Informant No Talking Horse

Plumpton has been a happy hunting ground of late, and will hopefully provide some more cheer on Monday, with The Informant making some appeal in the staying handicap chase for novices at 14:25. The favourite for this race is recent Aintree winner Samingarry, and he certainly won well enough there to suggest a penalty may not stop him, but this comes fairly quickly, and on heavy ground, which will make his impost all the harder to carry. As a result, it seems prudent to look elsewhere, and while the obvious choices further down the weights appear to be Days of Pleasure and Always Bold, neither of that pair could be described as reliable, with the former bouncing back to winning form last time, but just as likely to run a stinker here, while the latter still a maiden over fences after a dozen starts.

The Informant is something of a shot in the dark, but he showed he could go well fresh when winning a heavy-ground bumper on his Rules debut at Fontwell, and then had the requisite trio of runs over hurdles to gain a handicap mark. His pedigree suggests strongly that he will prove a different proposition now tackling a distance of ground over fences, with his damsire Roselier an exceptional producer of marathon chasers. An opening BHA mark of 97 is very workable, and he looks well worth an interest at the morning odds.

At Kempton, all eyes will be on Grands Crus when he lines up in the Pertemps qualifier at 14:40, and I would dearly love to see David Pipe's gallant grey back in the winners enclosure, but he must have questions to answer after last season's travails. I've heard it reported that he's back to his best, but the way he was backed before each of his first few races last term suggested that he was always expected, but his finishing effort has become a major concern, and gruelling races on heavy ground last winter can't have helped him either physically or psychologically. The drop in trip will suit him today, as will Kempton's track, but he simply can't be backed until showing that he's able to see his races out.

The bottom line is that overnight support for Grands Crus has made God's Own a backable price, and while I feel something of a traitor deserting one of my favourites, it pays to be hard hearted as a punter, and the price about Tom George's runner is simply too big. A progressive sort last winter, he looked set to pick up where he'd left off on his return at Chepstow only to be badly hampered at the second last, unseating paddy Brennan in the process. He was niggled briefly after the previous hurdle, but had come back on the bridle and looked the likeliest winner at the time of his departure, and can make amends off what is just a 1 lb higher mark.

Recommendations:

Back The Informant @ [9.4] in the 14:25 Plumpton (NAP)

Back God's Own @ [3.85] in the 14:40 Kempton (NB)