Wednesday, 28th October 2026
In ATC today….
It was a good weekend for the fav backers in the big handicaps….
…. it might have been better for us on another day – but we came out of proceedings with a profit….
…. and on top of that I was happy with how most of my picks ran….
Read on….
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As my publisher pointed out first thing on Monday morning….
…. the big weekend handicaps at Cheltenham and Doncaster were very kind to the fav backers….
Dan Skelton’s new recruit – Here Comes Georgie – won the big handicap chase at Cheltenham on Saturday sent off the 3s favourite….
…. 11/4 favourite Seaniecon came out on top in the Pertemps qualifier….
…. and on Friday in the 2m handicap chase JPR One ran out the winner – overcoming his big mark – sent off joint favourite at 3s….
Up at Doncaster on Saturday, the well-backed Al Shabab Storm took to the heavy ground at the first time of asking – justifying market support that saw him leave the stalls the 2s favourite….
…. and the previous afternoon Advertised justified favouritism in the 6f handicap – winning pretty easily under Oisin Murphy having been backed into 7/2….
Ordinarily, I’m a bit like the bookies insomuch as I’m pretty much guaranteed to have a bad day if the market horses go out onto the track and do the business….
…. but it helps when you put one of the winning favourites up early doors at a value price….
…. and if you were on Advertised at Doncaster I hope you got some of the 10s & 9s available about the horse when I went out with Thursday’s column….
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Traprain Law ran a cracker to finish second to JPR One the same afternoon – maybe sitting just a little too far back off the pace in the early and middle stages of the race under Lucas Murphy….
…. the grey was given a hell of a lot to do from the landing side of the final fence….
He finished off really strong up the hill and I got the impression that he’d have been in front 20 yards on from the post….
…. and it has to go down as another frustrating near miss that might well have been a winner on another day with a slightly more generous rub of the green – we’ve had a lot of those over the last couple of years….
I suppose it’s easy to blame the jockey when you’re sat on you backside at home….
I know diddly-squat about race-riding and maybe the 8yo got as close as he did because he was given the perfect ride by his 7lb claimer….
…. what do you think….
All I can tell you for sure is that Traprain Law – up a pound for the performance – is nicely handicapped on a mark of 134….
…. and that there’s more to come from him when he gets his ground….
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For some ATC readers it’s all about the bottom line….
…. they don’t care how a horse wins – just so long as it does….
…. and if or when it doesn’t the horse concerned is a useless donkey and the man who put it up (me) is an equally useless prat….
I get where you’re coming from if you’re one of those readers – this is a results business after all….
…. but I see things a bit differently myself….
Handicaps are a very competitive form of racing….
…. and – that being so – I expect to find a lot more losers than winners over the course of a season….
What matters to me – first and foremost – is that my picks run well enough to justify my original support….
…. I can live with myself as long as the horses I put up go out and run a race – like Traprain Law….
…. it’s the ones that bomb out and get beaten half the track that make me feel useless….
On Saturday Moon D’Orange finished 4/9 and beaten 14 lengths in the 3m1f handicap chase….
…. whilst Lucky Bere was 7/19 and beaten 12.5 lengths in the Pertemps qualifier….
Now some readers are very unhappy with those outcomes – and they’re entitled to their opinion….
…. but – for me – I thought there were some very encouraging signs from both horses with an eye to the future….
Moon D’Orange was having his first go over fences for new trainer Christian Williams – and he was in the game for a long way….
…. only dropping out of contention in the late stages – and giving the impression that he needed the run….
He’s down 2lb to 123 as a result – his lowest ever chase mark – and he’s really interesting going forward….
Christian Wiliams has proven to be a dab hand at winning big handicap chases with horses on sub-140 ratings….
…. think Kitty’s Light, Win My Wings, Cap Du Nord, and Potters Corner….
…. and I reckon Moon D’Orange is going to be a similar project….
Lucky Bere’s run in the Pertemps qualifier was also encouraging….
It was his first go of the new season, his first over the 3m trip, he was 3lb out of the handicap, and he went well for a long way before making a mistake and fading….
Perhaps he didn’t quite get the trip….
…. perhaps he needed the run….
…. perhaps the rain failed to fall in sufficient quantity to produce a surface on which the 5yo could produce his best….
But he didn’t run badly….
…. and – going forward – you’d think there’s more to come off a mark of just 117….
I don’t know what to tell you about Rosario up at Doncaster….
…. he did run an absolute shocker after drifting like a barge in the market….
Perhaps he’s just a useless donkey – or maybe I’m just a useless prat….
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Finally….
When River King ran a cracker from a disadvantaged draw at the Royal meeting and I put him on my Watch List….
…. a C3 back-end handicap at Doncaster wasn’t the pot I had in mind for him….
He’d run well at Doncaster in September – hitting the frame….
…. before running down the field at Ascot earlier this month….
…. but with the season fast disappearing, connections took the opportunity to try and earn a few more quid with him in a lesser race….
…. and – despite the ground turning up a great deal more desperate than anything he’d encountered before – he got the job done sent off at 5s….
I got a bit better than that on Betfair Exchange in the build-up….
…. and it was one of those Brucie bonuses that made a not-too-bad weekend of handicap punting just that little bit better….
Hope you were on….
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That’s all for now. Back tomorrow….
Meantime contact me at: nick.pullen@spapublishinggroup.co.uk
Stay tuned….
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