Race Time: 2.00pm Meeting: Kempton Day: Saturday 9th January 2015 Full Race Name: williamhill.com Chase (Listed Race) Class One
An absolutely embarrassing and woeful three horses line up for the £30,000 on offer (guaranteed), headed on official ratings by Wishfull Thinking (10/3), now a thirteen year old but still with a mark of 165. Trained by Philip Hobbs, he has had a total of thirty-four races over fences, winning nine and placing in a further eleven, reaping connections a total of close to half a million pounds (including hurdles and bumpers), nice work if you can get it. This two and a half miles is certainly his favourite or best trip, and he looked as good as ever on his return at Aintree when half a length second to Sound Investment (who was receiving seven pounds), but found it all a bit too much next time out at Huntingdon when beaten forty-seven lengths by a rejuvenated Al Ferof, but in all honesty nothing of that calibre appears to be in the line up here and he seems sure to run his usual game race.
Next on official ratings we have Ptit Zig (1/2), but at the risk of sounding like a stuck record, what can we say about the Paul Nichols horses of late? He looked beaten when falling in the same race won by Al Ferof when last seen in action but would have finished in front of Wishfull Thinking and ought to do so again here, and with the yard in among the winners again on Friday, he is the one we want to be on. Prior to that run, he had easily beaten the well regarded Clarcam at Down Royal and was then a very respectable runner up to Vautour when beaten less than two lengths despite giving the current Ryanair Chase favourite five pounds, and if he can improve his jumping (he has been a bit sticky on occasions), then on the formbook he is very much the one to beat today.
Nicky Henderson is as consistent as ever already this season and he sends the least of the threesome with Triolo D’Alene (8/1) here looking for his first win since November 2013, though to be fair he must have had his issues with just the four runs in that time. After winning at Newbury (where he beat Rocky Creek) he was put up an OTT eleven pounds and struggled ever since, finishing tenth to Lord Windermere in the 2014 Cheltenham Gold Cup, before pulling up in the Grand National behind Pineau De Re, and pulling up again behind Many Clouds in the 2014 Hennessy, but he did put up a better effort when thirteen lengths third to Unionise (received six pounds) and Bertie Boru (received nineteen pounds) at Sandown, but as we feel he needs further and is sure to want the run after over a year off, we won’t be backing him as things stand here.