The horse racing broadcaster provides his four tips for this Saturday's racing, including two selections from Sandown and a pick for both Leicester and Haydock.
12 months ago Willie Mullins saddled 21 runners at Sandown on the final day of the jumps season, with his three winners finally sealing the fate of Dan Skelton who for the majority of the campaign had been long odds on to land his first Trainers Championship.
A year on and with Mullins fighting Elliott fires on the home front, Willie sends just a solitary runner whilst Skelton attempts with his final 15 runners on Friday and Saturday to amass the £50,776 he needs to break the £5 million barrier in a coronation for his first title.
It is the scale of the operation that deserves the most respect. His 264 individual runners have amassed 1017 runs between them. He has sent out runners on 194 days of the jumps season so far and had winners on 116 (59.7%) of those days, including the unique achievement of saddling a winner at all 41 jumps tracks during the course of the season. The logistics required to coordinate the work at home, race planning and transportation are mind boggling especially as the success has not (unlike Mullins last year) been built on plundering all the major races. Until Aintree, only Grey Dawning had scored a Grade 1 victory, before he, Mirabad and Bossman Jack all added to the tally at Liverpool. The dashing grey is his highest earner with £301,695 but that still only puts him seventh on the list, one place ahead of Panic Attack, with Thistle Ask prior Saturday sitting in 14th, having progressed from a mark of 115 to 160 during the course of the season.
Skelton has also helped propel Tristan Durrell to his first Conditional Jockeys title, though it was a shame that a race that could have gone down to the wire was cut short by Freddie Gordon breaking his collar bone. The Gordon yard are another to have had an excellent season (44/206 A/E 1.29) and can round it off with another decent pot courtesy of KOCKTAIL BLEU / (Sandown 13:45) in the Novices Handicap Final on Saturday. Like many in this field, this is the first time he has run in a handicap but he looks off a reasonable mark given the strength of his Dovecote second, which has thrown up three next time out winners including subsequent Grade 1 winner Storming George. He has an uncomplicated run style so hopefully can round off the stables season in style.
With Easter forcing a traffic jam of staying chases and the absence of the Mullins battalions, the Gold Cup was always going to cut up but there is no denying this is a weak renewal. Mullins does saddle a runner with a decent chance in Kim Muir runner up Road to Home, who renews the rivalry with Ask Brewster, but this has a late season feel to it and a couple of outsiders CERTAINLY RED / (15:30 Sandown) and Invincible Nao could outrun their odds. The fact Invincible Nao can sometimes finish weakly (has bled in the past) makes veteran Certainly Red the preferred of the pair. He has always gone well at Sandown and ran fourth in a stronger renewal of this race in 2024, and after a near 18-month absence he showed enough on his return in March to suggest he retains at least a good part of that ability. A mistake ended all chance that day, but he has gone well on this better ground in the past and looks over the odds at around 25-1, the same price as Invincible Nao at the time of writing.
ITV also are covering a race from both Leicester and Haydock. In the former, PRINCE OF INDIA / (14:05 Leicester) should appreciate the return to handicap company where the tempo of the races look to suit him better. He progressed well last season and Marco Botti’s horses are in good heart. The pace held up in the Abernant last week and he could never get involved but will go off a bigger price as a result. Hopefully Zoulu Chief will set a decent pace, and the stiff finish can act in his favour.
At Haydock, the angle is a stable switch for KHAFIZ / (14:35 Haydock) who has his first run for Ed Bethell having changed hands for £85k last October. The yard is 16/55 with switchers (A/E 1.60) and a mark of 87 looks fine given the form he showed for Roger Varian last season. He failed to see 1m out at Ayr on soft ground before placing back at 7f at Doncaster and even a small amount of improvement makes him appeal as a bet.
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