Big Names Set to Clash in This Weekends' Jumps Racing Action

We’re still in antepost mode ahead of this weekend’s major National Hunt meetings, and the amount of quality lining up this weekend is certainly impressive.

The Betfair Chase is obviously the major focus with all eyes trained on defending Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Imperial Commander now priced at odds-on to get his season off to a first-rate debut.

The Coral Hurdle, Betfair Chase and the Becher Handicap Chase look like they’ll be taking the bulk of the money this weekend and we’ll be examining each here.

CORAL HURDLE

The Coral Hurdle sees Zaynar getting plenty of attention from the betting public but we’ll be sticking aboard our friend SILVINIACO CONTI who we tipped for a 7/2 victory last time out at Chepstow. He’s undefeated in his brief four-race career and Paul Nicholls has done well to put him in a very winnable race where he’ll likely go off at a very reasonable price.

You’ll find antepost odds of around 9/2 at the moment and that looks about right. Zaynar conquered this race last year when sent off as the 9/4 joint favourite but his indifferent record (and lack of a prep race this season) puts us off a bet at a much-too-short 6/4. If you’re looking for an outside bet, have a go on Black Jack Blues at an enticing 40/1 as he steps up in trip for his second crack at graded action after a rather accomplished period on the handicap circuit.

BETFAIR CHASE

Many punters seem to consider Imperial Commander a gift at the 5/6 price he’s currently floating at but we’ll actually be trying to beat him today as the price just doesn’t offer up enough value for a contender on a seasonal debut.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s WHAT A FRIEND captured the Grade 1 totesport Bowl at Aintree when Imperial unseated Paddy Brennan. While a Cheltenham Gold Cup victory deserves respect (and he’s certainly getting it from an OR standpoint), Imperial Commander simply looks beatable here.

You’ll see that Planet of Sound is seeing plenty of action from the punters and he looks to be a fairly popular second choice. Unfortunately the Kayf Tara gelding lacks consistency at this level and we’ll be giving him a miss. What A Friend looks the play and he’s a progressive-looking jumper who will probably look to track the leaders. An error-free race means he’ll be supremely tough to beat.

BECHER HANDICAP CHASE

We’ll bounce over to Aintree on Sunday as there are some supremely good odds on offer for this one as betting favourite Meanus Dandy is priced as high as 9/1 with most major bookmakers. The final declarations are still to take place but there are a few interesting outside shots who could line up for this one including Tricky Trickster and Notre Pere.

Either of those two boast enough, on their day, to conquer this listed race but we’re still not sure whether they’ll line up or not so we’ll be avoiding them on the antepost play. If you can get non-runner no-bet on them then it might be worth a shot, but we’ll be siding with an outside contender NEWMAN DESPLAGES for this one as he enjoys softer going and flourishes above 3m.

He comes into this one after a five week lay-off following a score in handicap company at Carlisle. He’s a very solid 20/1 and we expect him to drift even higher on the tote board- making him an extremely attractive each-way selection to upset this mixed bag of a field.