How To Bet £20 ante-post on the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock

Remastered definitely has a decent staying prize in him and should make a bold bid in the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock Park on Saturday.

The David Pipe-trained nine-year-old, a general 6-1 chance, is also engaged in the more valuable Fleur De Lys Chase at Lingfield on Sunday but he would be up against it at the weights in that contest over a trip on the short side for him, so I’ll be surprised if he does not head to Merseyside.

Remastered was always marking time over hurdles and quickly made an impact as a novice chaser last season. He won his first three starts, including the Reynoldstown at Ascot, before signing of with a gallant fifth to Galvin in the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham after being in contention for a long way.

His effort at the Festival indicated he would make his mark in the top staying handicaps this term and he’s done nothing to alter that thinking.

He had just moved upside the leader, travelling strongly, when falling four out in the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury (Fortescue well held) in late November and then, just three weeks later, finished runner-up to Enqarde in the 16-runner Tommy Whittle at Haydock. The latter effort, run over the same 3m 1f trip as the Peter Marsh, warrants marking up as he was burdened with top weight and fared easily best of those who raced up with a strong early pace.

Remastered’s Newbury fall was too far out for the handicapper to respond, and the assessor also let his latest effort slide. As a consequence, he gets the chance to make it third time lucky off a mark of 146.

His recent efforts have been on good to soft ground but, while he is clearly effective under such conditions, the return to likely deeper conditions promise to suit as all five of his wins have been achieved on soft or heavy going.

The race has drawn 16 other entries but you can strike The Galloping Bear (25-1) from your calculations because he is not even qualified to run.

Like Remastered, several are also engaged elsewhere. For instance, connections of course specialist Bristol De Mai (10-1) have indicated he will instead run in the inaugural running of the Fleur De Lys Chase, and Lord Du Mesnil, Sam Brown and Lieutenant Rocco could potentially join him there. Others are in the mix for the Surrey National on the same card or the Sky Bet Chase at Doncaster a week later.

Last year’s runaway winner, Royale Pagaille, is on course to defend his crown and, with an official rating of 163, his presence could deter others from turning up. The minimum weight carried in the race is 10st 4lb, meaning only those rated 143 or higher will run off their correct marks provided he stands his ground. As things stand, nine of the entries will be out of the handicap.

Enqarde, a general 7-1, would be 6lb “wrong” and obliged to race off a 15lb higher mark than last time. He will have his work cut out confirming his superiority over Remastered on the revised terms, while Just Your Type (fourth in the Tommy Whittle), Fado Des Brosses (seventh) and Sam’s Adventure (pulled up) will also be up against it.

Royale Pagaille is a best-priced 4-1 favourite with Coral and Ladbrokes. He commands respect, even if he was probably the only one to cope with saturated ground when coasting home 12 months ago. He’s 6lb higher, plus seems a little accident prone after suffering injuries in his past two starts.

Lord Du Mesnil (8-1) has a terrific record at the track and was back to form when runner-up in the Rowland Meyrick at Wetherby over Christmas. On the minus side, he ended up having a tough time and he has since been nudged back up the weights.

Empire Steel looked to be going best when falling four out in that Wetherby feature and that’s reflected by him being no bigger than 5-1 for Saturday’s race. But would he have finished the job off? He had also been going best three out on his penultimate start at Haydock, only to end up getting beat, just as he did one time over hurdles when matched at 1-20 in-running. The grey is likely to make his presence felt but might benefit from some form of headgear.

Kalooki is 5lb higher than when scrambling home in an ordinary race at Doncaster and looks vulnerable, while Lake View Lad seems in decline. Between them, Sam Brown and The Two Amigos have not won for five years, and Alnadam looked a blatant non-stayer when last tried over 3m.

It was tempting to have a small saver on Lieutenant Rocco, chalked up at 20-1 by Betfair and Paddy Power, as he impressed with his fluent jumping as a novice last season and has several pieces of his form which point to him being on a favourable mark. Also, he’s open to more improvement at the trip.

However, he also has the option of going to Lingfield and has now had more trainers (onto his fifth) than runs over fences (four) plus been off almost a year. Winning this first time up is going to take some doing but I’ll definitely be monitoring him for another day and hope he can fly the flag for rookie trainer Harriet Brown.

£20 win on Remastered at a general 6-1