3.00 Southwell - Play Golf At Southwell Golf Club Novices Hurdle
One of the low points of the past week was the death of Trevor Hemmings' stalwart Burton Port, runner-up in last season's bet365 Gold Cup. The 11-y-o was viewed by connections as an ideal candidate for the Grand National, but had failed to recover his old sparkle this season, and was struggling when taking a fatal fall in a veterans' chase at Doncaster on Wednesday. Hemmings has enjoyed a fine season thanks to the exploits of Many Clouds, but the loss of Burton Port will be felt keenly.
One bright spot amid the gloom is the emergence of Burton Port's half-brother Burton's Well, who was a taking winner on his racecourse bow at Newton Abbot in October despite a distinct lack of market confidence. Newton Abbot may have a reputation as one of racing's gaffs, but the track is forward thinking, provides a good racing surface, and has been improving the quality of its racing in the last decade or so. Immediately behind Burton's Well that day were a trio of subsequent winners, including Buckhorn Timothy (BHA rated 131) and Polamco (124), and given that pair had an experience edge on the Venetia Williams-trained winner, and were firmly put in their place, it's not hard to imagine that Burton's Well will prove capable of a making his mark in pattern class somewhere down the line. He certainly caught the eye with how easily he travelled, and might have won by further but for showing signs of greenness when hitting the front.
The son of Well Chosen has been absent since, and a lack of Cheltenham entries might put some off, but Williams simply doesn't target her novices at the Festival, preferring to leave such a stern test to experienced campaigners as a rule, and it's not unusual for her to plot a campaign around the calmer waters of Aintree instead, as she's shown in the past with the likes of Montalcino and Limerick Boy. Aintree is also the preferred destination for Hemmings' better horses, and it's likely that his absence from the course in the depths of winter has always been Plan A. He'd certainly be a much shorter price if that winning debut had come a month ago, and he is taken to beat former Racing Post Trophy runner-up Zip Top.
Zip Top was quite impressive when winning at Fakenham last month from Shwaiman, and can be excused a lesser effort at Newcastle where a combination of heavy ground and a poor round of jumping conspired against him. Underfoot conditions will be more to his liking here, but whether he will jump better over the portable obstacles is open to debate, whereas the selection jumped exceptionally well over Newton Abbot's padded hurdles, and looks the type to take to these "mini-fences". Killiecrankie would be a big price were it not for his connections, and the fact he's making his racecourse debut at the age of seven is a huge concern - he appeals as a place lay, particularly with reasons to expect good runs from both Lucky Jim and Crickel Wood, both of whom were useful on the Flat.
Recommended:
1pt win Burton's Well @ 11/4 (general - take BOG)
Lay Killiecrankie @ 2.5 for a place to lose 3 pts
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