It’s heavy going at Sandown today, where the Grade 1 Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase takes centre stage.
Five go to post including Baron Alco, trained by Gary Moore, who has put up four impressive performances this season, winning two and only being denied by a multiple Grade 1-winning hurdler in Whisper at Cheltenham.
Baron Alco is a bold jumping front-runner who will take the field along today, but the collateral form-line with Whisper suggests he has something to find with Paul Nicholls’s 9/4 favourite CLAN DES OBEAUX.
Clan Des Obeaux got to within half a length of Whisper at Cheltenham when last seen and possibly would have won if he hadn’t made a mistake two from home – and that’s smart form from a horse Nicholls has previously called the ‘apple of his eye’.
That suggest he’s anticipating a big future for this five-year-old, and his young age entitles him to a 3lb pull in the weights in this class.
Crucially, Nicholls reckons today’s heavy going will be right up his street and that might tip the balance in his favour ahead of Nicholls’s other runner Le Prezien, who races in the green and gold of J P McManus.
Nicholls says there’s nothing between the two, and a collateral form-line with Hammersly Lake suggests Le Prezien has something in hand with Nicky Henderson’s Top Notch, who also lines up today.
Top Notch has that little to find on form – over fences that is, as he was a very useful hurdler, placed several times in Grade 1 company – but is a small horse and might not find Sandown’s chase track to suit.
With Amore Alato also in contention we can expect a solid pace, which would make this a real stamina test in today’s conditions.
Clan Des Obeaux just looks the most obvious stayer in the field and was getting back to Whisper in the shadows of the post at Cheltenham, so he’s seemingly got everything in his favour and the 9/4 about might be a bit of value.
1pt win Clan Des Obeaux @9/4, 14:25 Sandown, Saturday
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