17:10
Sedgefield
Odds correct as of 3:30pm 31st Mar
Sedgefield has been a happy hunting ground for Paul Nicholls so far this season, as three of his four runners at the Lincolnshire track were winners and his only loser finished second. It’s a pretty substantial journey from his Ditcheat yard and clearly the team plan their raids well. The Somerset-based trainer sends one runner up there on Wednesday so we’ve assessed the horse’s chances of winning. Take a look at our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
The Gem State cost £75,000 at the sales in November and is closely related to point-to-point winner Lucky Valley. His dam was unraced but related to a useful chaser and hurdler. Freddie Gingell heads up to take the ride and he’s operating at a more than healhty strike-rate of 25 per cent recently.
The son of Idaho made one start in a point-to-point at Rathcannon in November and produced a respectable performance to finish second by a couple of lengths on that occasion.
Only two of his rivals have raced before and the Jennie Candlish-trained Connells Cross has shown plenty already. She was second at Perth on debut in May and defied a 299-day absence to go one better over course and distance recently. That form makes her the one to beat here.
Patrick Neville’s mare Datstheholyallofit was fourth behind Connells Cross and probably has a bit to find on that evidence. It’s hard to know what to make of most of the unraced runners but the Nicholls yard had an impressive debut bumper winner earlier this week and perhaps The Gem State can follow suit.
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