Chepstow Saturday Preview - 09/10/21

The first event of the day on Saturday at Chepstow is the two mile Juvenile Hurdle and we can't get away from the exciting prospect Magistrato.

Originally with David Cottin, the three year old gelding has been seen once to date at Auteuil in a three year old Conditions Hurdle event and shaped extremely well to finish second, with the winner since franking the form in Listed company since.

Bought off the back of that and given to Nicholls looks a very interesting type that might not be known to many now but will be by the end of the season.

Next up is the Class 2 Handicap Hurdle over two miles and sees some very familiar faces returning for another season, but we are going with the lesser know Restandbethankful.

The five year old gelding was a €52,000 purchase as a three year old by the McNeill family and was given to Olly Murphy.

He was first seen making his debut in a bumper at Perth in September 2020 when winning nicely and off the back of that went to Lingfield in November and was another smart second.

Sent over hurdles in December he took to them straight away finishing a good second behind a nice type for Nicky Henderson.

Not seen again until May, he returned a better horses landing his first hurdles contest in Maiden company and then last time out he made it two from two.

He looks weighted to strike in his first handicap event and having had two confident boosters already this season, this would have been a early season target.

The Native River Handicap Chase over three miles comes next and see some sparkling stayers take on each other for the first time this season.

We are siding with the Christian Williams trained Kitty's Light who clicked into gear at the back end of last season and with him offering some of the best form in the race we are hoping he can pick up from where he left off.

Back in March off a mark of 135he went on to win a nice event over a staying trip at Kelso by a neck and off the back of that ran another huge race in the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown.

He managed to stay on best of the rest to finish second in a stewards enquiry behind the winner Potterman.

He is only 4lb higher for his seasonal debut today but being a thorough stayer and looking very progressive only being five, he is a big player.

One of the better races on the Chepstow card on Saturday is the Listed Novices' Chase and the Paul Nicholls trained Fidelio Vallis could take some beating.

The six year old is a very consistent type that has now put together a run of four wins over fences since March having come back from a break.

Having won well at Fontwell and Southwell in March and April, he then went to Kempton in a better race and bolted up in fine style.

He was last seen at Warwick in a decent Handicap Chase and again although up in the weights took the event by four lengths.

The gelding now steps up in Listed company off the back of another break and he looks the one to beat, with Nicholls winning this event last term.

The feature race of the afternoon in Wales is the Grade Three Silver Trophy Handicap Hurdle and the horse we have a keen eye on is the Philip Hobbs trained Orbys Legend.

Off the back of landing a 1-2 in the Persian War Novices' Hurdle the yard have another big chance with this lad who is highly consistent.

Seen five times in his career, he finished a good second in a point to point in February 2020 and was then bought for 80,000gns and given to Hobbs.

He made his rules debut at Newbury in November last year when a good second in a bumper and off the back of that a month later got off the mark on his hurdles debut at Exeter.

The son of Milan was then went back to Exeter slightly up in trip and was a fair third, but last time out got back to winning at Sandown, landing a Novices' Hurdle by 12 lengths.

Making his handicap debut today he looks to have a big chance off a mark of 130 if not needing the run.

The penultimate event of the afternoon is the Class 2 Handicap Chase over 2m3f and our selection is the seven year old Grand Sancy.

A very frustrating horse throughout his career, being a smart hurdler and looking to be a smart chaser last term, the gelding then lost his way slightly.

This has seen his mark drop down to 142 which makes him 1lb lower than his winning mark in the Grade Two Kingwell Hurdle.

Grand Sancy seems to do his best work earlier on in the season when the ground is slightly quicker, having won on this card last term in Listed company.

He has had another wind op which should hopefully fix the problems that saw him being below his best near the end of last term and overall he is a better horse than his current mark.

The final event of the afternoon is the Open NH Flat Race over two miles and we are siding with the Paul Nicholls trained Timeforatune.

The five year old makes his first start for the yard having been bought by John Hales for £175,000 off the back of winning a two mile bumper event at Ffos Las back in May for trainer Brian Eckley.

He could have a big season in bumpers this term and overall is a horse to keep onside throughout his career, with him set to be even better over hurdles and fences.