Ascot today

Ascot stages a good card today featuring two Grade Two races, but the royal racecourse has not been properly rewarded for its enterprise, as they both have tiny fields. There are only 3 runners in the novice hurdle at 14.55 CET and only 5 in the novice chase at 15.30. In the former race all 3 runners have plenty of potential, but still have improvement to come so it is difficult to make a prediction. They come from the top 3 stables in N.H. racing, which makes thinhgs even trickier. Willie Mullins sends Killultagh Vic (Ruby Walsh) over from Ireland, a smart bumper hprse who also won his only race over hurdles in good style, but against inferior opposition. Mullins wins almost everything in sight in Ireland, but he has a very poor record in the U.K. so far this season, and one suspects that he is using these races as a sighting expedition- the same goes for today´s listed bumper race at 15.40; he probably has several much better horses for this grade and wants to know where they stand. So we prefer the Henderson and Nicholls runners here, with slight preference for the latter´s Emerging Talent (Sam Twiston-Davies) who gets 7 lbs from the otjher 2 runners. The same two trainers will probably dominate the novice chase with Henderson saddling his chase debutant Josses Hill (Barry Geraghty), a verry smart hurdler, and Nicholls and Sam T-D represented by Ptit Zig, who has already run twice over fences, winning easily enough both times, which could give him a slight edge here. Dunraven Storm (Philip Hobbs/ Tom O´Brien) is also not out of it, despite top weight, while Traffic Fluide (Gary and Josh Moore), an easy winner at Strasbourg in September is an interesting outsider.

The best betting race is the handicap hurdle at 16.05, where Henderson and Geraghty have another good chance with bottom weight Spartan Angel; she is running for the first against males but has won 3 of her 5 starts and could well be very dangerously handicapped. David Pipe has a good record here and has booked AP McCoy to partner ex-French Batavir, who made an eye-catching debut in the U.K. and is now running over his right distance. Any more rain would help the chances of Little Boy Boru (Suzy Smith/ Harry Bannister), who is much improved this season, and he is our each-way selection. The listed bumoer has attracted a very strong field, with 9 last-time-out winners. Andrew Balding keeps winning races (althoiugh not over jumps!) and we hope that his very well-bred Supasundae can do the job here with Geraghty in the saddle.