played to his strengths.
The 11-year-old is around 6-4 to enhance his fantastic record at the track.
Unbeaten chaser halved in price for the Sky Bet Chase for in-form trainer
Charlie Longsdon has been in fine form in the last two weeks and his unbeaten chaser Tea For Free has been well supported in the Sky Bet Chase to give the trainer and jockey Lilly Pinchin another Saturday victory.
The eight-year-old made it four wins from four starts over fences in a Newbury novices’ handicap chase on New Year’s Eve last time out and has been shortened to 7-2 for the 3m premier handicap, having been as big as 6-1 this morning.
David Carr
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title=”Charlie Longsdon: trainer is operating at a 33 per cent strike-rate in the last two weeks”
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Longsdon’s last nine runners have yielded three victories, a strike-rate of 33 per cent, with none of them finishing out of the first four, and he kicked off Doncaster’s two-day meeting with a win and a close second from his two runners yesterday.
Pinchin has been on board for all of his wins and a 7lb rise for his six-and-a-half-length victory may not stop him from making it five wins on the bounce.
Ga Law continues to head the betting at around 5-2 but is trying the three-mile trip for the first time, having scored in the Paddy Power Gold Cup over 2m4f at Cheltenham in November.
Mister Coffey is a notable absentee having been around 7-1 in the market before being withdrawn due to the going.
Market Movers
Cheltenham
3.00: Botox Has 11-2 (from 15-2)
3.35: Pembroke 6-4 (from 2-1)
4.10: Hacker Des Places 4-1 (from 11-2)
Doncaster
12.20: Fringill Dike 11-4 (from 5-1)
12.55: Vintage Fizz 15-2 (from 14)
3.15: Tea For Free 7-2 (from 6-1), Demachine 6-1 (from 12)
Cheltenham Trials day card given go-ahead
Cheltenham’s Trials day card will go ahead as planned on Saturday after the course came through a morning inspection on raceday.
An inspection was held on Friday but a second check was called due to the threat of frost, but temperatures remained above freezing overnight.
Clerk of the course Jon Pullin said: “Based on the forecast we had yesterday there was some doubt about whether we would go ahead, but thankfully temperatures stayed above freezing throughout the night. We didn’t drop below +1.5C so thankfully it was an easy decision this morning.”
The going remains soft, good to soft in places on the New course and good to soft, soft in places on the cross-country course, but fence five (and 28) will be passed due to an area of unsafe ground.
Pullin added: “There is just an area on the landing side of fence five that has been affected by the last two weeks’ frost so we will bypass that fence – it’s jumped as fence five and 28 – but that’s the only one they’ll need to do that with.”
Saturday’s nine-race card, due off at 11.40am, promises to offer numerous clues for the Cheltenham Festival in March, with Gold Cup second- and third-favourites Protektorat and Noble Yeats due to clash in the Paddy Power Cotswold Chase.
Last year’s Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Energumene faces Edwardstone, the main rival to his crown, in the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Clarence House Chase that was salvaged from last Saturday’s abandoned Ascot card.
Also among five races due to be shown live on ITV is the Dahlbury Stallions At Chapel Stud Cleeve Hurdle, which popular stayer Paisley Park will bid to land for a fourth time.
Non-runners
Cheltenham
11.40: Fils De Roi (going)
1.50: Now Where Or When (going)
3.35: Bonttay (going), Blenkinsop (coughing)
4.10: Castel Gandolfo (going)
Doncaster
12.55: Watergrange Jack (bad scope), Zafar (bruised foot)
1.35: Saint Segal
3.15: Mister Coffey (going)
3.50: Jaytee (going)
4.25: Luna Aoife (lame), Remember Ally (inflammation)
Read this next:
‘It’s his biggest test’ – Skelton and Mullins on their Cotswold Chase stars
ITV Racing tips: one key runner from each of the eight races on ITV on Saturday
Which tracks are inspecting and how are things looking for the coming days?
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