Saturday's Grade Two
£36,500 bet365 Hurdle looks set to be a cracking contest with nine high-class
entries received today, three of which are Grade One winners.
Trainer Paul Nicholls is
set to be represented by triple Grade One scorer Tidal Bay. The
12-year-old was as good as ever last season, winning the bet365 Hurdle at
Wetherby before going on to finish third under top-weight in the Hennessy Gold Cup
at Newbury and land the Grade One Lexus Chase at Leopardstown, Ireland. He is
4/1 with bet365 to record a repeat success at Wetherby on Saturday.
Heading the market at 7/4
with bet365 is At Fishers Cross, trained in Wales by Rebecca Curtis for
leading owner J P McManus. The six-year-old was one of the top novices' of last
season, racking up Grade One wins at both the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals
over three miles.
The David Pipe-trained Dynaste
is also a Grade One winner, having taken the Feltham Novices' Chase at Kempton
Park last season.
Donald McCain is set to
saddle Across The Bay, who was last seen out when finishing 14th in the
Grand National at Aintree in April. The nine-year-old is a smart performer over
both hurdles and fences, having enjoyed his biggest success over smaller
obstacles in the Grade Two Rendlesham Hurdle over three miles at Haydock Park
in February.
McCain said today:
"Across The Bay needs to work later this week, but the bet365 Hurdle looks
the obvious place to start him this season.
"It looks like it is
going to be a hot race, but his first big target is the Becher Chase in
December and I want to get a run into him before then. We will also be looking
at the Grand National again."
Other leading contenders
include Trustan Times (Tim Easterby), who was third behind Across The
Bay at Haydock Park last season and Medinas (Alan King), who was
triumphant in the Coral Cup at the 2013 Cheltenham Festival.
Completing the entries are
Master Of The Sea (Nigel Twiston-Davies), Captain Sunshine (Emma
Lavelle) and The Knoxs (Sue Smith).
Pat Cooney of bet365 said:
"The betting public have really latched on to At Fishers Cross. He was our
worst result at the last Cheltenham Festival, and we expect him to be a well
backed favourite again on Saturday.
"He faces a
talent-packed field though and the likes of Dynaste and Tidal Bay in particular
will provide a stern test for him, and if At Fishers Cross does win, I'd expect
him to overtake Big Buck's as the World Hurdle at Cheltenham market
leader."
bet365 prices: 7/4 At Fishers
Cross, 9/4 Dynaste, 4/1 Tidal Bay, 8/1 Trustan Times, 10/1 Medinas, 16/1 Across
The Bay, 16/1 Master Of The Sea, 20/1 Captain Sunshine, 50/1 The Knoxs
each way 1/5 odds, 1-2-3
Going
The going at Wetherby has
been changed on Tuesday morning to: Good to Soft (Ch - 6.1: Hu - 6.2).
Wetherby's Chief Executive
and Clerk of the Course, Jonjo Sanderson, reported today: "Following the
storms that the country experienced over Sunday evening and Monday morning,
during which we received 14mm of rain, we have eased the ground to Good to
Soft, with an average GoingStick reading of 6.1.
"Tuesday has been a
dry and sunny day, albeit much cooler, and the forecast for appears to be
reasonably settled for the rest of the week, with the exception of Wednesday
night, and possibly Thursday night, when there are some rain showers
forecast."
The feature at Wetherby on
Saturday is the £100,000 bet365 Charlie Hall Chase and the sponsor's latest
odds are: 11/10 Long Run, 7/2 Unioniste, 4/1 First Lieutenant, 7/1 Cape
Tribulation, 10/1 Benefficient, Harry Topper, 25/1 Big Fella Thanks, Wayward
Prince, 33/1 Billie Magern, Master of The Hall
each way 1/5 odds, 1-2-3
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