Nick Luck’s blog: Saint Calvados a Mint bet in Ascot Chase

Another exciting Saturday of racing with the William Hill Grand National Trial at Haydock, while there is Grade 1 action at Ascot too.

Read on for Nick Luck’s thoughts…

Ascot

DOYEN BREED (11/2) can gain a deserved high level success in the Reynolds town at Ascot on Saturday, live on ITV (1.50pm). Steadily working his way to being a pretty smart horse, he nonetheless shapes like a stayer and should find this more significant stamina test right up his street. Although he wears headgear, he looks plenty genuine enough and can out grind Does He Know and Coach Rambler, both of whom have their quirks.

FORTESCUE has been running with great credit this season and looks a decent each-way bet at 11/1 in the Swinley Chase (2.25pm). Although he doesn’t look obviously well treated, this is a bit easier than the Haydock race in which he was an excellent third and he will stay better than most of these.

I’ll also be having a few quid on REGAL ENCORE at 16/1 who, although 14, has been cut some serious slack by the handicapper and could hardly have more in his favour.

CHRISTOPHER WOOD makes a bit of appeal at 16/1 on his first start for Venetia Williams in the handicap hurdle (3.00pm). Paul Nicholls hasn’t really done much wrong with this horse and had clearly campaigned him to have his mark spot on for a nice race at Musselburgh last time. Time has told that trying to compete with Tommy’s Oscar was futile, but he still ran a tidy race considering he stumbled and lost a shoe.

SAINT CALVADOS is a little overpriced at 9/2 in the Grade One Ascot Chase (3.38pm). He has had so little racing in the last two years, but these three most recent completed starts are a blinding second in a really strong Ryanair, plus a fourth and a third in two King Georges. Given he is more proven at today’s trip and looked like a proper horse for most of this season’s Kempton showpiece, you could make a case that he should almost be favourite here.

Haydock

THIRD WIND gets the vote at 4/1 in the William Hill Rendlesham Hurdle at Haydock (2.05pm). He loves it at this track and seems to be warming towards another big effort on his favoured easy ground. His stable is in good form, and the trainer is of the view that he might be better off in the Stayers’ than the Pertemps at Cheltenham.

MINT CONDITION is a speculative pick in the William Hill Grand National Trial (2.40pm) at 11/1. He lacks the touch of class of one or two of these, but tries hard, loves Haydock and could just be crying out for a marathon trip on bad ground. He’s unexposed relative to most of these and gets a positive jockey uplift with the booking of Brian Hughes.

Wincanton

GOSHEN is probably not a bad price at 5/6 to beat Adagio in the Kingwell at Wincanton (3.20pm). You could hardly design a more suitable race for him, as he showed when romping in this last year.