Ross Millar: weekend review plus three tips for Monday

If the racing this weekend didn’t get your heart rate up, then please consult your GP. 

Dry conditions saw a number of non-runners at Ascot on Friday but, thankfully, the rain arrived just in time for Saturday’s card. 

Jango Baie made a fine return to the track when sprinting clear of a decent looking field in the Grade Two Ladbrokes 1965 Chase. He jumped beautifully throughout under Nico de Boinville and, as they turned in, it was clear to see he had plenty in the tank, with his finishing effort noticeably strong, as it had been when winning the Arkle at the Cheltenham Festival. 

His next stop will surely be Kempton on Boxing Day for the Ladbrokes King George, where his high cruising speed, and slick jumping, will be a real asset. I was impressed by him, but I would just temper the enthusiasm ever so slightly.

Gidleigh Park isn’t an easy horse to train, and it looked as though he got tired over the final two fences. Pic D’Orhy is definitely not the same performer when unable to dictate the race from the front, while Il Est Francais again weakened tamely a long way from home on a track that should have suited. I’m sure Jango Baie has plenty of improvement to come, but I won’t be taking this form literally. 

Joe Tizzard and Brendan Powell’s fine form continued as they landed a double courtesy of Etna Bianco and Rock My Way. The latter was a wide-margin winner of the Berkshire National, and connections will be hoping for some leniency from Mr Handicapper, with Chepstow and the Coral Welsh Grand National reportedly his next port of call. 

The Grade Two Ladbrokes Ascot Hurdle went the way of Wodhooh for Gordon Elliott under a cool ride from Danny Gilligan. She briefly looked in trouble turning for home, but soon found top gear and reeled in Celtic Dino with a degree of comfort in the end. 

Much of the talk afterwards centred on where her Spring target might be, but I believe it’s an obvious choice. We learned little about Lossiemouth during her canter around to win the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle and, given State Man is sidelined, she surely becomes Closutton’s leading Unibet Champion Hurdle contender. 

That surely then leaves the path clear for Wodhooh to target the Close Brothers Mares Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, although at a best-priced 9-4, I can happily wait and see. 

Up at Haydock, it was all about family. Chris Gordon and son Freddie, who I believe is the most improved rider in the weighing room over the past 12 months, combined to land a treble, which included Electric Mason's in the valuable Betfair Stayers' Handicap Hurdle. Freddie Gordon judged this ride well, being the first to commit to close down runaway leader Phantomofthepoints while keeping enough in reserve to repel the late challenge of Hartington. 

Brothers Dan and Harry Skelton have carried all before them this season, landing valuable prizes with impressive precision. 

Saturday was no different. Kabral Du Mathan bolted up on his first start for the stable, and he made a mockery of his mark of 140 upped in trip and off the back of a wind op. I’ll wager that nothing will go quicker over the final flight of hurdles at Haydock this season. 

Given that Harry Skelton was happy to let him clear away to record a wide-margin victory, it would appear that graded races are next up – either that or Dan might want to consider some wing-mirrors as an early Christmas gift! I’d expect a 10lb rise from the handicapper on Tuesday morning. 

The feature race of the day also went the way of the Skelton brothers. 12 months ago, a tired Grey Dawning clambered over the final fence before being headed by tenacious mud-lover Royal Pagaille on typically testing Haydock ground. 

With a much livelier surface this time, Grey Dawning exacted revenge. He cruised up between Royale Pagaille and Handstands heading to the second last, and only needed to be nudged out hands and heels to draw away from last year’s winner. 

It looked impressive, and it was…against this opposition on this track. Royale Pagaille is soon to be a 12-year old, and most definitely needs slower ground to show his best. The third, Stellar Story, has a record of one from six over fences, and was likely to be using this as a springboard into his season, while Handstands is a horse that has flattered to deceive on more than one occasion. 

The Grey Dawning camp has every right to target the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup, and I’m sure they will, but I have doubts about his stamina over that course and distance.

Haiti Couleurs was disappointing, but his Gold Cup dream may not be over. This track and ground was never going to play to his strengths, while Rebecca Curtis’ pre-race comment that she’d “thrown everything at him to freshen him up, rather than piling loads of work into him” suggested to me that maybe his successful return over hurdles at Newbury took more out of him than it appeared at the time. I’d encourage them to have another tilt at open company on a more suitable track. 

One horse definitely deserving of his place in Grade One races is The Jukebox Man. He was well placed by trainer Ben Pauling to win the Graduation Chase on his return from a 331-day break. He jumped and travelled well, although it’s reasonable to conclude that both Iroko (second) and Mr Hope Street (third) have other targets in mind. 

She has followed the same route to this race as she did when runner-up last year. Her return at Bangor this month will have blown the cobwebs away, and a repeat of her effort last year, when chasing home the high-class Kateira, should be good enough to go close again. 

Her trainer is on the cold list, with a winless run of 221 days, but that only covers 22 runners from a small stable, and any concern about that is offset by the suitability of this track and trip for her. 

Joe Tizzard’s gelding shaped promisingly on his chasing debut at Carlisle over 2m5f where he briefly got outpaced turning for home before staying on strongly to finish third in a race that I believe contained plenty of future winners. 

Plenty from his stable have needed their first run of the season, so with the benefit of that outing behind him, and the potential this extra trip brings, he’s sure to go well. 

This gelding caught my eye when finishing third at Sandown on his stable debut last season, and I’ve been with him since then, at one's cost. 

However, I remain convinced that he’s a tremendously well-handicapped performer. He was beaten just over six lengths by Vincenzo, who is now rated 139, at Sandown in January plus was only a place behind Doyen Du Bar, who is now rated 131. 

Even when accounting for the 4lb he received from both rivals there, his rating of 114 looks attractive. He slipped to that mark despite shaping with promise on each of his next three outings where, on each occasion, he travelled powerfully and jumped well before weakening late on.

If wind surgery this summer has helped that issue, he is capable of taking this race apart with Callum Pritchard easing his burden by a further 5lb.