Newbury Saturday Preview - 28/11/20

Lorna Fowler doesn’t send many horses to the UK which makes her sole runner on the card Politesse very interesting in the Mares' Novices' Hurdle. 

This mare is exceptionally bred (related to Don Poli) and she boasts some smart form from her five starts in Ireland. 

On debut she finished third behind Longhouse Poet and Monkfish, which is form that has been advertised at the highest possible level, and she proved that was no fluke when finishing second in a Grade 2 bumper at Leopardstown. 

The winner of that bumper went on to run in the big one in March and the third, fourth & sixth all picked up victories next time out. 

Following this, she won a Thurles bumper by 5l before comfortably beating Gordon Elliott’s Fakiera on hurdling debut and that piece of form now looks very strong with Fakiera winning a hot looking Grade 3 hurdle last week.

She is fit from a pipe-opener on return, where she travelled better than most, and she rates a solid bet if handling the faster ground. 

Paul Nicholls has an excellent record in this 3m novice chase and he has two of the six declarations in Next Destination and Southfield Stone. 

The latter may struggle to give weight to this lot after suffering a heavy defeat last time out at Cheltenham behind Protektorat, but Next Destination looks fairly priced having proved he retains ability in the bet365 hurdle at Wetherby. 

To beat the likes of Lisnagar Oscar and Kildisart after over 900 days off the track is a decent effort and as a PTP winner he can be expected to take another step forward now switched to fences. 

He is late to the game as an 8-y-o, but he was one of Willie Mullins’ hottest prospects in 2018, and would be rated higher than 149 without injuries. 

His strong finish in the Ballymore behind Samcro outlined his desire for a test of stamina and he backed that up with a Grade One victory over Delta work, who has since progressed into one of the best 3m chasers on the planet.

This is a wide-open handicap chase in which a case can be made for plenty, but with five places on offer we advise a small e/w bet on both Court Master and Breaking Waves. 

Court Master represents a stable going great guns and his form over fences suggests he has a cracking chance in this off just 10-12. 

He beat the 140+ rated Jarvey’s Plate by 7l in his PTP and he has won three of his six chase starts. 

The good ground will suit him more than most of today’s rivals and he should relish this extra yardage. 

At a bigger price, Breaking Waves may be well handicapped running off just 131 on his first start for Harry Whittington. 

This 6-y-o boasts some eye-catching form over hurdles, notably an impressive victory over Hold The Note (now 145), and he was deemed good enough to step into graded company. 

He was then sent chasing by Noel Williams but things didn’t go to plan and he has since undergone wind-surgery and switched stables. 

If this can bring him back to life he is potentially thrown in for a yard that track at a profit of £44.25 from £1 at the course. 

Champagne Platinum reverts to hurdles after a disappointing effort in the Kim Muir where he evidently didn’t enjoy fences or see out the 3m2f. 

If ready to roll, or not seeking a lower handicap mark for the festival, he is massively over priced at 7/1.

He finished fifth in the Herald Champion Novice Hurdle when rated 140 and he slips in off just 137. 

Admittedly he is untried on ground this quick, though he has winning form at this track on good-to-soft and this looks his optimum trip. 

Marie’s Rock may prove too good for these, but she is short enough at 11/8, which makes Neil Mulholland’s Milkwood our bet each-way at 13/2. 

This 6-y-o comes straight from the Welsh Champion Hurdle which has turned out to be very strong form for an early season race. 

First, third and fifth have all won next time out and Ballyandy ran a massive race when second off top weight at Cheltenham. 

He is a strong-travelling type who will relish this surface. If he can settle early it is hard to see him finishing outside the frame. 

The Grade Three Ladbrokes Trophy on Saturday is one of the hotly contested handicaps of the season and in the feature event at Newbury we have a strong selection.

Ben Pauling has had a tough time of things over the last few years, but he has started to land some nice winners and on Saturday he fields Kildisart, who looks to have a superb chance.

The eight year old gave one of his best performances of his career at the Cheltenham festival last term in the Grade Three Ultima Handicap, when finishing second in a photo-finish behind The Conditional.

Although he will need to reverse that form in this race with the David Bridgwater trained runner, this time around he seems much better off at the weights.

He was being aimed at the Grand National after that superb run over a staying trip meaning that his trainer knows how good a stayer he is and in this event you need to be just that.

He enters the race off the back of a solid prep run over hurdles when finishing third at Wetherby in the Grade Two bet365 Hurdle behind Cheltenham festival Mares Hurdle winner Roksana and Next Destination for Paul Nicholls.

The contest over three miles also saw him beat the Stayers Hurdle winner Lisnagar Oscar and it looks solid form ahead of him stepping back over fences.

Another that will thrive on this quick surface is Secret Investor. This gelding has mixed it with some of the best throughout his career over fences with his second in the Denham chase looking a nice piece of form. 

Wind-surgery seemed to bring out some improvement when he hammered Potterman on return at Chepstow and he arrives here as an officially well-handicapped animal. 

The reputation of Greaneteen is likely to have played a part in the pricing of favourite Moonlighter in the finale, but the strength of this year’s Haldon Gold Cup is questionable, therefore we would prefer to oppose with an each-way price.

Despite having a good record in the race, Paul Nicholls is empty handed this season, which has left Harry Cobden free to ride The Russian Doyen for Colin Tizzard. 

This 7-y-o gets 12lb from the market leader which makes his 12/1 price tag look very generous. 

He is stepping down from the Grade 3 Paddy Power Gold Cup plus he is 2/4 on good ground and 1/1 at Newbury. 

With two runs under his belt he should now be fighting fit which would make him dangerous off a career low mark of 135.