Today's Racing - Saturday January 18th 2014

With the weeks counting down to the Cheltenham Festival, every race of worth is beginning to have a festival feel to it and today is another example with potential festival contenders left, right and centre. Haydock’s card is the best of the day, but the feature event looks to be Ascot’s Clarence House Chase, where Sire De Grugy, the horse who looks most likely to profit should Sprinter Sacre not make the field for the Champion Chase, can underline his credentials with his second Grade 1 of the season.

Gary Moore’s chaser has grabbed the limelight in no uncertain terms this year, taking advantage of Sacre’s delayed appearance and blowout to land the Tingle Creek and then the Desert Orchid in good style, beating Somersby by a comprehensive four lengths at Sandown in December before seeing off a well below average field at Kempton in fine style. Somersby is expected to get much closer today around his favourite track, while Hidden Cyclone deserves plenty of respect following a form revival, but both of them have plenty to find with the favourite on the season’s form.

The best festival contenders all look to be at Haydock today, however, where Taquin Du Seuil can underline the festival form claims of Oscar Whisky by landing the Racing Post Celebrates 200,000 Social Followers Novices' Chase (1.30). A top novice over hurdles, he found the drop back in trip to 2 miles too much for him at Sandown in December but wasn’t disgraced when second to that rival in the Dipper Novices’ chase on New Year’s day and he looks capable of giving 7lbs and a beating to his main form rivals, O’ Faolains Boy, who was fourth in the Albert Bartlett at the Festival and made a pleasing chasing reappearance on his return.

 

In the Champion Hurdle Trial (2.40), Ptit Zig is strongly fancied to follow up his fine second in the Ladbroke under top weight following a French Grade 1 win, and while he’s more than capable of doing so, Meldoic Rendezvous (right of the picture) is capable of proving a small upset here. A desperately disappointing fifth in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle after a deeply impressive reappearance win in the Elite Hurdle, back on testing ground he’s worth giving another chance. The 4lbs he gets from Ptit Zig could make a crucial difference late on and if Jeremy’s Scott’s charge is on form then the two are a lot more closely matched than the market would suggest.

Advice

2 pts win Sire De Grugy (6/4 general, 3.35 Ascot)

2 pts win Taquin De Seuil (5/6 general, 1.30 Haydock)

1 pt Meldodic Rendezvous (5/2 Stan James, 2.40 Haydock)