1.45pm Haydock Tips & Betting Preview 09/05/2015

Race Time: 1.45pm Meeting: Haydock Distance: 3 miles
Full Race Name: Pertemps Network Long Distance handicap Hurdle Class Two

Free Tip: Dawn Commander each way at 9/1

Well some would feel this was the first top quality race of the new National Hunt season and they could be right – it has all the makings of a cracker though why it takes place in the middle of the flat season is beyond us!

Top weight The Govaness (6/1) has a lot to do carrying eleven stone twelve over three miles on softer going but the further he goes the better he gets and the extra distance today could well bring about further improvement. Wins over two and a half miles at Towcester and then two and three quarters at Cheltenham have seen him in a whole new light, and we are not convinced he has stopped improving just yet for trainer Fergal O’Brien who has already booked Paddy Brennan who has ridden the six year old in every one of his nine racecourse appearances. Dawn Commander (9/1) seems unlikely to be improving too much at the age of eight but then again he might not need to, having won four of his last six races including last time out when successful at Warwick over a furlong further than he faces today – so stamina in clearly not an issue. As he hasn’t been put up an ounce for that win we can only add that he must be well handicapped, but as a confirmed front runner he may find it that bit more tricky to shake off this larger field who will hang on to his coat tails.

If you would have fancied Long House Hall to win here (and we did), then you almost have to bring the David Pipe trained Alternatif (5/1) in to the equation as he was beaten a long 16 lengths when they last met, but would have re-opposed on fifteen pounds better terms. That would in theory have made things pretty close between the pair and as the Pipe horse is only a five year old he may well improve again so you can understand why they send him here this afternoon We are wary of his low win percentage and the fact that he invariably finds one or more too good for him each race so wont be making him our bet but he certainly has great chances of at least making the frame.   Looking for a couple of likely outsiders to consider, we can pass on that Nigel Twiston-Davies has yet to lose the faith in Sybarite (14/1) – even if the rest of us pretty much have! Now a nine year old, he runs here off a mark of 133 which is still eight pounds higher than has carried to victory before, despite a losing run that stretches all the way back to last October, a run of five defeats that have finally seen the miserly handicapper put him down a whole two pounds! He cannot realistically be thought of as well in but he does continue to work well at home and could still run a big race – whether that is good enough to make the frame only time will tell we are sorry to say, though going and trip do look just about ideal. Huff And Puff (16/1) could be another long priced option for the bigger risk takers, but at least he nestles somewhere near to the bottom of the weights. Venetia Williams trains the eight year old who has actually won off a higher mark BUT has never even tried three miles before (let alone won) – a big risk at a big price perhaps, but you never know for certain until they try?