Saturday Six

It's Saturday, so it must be time for the Saturday Six, our weekly sextet of horses to watch in Ireland and the UK.

Kumbeshwar (Kempton, 1.05)

There are only three runners in the Kempton novice chase but what it might lack in quantity it goes a long way to making up for in quality. The likely favourite is Menorah, who was fifth when a leading fancy for Hurricane Fly’s Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham last March, while Alasi has won his last three, including a 100 per cent record over fences.

However, the one we’ll be keeping an eye on is Kumbeshwar, who was very close to the top of the tree in the ultra-competitive four-year-old hurling scene last year and has already got good experience over fences, including in a Grade 2 at Ascot last month. Menorah would almost certainly have his measure over hurdles but the favourite’s jumping has looked a bit suspect and fencing could well be Kumbeshwar’s game.

Frascati Park (Warwick, 1.25)

Trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies but owned by Irishman Barry Connell, Frascati Park is the likely favourite for the Warwick novice chase.

Alfie Spinner, from the Nick Williams yard, looks a very decent handicapper in the making while Court Red Handed clearly has ability but Frascati Park looks a cut above those two. He won his first two over fences earlier this season and faced a difficult task in giving weight to Zaynar and the aforementioned Kumbeshwar last time out. I'm open to the possibility that the Kumbeshwar line of form is not worth a fiddler's, in which case it'll already be two horses to watch, two horses to forget.

China Rock (Punchestown, 1.55)

The Noel Farrelly Memorial Hurdle has an intriguing look to it, with two seemingly high-class horses making their comebacks after two years off the track (Hugo De Vindecy, Sergent Guib’s), another continuing his comeback after an encouraging return to action last time out (Western Leader) and two up-and-comers in Golanbrook and Ipsos Du Berlais.

The one that I really want to watch out for is China Rock from the Mouse Morris stable. He’s easing back into action over hurdles but if he’s near peak condition he could still be up to winning this. He’s rated in the mid-150s over fences – his last two runs have come in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Irish Hennessy - and looks good enough if fit enough.

Ut De Sivola (Punchestown, 2.25)

The Willie Mullins-trained French import has only been seen on an Irish racecourse once, but the word about him was good before that run, in a Clonmel maiden hurdle, and he ran out a very easy winner at unbackable odds of 4/11.

He takes the next step up the four-year-old ladder in the Grade 3 Visit Punchestown.com Juvenile Hurdle, and it would be no surprise if he takes this prize before training his sights on the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham, for which he’s already as short as 9/1 in a place.

Well Regarded (Kempton, 2.50)

Emma Lavelle’s seven-year-old is still a novice, having had just four runs over hurdles, so it won’t be easy in good handicap company for the Lanzarote Hurdle, the feature on the card at Kempton. However, he’s going the right way and the good novice hurdle he contested at Cheltenham in November has worked out well, with winner Fingal Bay going on to win a Grade 1 and Grade 2 and the second, fifth and sixth also winning since. Well Regarded was fourth that day and looks to be ahead of the handicapper. But racing being racing, that doesn’t mean he wins here.

The Mighty Milan (Punchestown, 4.05)

For the next sentence or two I’m going to pretend I know lots about horsey stuff like breeding. Tom Nagle’s The Mighty Milan looks to have the breeding and quite possible the ability to contest some of the better bumpers later in the season. Milan is one of the up-and-coming National Hunt sires, while The Mighty Milan is out of a Montelimar mare, which means he should be well suited to better ground. Whether he wins today is another matter, but he was a close third in a good race at the Leopardstown Christmas festival so he should go close.

The Saturday Six is in association with the Pick Six bet from Tote Ireland, one of the trickiest and most rewarding bets you can have a go at. There's a €5,000 Pick Six guarantee at both Punchestown and Navan this weekend. Find out more about the Pick Six bet over here.