2.00pm Wincanton Tips & Betting Preview 03/12/2015

2.00pm Wincanton Thursday 3rd December

Free Tip: Spending Time at 2/1

Race Details

Race Time: 2.00pm Meeting: Wincanton Day: Thursday 3rd December 2015 Full Race Name: Weatherbys Hamilton Silver Buck  Handicap Chase Class Three

Betting Preview

In a race named after 1982 Gold Cup winner Silver Buck, who was also the fourth one home when Michael Dickinson trained the first FIVE home in the 1983 renewal, nothing of anything like that calibre is even entered but there are still some decent enough beasts and some old timers who you might have followed over the years.

Horse by Horse:

1 Velator (7/1) – More places than wins of late for this eight year old who has to carry top weight of eleven stone twelve on heavy going this afternoon which may be asking too much of him especially after seven months off the track. He has won here over shorter and over this sort of distance numerous times but on quicker ground than he faces today, and with the handicapper refusing to relent thanks to his consistency it seems unlikely he can win today even with the excellent Sean Bowne in the saddle.

2 Aachen (6/1) – One of the elder brigade in action today at the veteran age of eleven, and obviously not getting any better now, but this is a drop in class after his last four races in Class Two events, including a victory at Doncaster last February. The trip is a potential issue with just the one win over three miles or more from ten attempts, but he has scored on heavy ground which is a plus and is physically capable of carrying his weight today.

3 Fond Memory (5/1) – One of the more in form options for trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies after a recent win at Kempton when running on gamely over the three miles. Put up six pounds for that prize he has won over shorter on soft ground and ran well enough when runner up at Newbury on heavy ground in a novice hurdle in 2014 to suggest he will handle it, though we note he has been campaigned over shorter for the majority of his career and we wonder if his stamina could still be an issue slogging around in the mud?

4 Upham Atom (14/1) – The oldest in the field at the age of twelve and without a win since scoring over three and three quarter miles at Exeter in April 2014. Stamina for this trip is clearly not an issue but he hasn’t raced since mid April and older horses are generally harder to get fit. Trainer Kate Buckett is yet to have a winner this season from a hand full of runners but that has to be a big negative, plus he has always had a recent run before each of his five wins and we just cannot risk him here.

5 Ballycoe (12/1) – One of the youngest in the field at the age of six and perhaps with more room for improvement than most. He did win his second point to point at Athlacca in Ireland as well as a novice hurdle at Worcester but was a tailed off sixty length third on his chasing debut at Exeter and on that form has no chance here.

6 Shy John (12/1) – Trained by Jennifer Mason (no wins yet this season) and to be ridden by young Lewis Gordon (two wins this season), he ought to be an outsider here and has it all to do. In his favour are wins off of ten pounds higher at Leicester (two and a half mile Novice Hunter Chase), and off today’s mark at Taunton, so he could be called well handicapped, though his recent thirty four lengths sixth to King Massini isn’t exactly inspiring, and he would be a shock winner today.

7 Spending Time (2/1)  – David Pipe handles this six year old who looks to have a great chance here based on his recent form which involves two wins in his last three races and a bit of a romp last time out at Huntingdon when he beat Global Domination by thirteen lengths. He was giving the runner up twenty-two pounds so that wasn’t a bad performance at all, and as that was on soft going there is reason to believe he will handle the heavy going predicted for today. Three races ago he won over even further at Stratford so that ticks the stamina box, and all in all he looks the most likely winner to us.

8 Kings Apollo (14/1) – Apart from an uncharacteristic fall last time out at Newbury this six year old looks half decent with wins at Taunton and Wincanton at this sort of trip back in February and some other “average” efforts. We do get the feeling the handicapper may have his measure of late and he has only been put down a solitary pound for three less appealing efforts and although a place is very much on the cards, we doubt he is well weighted enough to win today despite his love of a softer surface.

Conclusion:

If all eight stand their ground as we hope than each way bets could be on the cards for those who like that sort of thing. The going may be an issue for some and possibly all of the runners and jumping errors seem almost assured, but we will side with Spending Time today as we feel he is very much on an upward curve. He stays, he jumps, and he has recent winning form, which may be enough to take this difficult to solve event.

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