Saturday tips: Harry Allwood's two best bets

Best odds: 11-4.

I strongly fancied Doddiethegreat at Kempton on Boxing Day but he was pulled up after the first hurdle having been hampered at the start. 

That's the fourth run in succession where he's had an excuse, but everything looks in place for a big run here, and Nicky Henderson says (via his Unibet blog) that "a stiff two and a half around Sandown is right up his street".

The eight-year-old ran an eye-catching race in a strong renewal of the Betfair Hurdle (off a rating of 132) last season, and Henderson was vocal about his chances ahead of the Coral Cup following that performance. 

Doddiethegreat's effort at the Cheltenham Festival can easily be excused given the form of the Seven Barrows team that week, and his run at Ayr the following month was too bad to be true. 

He then didn’t take to fences on his return at this track in November, so that’s another effort that can be forgiven, and he looks nicely treated off a rating of 129 on his return to hurdling. 

If he repeats either his Betfair Hurdle effort from last season, or his second behind Go Dante at Cheltenham prior to that, then he should be involved in the finish, and he remains relatively unexposed with just ten runs under his belt.

Best odds: 5-1.

Plenty you can make a case for here, but Sam Brown's third in the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase two starts ago is arguably the strongest piece of form on offer here from this season, and if he does bounce back to that sort of form, then he must have a strong chance. 

Anthony Honeyball's admirable 13-year-old won this race last year (when it was rescheduled to Warwick) off a 6lb lower mark, but ran well off ratings in the 150s on each start thereafter, and Chad Bament, who impressed when guiding Good Luck Charm to success at this track in December, takes off a handy 10lb.

Blinkers also replace a visor on Saturday and, interestingly, Sam Brown was set to go very close in a valuable handicap at Punchestown in 2023 (before falling at the second last) when wearing first-time blinkers. His other start wearing that headgear was over an inadequate trip at Cheltenham.

Things appeared to happen too quickly for him in the Coral Gold Cup when last seen, which was a rare below-par run, but the return to soft ground should suit. He also ran well on his sole start at Sandown in the bet365 Gold Cup last season.