Barry Geraghty’s William Hill blog: I haven’t lost faith in what Constitution Hill is capable of

William Hill ambassador Barry Geraghty previews the pick of Saturday’s racing from Newbury and Newcastle, including Constitution Hill’s return in the Fighting Fifth, as well as two big Grade 1s at Fairyhouse on Sunday.

Newbury, Saturday

FRENCH SHIP (1:40pm) put in a good performance last time at Cheltenham and looks to me like he’s a five-year-old that is on the up. He fell on his return this season at Chepstow, but he was challenging at the time, and that was a strong race. The race he won at Cheltenham was also a quality contest. He’s a horse I liked last season, and I think he’s going the right way.

This year’s renewal of the Gerry Feilden (2:15pm) looks competitive. Harry Derham’s VIYANNI was third to Lulamba and Mondo Man in Ascot last season on only his second start over hurdles and I thought that was a good run against some quality horses. He’s two from three over hurdles after wins at Market Rasen and Ludlow. Considering the level of form he has shown, he looks nicely weighted and the yard’s horses are going well.

The Coral Gold Cup (2:55pm) is a really good race and you could have a few goes at it to find the winner, but I’m a big fan of MYRETOWN. He’s got a similar profile to Corach Rambler when he first won the Ultima, and we know what that horse went on to achieve. Myretown went up 15 pounds for his brilliant performance at Cheltenham, but with his profile and the potential he has, it would suggest there’s plenty more to come from him. He’s a lightly raced eight-year-old and this is a race that really suits second season novices. It is his first run of the season, but Lucinda [Russell] and Michael [Scudamore] have had four horses win on their seasonal debuts in the last few weeks, so you’d like to think Myretown will be ready for this.

DOYEN DU BAR looks an interesting runner in the two-mile handicap chase (3:35pm) on his first start for Nicky Richards. He was a good winner at Ayr on his last start back in February and before that he finished second at Sandown to Vincenzo, who has gone on to finish runner-up in the Paddy Power Gold Cup this season. That looks a high level of form, and he could go well here.

Newcastle, Saturday

I haven’t lost faith in what CONSTITUTION HILL is capable of, and to me his jumping is his biggest danger in the Fighting Fifth (2:00pm). I suppose he has been written off in a lot of people’s eyes after those two heavy falls and disappointing at Punchestown on the back of those. Obviously, he needs to keep his jumping together and what he has been doing, it’s very hard to un-train, so he needs to just relax and find his rhythm and not take that chance. Nico [de Boinville] is a top-class rider and a brilliant horseman, but it’s a difficult position for him. Any subtle move, when you make contact [with the bit] can trigger a horse to come up on an early stride, so it’s a really difficult thing. You just have to trust and believe. I’d have great respect for Anzadam and The New Lion, but Nicky [Henderson] is really happy with Constitution Hill, the vibes are very strong on his well-being, and his schooling has been good. I think he can bounce back to his best here.

In the Rehearsal Chase (3:15pm) I like CRUZ CONTROL. Having largely disappointed last season, he ended the campaign with an impressive win at Aintree. If you go back further in his form, he was also a winner at Aintree the previous season and has won over this course and distance. We didn’t see him at his best until that win at Aintree and I think he can build on that again.

Fairyhouse, Sunday

ROMEO COOLIO can take the Drinmore Novice Chase (2:05pm). He was a very smart novice hurdler and took well to fences at Down Royal, albeit they bypassed six of the 13 obstacles. From what we saw of his jumping, he looked a natural, and he has lots of scope and potential for improvement. He got to a higher level than any of this opposition over hurdles, and there’s every chance he could be better over fences, so he should take a lot of beating.

Teahupoo finished second to Lossiemouth when going for a hat-trick in the Hatton’s Grace (2:36pm) 12 months ago, which was a good run, but he did have Beacon Edge five lengths behind him in third. Beacon Edge is a veteran and his proximity to Teahupoo takes the shine off the form a bit. I think that if BALLYBURN can get back on track over hurdles to the level of his novice season, when he looked exciting, then he could be the one to beat. A reproduction of anything close to the form of his win at Cheltenham in the two-mile-five-furlong novice hurdle would see him take this.