Ante-Post Focus

Published 17/03

TWINJETS has a hit-and-miss record of late but is the type to bounce back from a poor run returning to Newbury for the BetVictor Home Of The Saturday Superboost Handicap Chase at Newbury on Saturday - live on Sky Sports Racing.

Paul Nicholls’s nine-year-old goes well here when he’s on song - he scored comfortably over course and distance in November, having finished a worthy second when conceding 5lb to the smart Masaccio in a similar event 12 months earlier.

The latter went on to finish third in the ‘Plate’ at Cheltenham before winning a good novice handicap at the Scottish Grand National meeting, and would have been interesting for top handicaps this season had injury not ruled him out.

A habitual front-runner, Twinjets capitulated quickly under top-weight when taken on for the lead in last month’s Greatwood Gold Cup won for the second time by Heltenham who would be reopposing on 7lb worse terms here.

The selection went off 11-2 second favourite on that occasion (the winner returning a 20-1 shot) and the suspicion remains that he had one of his off-days (performed similarly here in the ‘Peter O’Sullevan’ in 2024).

Prior to that latest reverse he had unseated when favourite at Cheltenham’s New Year’s Day meeting, in front at the time but too far out to predict how he might have fared.

Usually a sound jumper who bounces off this sort of ground, he looks worth risking at double-figure prices.

Published 17/02

It’s a two-pronged each-way approach at huge prices for me following publication of weights for the Randox Grand National - starting with GORGEOUS TOM, representing 2021-winning trainer Henry de Bromhead.

The eight-year-old has yet to win over three miles-plus, hence his slipping under the radar for the Aintree marathon, but the stamina potential is there, both on pedigree and his plugging-on fourths in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham last March and the Coral Gold Cup eight months later.

In the latter event over 3m2f at Newbury, this close relative of 2013 Grand National runner-up Cappa Bleu did well to finish so close after being badly disadvantaged by the false starts fiasco - encouragingly, fellow chief sufferers Pic Roc and The Doyen Chief have both won since to give the form a boost (ditto race winner Panic Attack).

De Bromhead has kept the selection’s powder dry in the interim, the upshot of which is he gets to race off the same mark here for only his second handicap try (at time of writing) and open to further improvement after just eight chase starts featuring two wins, a second and three Grade 1 fourths.

The trainer has indicated “better ground” is ideal, but I wouldn’t give up hope in more testing conditions based on the gelding’s strong maiden hurdle form on soft/heavy, including behind subsequent Cheltenham Festival winners Slade Steel and Caldwell Potter.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE is an old pal of mine and - boasting a progressive record of five wins, three seconds and two thirds in 11 career starts - has to remain of interest off a mark that should sneak him in at the foot of the weights (would have got in all last ten renewals, including the most recent since reduced safety limit introduced).

He’s only a pound higher than when mugged on the line in the Silver Cup at Ascot where he edged left on the run-in and allowed winner Deep Cave up his inside, since when trainer Anthony Honeyball interestingly said in a Stable Tour on attheraces.com that he’s probably better suited by a flat, left-handed track.

Aintree, where he was an excellent third in the bumper at this meeting four years ago, fits the bill and it’s not difficult to imagine this sure-footed, front-running jumper taking to these fences and perhaps stretching his rivals back on better ground, granted normal spring weather (for instance, gets a 16lb pull with Haiti Couleurs on their Denman Chase running on heavy).