Skelton looks to maintain momentum at Stratford
A BIG crowd is expected at Stratford on Sunday for the course’s popular Family Day, with the £20,000 Angels Solicitors Handicap Chase topping the bill on the eight-race card, writes David Hucker.
Run in conjunction with Trinity Mirror Newspaper Group, there will be plenty of fun for all ages with complimentary children’s entertainment in the centre of the course, including fairground rides, inflatables and laser tag amongst a host of activities.
On the track, the action kicks off at 2.10pm with the Coventry Telegraph & Birmingham Mail Juvenile Hurdle over two miles, in which Alcester trainer Dan Skelton has chosen The Raven Master, last seen running on the Flat at Beverley when trained by Michael Bell, from his two entries.
The success of Mister Universum at the last meeting took Skelton on to eight winners for the year at his local track, giving him a massive lead in the race for the Stratford leading stable award of two cases of wine provided by long-time sponsors Bordeaux Undiscovered.
He also continues to set the pace at the head of the national trainers’ table, with the win of DefiningYear in the last race at Uttoxeter on Tuesday evening being his 38 since the 2017-18 season started at the beginning of May, the winners coming at a strike rate of 29%.
Whilst amassing over £250,000 in prize money already, Skelton will need to maintain the momentum if he is to challenge Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls for the trainers’ championship, with both having passed the £2.5m mark last season when filling the top two places.
Nine have been declared in the following Peugeot Citroen Handicap Chase over two and three-quarter miles with the weights headed by Between The Waters who, although well beaten when runner up to Brown Bear at Fontwell Park last time out, finished clear of the rest of the field and races here from the same handicap mark.
Trainer Evan Williams runs Zama Zama in preference to his other entry Market Road and he will be ridden by promising conditional jockey Mitchell Bastyan. Raising Hope was a good winner at Newton Abbot, but failed to follow-up over that course when beaten by Oriental Fixer off a 3lb higher mark but, in an open-looking contest, she might get back to winning ways on Sunday.
There are three course winners in the Askews Accountants Handicap Hurdle (For The Stratford Summer Salver) and Free Stone Hill, who has had a break of a couple of months since his last outing at Aintree, could be another winner for the Skeltons.
Accessallareas goes for a repeat win in in the Eden Vauxhall Handicap Chase, but races from a 5lb higher mark this year. Deise Vu made all the running to win here in April, but he had been headed when falling four fences from home on his latest run at Worcester. His front-running style makes him vulnerable, but he may just last out to see off the challengers.
Play The Ace put a couple of disappointing runs behind him when beating Hepijeu over the course last month and can follow up in the feature Angels Solicitors Handicap Chase. He had Honkytonktennessee back in third that day but, although 3lbs better off at the weights on Sunday, Dan Skelton’s runner didn’t seem to go through with his effort from the last fence and is not one to back with confidence.
Rebel Yeats sprang a 50-1 surprise when scoring on her first run for Alvechurch trainer Ian Williams at Warwick in May and, although failing to double up when beaten by the 125-rated Lithic at Market Rasen, could be the answer to the Mick Baker Memorial "National Hunt" Novices' Hurdle.
There was more good news for rookie Wilmcote trainer Olly Murphy last weekend, as he followed up his first win on the Flat with a maiden jumps success when 16-1 shot Gold Class, ridden by Bryony Frost, beat more-fancied stable companion Banff to land the Manny Bernstein Handicap Hurdle at Market Rasen on Sunday.
Murphy runs Sky Of Stars in the first division of the Brummies Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle, but he will have to step on his form to date to win this and the vote goes to Harry Fry’s Innocent Girl, who is a model of consistency and races over hurdles from a 16lb lower mark than over fences. Regular jockey Kieron Edgar is again in the saddle.
The second division, which brings racing to a close at 6.00pm, could go to Orion’s Might and Stan Sheppard.
