It’s got to be Constitution Hill according to Matt in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at 14:00 at Newcastle.
Matt Chapman’s Saturday ITV Racing Tips
13:40 Newbury – French Ship
14:00 Newcastle – Constitution Hill
14:15 Newbury – Give It To Me OJ (each-way)
14:55 Newbury – The Changing Man (each-way)
15:15 Newcastle – Docpickedme (each-way)
15:35 Newbury – General Medrano
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
ITV Racing returns Saturday with action again from Newbury and Newcastle, starting here with a handicap hurdle over an extended 2m4f. There should be a good pace to run at here, which will really suit FRENCH SHIP.
I tipped him up the other day at Cheltenham, but he ended up being a non-runner. He’d gone up to 136 then from 128 for a decent success at Cheltenham, and I still think he can overcome that rise with more improvement in the offing. He’s always promised to be decent. Ben Jones rides for Philip Hobbs and Johnson White.
A belter for the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle over 2m1f. Impossible to give a reasonable opinion on this race. The facts are simple. Anzadam might be a very, very good horse. The New Lion might be a very, very good horse.
But if CONSTITUTION HILL is anywhere near his best, he will win. Those are the facts. Of course, it’s a big ‘if,’ but I want him to score, so he’s the selection.
Come on, Nikolai Chastel de Boinville! Good luck Nicky Henderson. Fingers crossed. Historically, Constitution Hill has always gone well fresh.
Now a handicap hurdle over an extended 2m, known to many of you as the Gerry Feilden. There’s a chance GIVE IT TO ME OJ can outrun his odds here for Gary & Josh Moore and Caoilin Quinn. My selection was just under four lengths behind Live Conti when the pair clashed at Aintree, and they meet at the same weight here.
However, OJ has had a run, and it was a winning one at Cheltenham in late October. He had plenty in hand at the weights that day and was a short price to score, and the victory came on the back of several wins on the Flat. He will never be fitter than he is right now, and that gives him an edge over a few of these. An each-way bet.
The big betting race of the day and the handicap chase you all know as the Hennessy over 3m2f. Reynoldstown winner THE CHANGING MAN has graduated from a 95-rated handicap hurdle winner at Stratford to having a big place chance here off 143. And of late, he’s been consistency personified.
What is clear is that he goes well in big field handicaps. He has a second to Myretown in the Ultima on his CV, as well as a second to Docpickedme in the Great Yorkshire Chase. Then there’s the Rehearsal Chase, second to Frero Banbou and an eighth in the 2023 Pertemps Final. Bad jumps over hurdles didn’t help him that day.
His stable of Joe Tizzard could not be in better form; his jockey, Brendan Powell, is turning everything to gold, he has a great racing weight, and he stays and jumps. Other than the fact he’s never been to Newbury before, I can’t see why he won’t run a big race, and cheekpieces have been added, which might bring out a bit more. I’ll be having a few quid on each-way.
A handicap chase over an extended 3m, known to many of you as the Rehearsal. DOCPICKEDME won the Great Yorkshire here off 129 last year and is only 2lb higher now.
That success came after a few runs following wind surgery, and he appeared to run himself into form. Now that he’s used to his wind situation, he hopefully can strike sooner in the season, and his return over hurdles at Newbury was perfectly respectable as he just got tired late on. An each-way chance for Charlie Maggs, who takes off 5lb, and Richard Hobson.
A handicap chase over an extended 2m. There’s a decent prize in GENERAL MEDRANO, and this might be it. I’m surprised he’s been dropped 1lb for his decent fourth at Ascot last time, and while 1lb won’t make the difference, it’s better having it than not.
This trip and going is ideal, and of course, he’s the defending champion in the contest. He won off 131 last year, but absolutely hacked up, and I don’t think another 8lb would have stopped him then. Ben Jones rides for Emma Lavelle.
So best of luck and pray for Yeeehaaas. You hear me, Paddy?
Matt Chapman’s Saturday ITV Racing Tips
13:15 Haydock – Florida Dreams (each-way)
13:30 Ascot – Il Est Francais
13:50 Haydock – The Jukebox Man
14:25 Haydock – Electric Mason (each-way)
14:40 Ascot – Wodhooh
15:00 Haydock – Grey Dawning
15:15 Ascot – Martator (each-way)
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
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