Arzal

7th-Apr-2016

I am a big Sizing John fan, and I have no doubt that he will get the extra distance today.  However, everyone else seems to like him too, he is shorter than I thought he would be.  Also, he is a good ground horse, this morning’s rain is not in his favour, and I am happy to leave him alone at no better than 3/1.

I am also happy to be against L’Ami Serge.  He will appreciate the ground, but I thought that he didn’t fully get home over two and a half miles at Cheltenham.  He probably needs two miles and soft ground, and he is becoming a little bit of a nearly horse now.

I am backing Arzal.  I think that he is over-priced at 6/1.  Harry Wittington’s horse was a really progressive young hurdler last season, he was unlucky not to finish closer than he did in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury last February, and he has continued that progression over fences this term.

He was very good in winning on his second run over fences at Newbury’s Hennessy meeting, when he made all, and you can easily forgive him his run against Ar Mad in the Wayward Lad Chase at Kempton over Christmas.  He didn’t get to the front, he was never going to lead Ar Mad, he didn’t seem to enjoy going right-handed, and he made a few mistakes early on.

His run last time back at Doncaster was a very good run, when he got to within three lengths of Vaniteux.

He is at his best on a flat left-handed track, and he will not mind the softened ground.  The step up to two and a half miles is a little bit of an unknown, but he raced over two miles at Doncaster last time as if he would appreciate a step up, and he finished second, beaten just a neck, in a chase over two and a half miles in France on just his second ever run.

ARZAL WON (ADV 6/1, SP 4/1)