Richard Hoiles' top tips for Tuesday: Midnight Walk can pay dividends

Prize money of £150,000, three runners and a 1-10 favourite.

With such a paltry turnout for the Grade One 2018 Matchbook Clarence House it was hard not to hark back to the race’s halcyon days, when Desert Orchid bravely subdued Panto Prince in the inaugural running and Azertyuiop narrowly failed to give the weight to Isio.

In those days the race was a handicap so is the way to breathe life into the Clarence House and similar one sided races to abandon level weights and return them at the very least to a Limited Handicap?

Currently, the rules do not allow for any Grade One race run in the UK to be run as a handicap and it was the upgrading of the then Victor Chandler to that level in 2007 that led to the change in conditions for the Clarence House.

The reasoning is simple and does carry a lot of weight. The top level races should be won by the top level horses. Giving 19lbs and only beaten a neck Azertyuiop was the clearly the superior horse in 2004 yet it would have been Isio who landed the sport’s highest level prize.

The other issue is whether, if it was a handicap, the top horses would run at all. Nicky Henderson went on record as saying that Altior would have gone to Newbury for the Betfair Exchange Chase (Game Spirit) rather than Ascot if his 175-rated star had been forced to concede lumps of weight.

While the overall competitiveness of the race has clearly been reduced there is no doubt it has succeeded in attracting top class horses.

Four of the six horses to have won the Clarence House and the Queen Mother in the same season have done so the first level weights running in 2008 as opposed to the two between Desert Orchid’s win in 1989 and the final handicap year of 2006.

On the flipside, all but two of those post 2008 renewals have produced an odds-on favourite as opposed to none in its handicap days.

However, every race cannot just be framed to produce a competitive betting market.

For many the abiding memory of Saturday in years to come will be of witnessing Altior make it win number 17 in a row.

With all due respect to the years that Dempsey (rated 150 in 2006) and Hill Society (rated 147 in 1999) were top rated in the field they would not have the same draw or long lasting impact.

On balance, unless the race is to be returned to Grade Two status then I would be against moving it back to a handicap.

Instead the conditions of Grade Two and Grade Three races should be changed to make more of those handicaps, limited for Grade Two with a full weight range for Grade Three.

For those Grade Twos and Threes that remain level weights the penalties for Grade One winners should be greater or cumulative to stop far superior horses being able to farm races that should be the greatest opportunity for those just below top class.

Very few are calling for Winx to have to run in a handicap in Australia, or not applauding connections for allowing the Knavesmire crowd to marvel at Enable’s Yorkshire Oaks triumph in 2017, so why not just enjoy Altior?

The injuries to Douvan and Footpad’s failure to progress this season have left the two mile division lacking depth.

In terms of official ratings one of Altior’s two opponents actually holds the third highest UK rating (Irish horses excluded) – Fox Norton on 167 and that is only if you include Politologue (168) as a two miler which could be open to debate.

In conclusion Saturday saw the best horse win one of the top level Grade One two mile races of the season and that is as it should be.

Tuesday’s selections commence with:

Makes her debut for a stable who have been among the winners recently. She runs over a mark over hurdles below the mark of her last success which came over fences and she will be well suited by the decent ground.

Has become frustrating in recent starts but is well proven off this mark and all three runs this season have been creditable, notably the Musselburgh second to the improving Court Liability. There is nothing of that calibre in this field and this is his chance to end the long losing sequence.

Another with rather frustrating form figures but he should be better for his seasonal return over fences and back hurdling off a mark of just 128 does look well in on some of his old form. The yard have been very consistent with their recent runners and he looks likely to be in at the finish.

Looks set to continue his recent run of solid efforts over a course and distance he is well proven over. Another stride would have seen him in front last time and he has handled this mark of 65 in the past.