Dave Nevison top tips: four handicap fancies for Saturday

Ed Bethell is close to the top of my list of trainers to be with this season and supporting the yard’s runners has not done me any harm in recent seasons. 

This four-year-old won three of his last four starts last year - all of which came over a straight mile, including here – and I’m sure he will have been teed up for this. 

His final success came on easy ground at Redcar, where he was in the front rank throughout but settled well and had plenty left at end. 

If he is not too fresh on his first run after a break he should be able to lead the near-side runners under Kevin Stott, who was on board for his course and distance win. 

Few of the runners in this long established 2m handicap have a potential upside to them but Kamboo is an exception and has to be the selection. 

Richard Hughes has his string in mighty form for the start of the Flat season proper and had winners at both all-weather meetings on Thursday. 

He has telegraphed that Kanboo is fancied by booking William Buick to ride. That won’t help with his price but will definitely improve the four-year-old’s chances 

Kamboo is stepping up half a mile in trip but he’s bred to be a stayer and the move up to a longer distance is probably overdue. Moreover, he has been gelded and had a wind operation since we last saw him in action. 

He is clearly better suited by an artificial surface and has won two out of three starts, including at Kempton, but has barely beaten a runner in admittedly strong races on turf. 

Andaleep had a cracking season in 2024 but did most of his winning in January and February before running consistently well right up to the end of the year. 

There are not too many high-grade handicaps in the depths of winter, which probably explains why he has had a mid-winter break this time around. 

The nine-year-old ran possibly his best race all year over this course and distance in November when finishing second (for the second year running) in a series’ final and he is clearly very well suited by a competitive event such as this. 

His age and form figures probably mean many people won’t fancy him as a win proposition, but I have no concerns about his attitude and am a big fan of the Kublers’, who I believe will have him ready for this. 

I will be very surprised if Andaleep does not run another good race. He is trading at big enough odds to justify backing each-way. 

This could be another big handicap for Richard Hughes, who has his stable is in excellent form. 

Whip Cracker is still very lightly raced as a four-year-old but has shown enough to already suggest he has a decent mile handicap in him. 

He ran his best race last season on his first run at Newmarket’s Craven meeting in the Feilden Stakes but didn’t quite live up to Listed aspirations. 

Whip Cracker was an eye-catcher on his return at Wolverhampton, in their trial for this race, where he finished very well coming from too far back to mount a challenge. 

He is well drawn in the middle of this field and has plenty of pace around him so should get a good tow into this race. If he builds on his comeback effort, then he has a cracking each-way chance here.