No good with Hope Road. Tom thought something was wrong at first, but he’s come away from the race fine and eaten up well. I think he just got bogged down in the ground – he’d run well on heavy on the flat but NH heavy can be a totally different proposition (or so I’m told).
Decent racing today at Cheltenham and Doncaster. I’ve had a word for Aigle D’Or in the first at Cheltenham but most of the world seems to have heard the same and the price is short. I think State of Play has a respectable chance in the 2:40 and could be value. Try as I might I can’t get away from Inglis Drever in the Cleeve, and I don’t have a problem taking short prices in long distance hurdles. All the boxes are ticked and he has a bit of a banker feel – he’s Barry’s bismark which makes me feel even better.
At Doncaster King Louis has a solid look in the 12:50. Inchloch in the 1:20 has probably been running on the wrong ground and looks on a very appealing mark – well worth considering at a big price (17). An Accordian in the 3:00 may just get the nap vote – he’s cost me money in the past but I know the stable have a strong opinion of him and after a couple of disappointing efforts he may have dropped far enough to win a big handicap like this one.