ITV Haydock And Ascot Preview

The big handicap hurdle over 2 miles 2 1/2 furlongs sees a huge field of smart runners go to post and the horse that takes the eye is the Ben Pauling trained Shakem Up'Arry.

The six year old gelding owned by the ex football manager Harry Redknapp has shown smart form in his career to date in both bumpers and over hurdles.The six year old last term finished second over hurdles twice behind some strong types like Mister Coffey and Supreme Novices' Hurdle winner Shishkin.

He, himself went into the Supreme but was well outclassed but got back to form last time out on seasonal debut in a decent Novices' Hurdle at Ffos Las.

He obviously holds plenty of potential and in this handicap sphere, going off a nice mark he can not be discounted.

The first race on the Ascot card on ITV is the Grade Two 1965 Chase over 2m5f and Imperial Aura for Kim Bailey takes the eye for us.

The seven year old last season rose through the chasing ranks, racing four times at Cheltenham placing in two smart events before going on to win another two.

One of those wins came at the festival in the 20 runner Listed Novices' Handicap Chase and the form line he holds has been franked by many horses throughout last season.

The superstar stepped up for his seasonal debut at Carlisle last week in the Colin Parker Memorial Intermediate Listed Chase up against some proven chasers.

However, the gelding showed massive improvement to land the event and now his handler is stepping him up to Grade Two company on Saturday.

One of the feature events on the Haydock card is the Grade Three Stayers' Handicap Hurdle over three miles and we are siding with the well backed Relegate.

The seven year old has had the potential to be a smart horse but has not shown her best efforts on a few occasions which has made slightly inconsistent.

However, on the best of her form she is a live player in this event winning the 2018 Champion Bumper for Willie Mullins and finishing a good fifth of 24 runners at the Cheltenham festival last season in the three mile Pertemps Handicap Hurdle.

She has shown in her career that she handles three miles in a big field and after a good return on seasonal debut at Navan she is set up perfectly to go close in this one.

Call Me Lord finished second in the Coral Hurdle on seasonal debut last term and he has a huge chance to go one better this year heading into the event off the back of a run and for that reason is our selection.

The seven year old old has been a consistent horse for the Seven Barrows yard since joining from from France a few years ago and last term was magnificent in the early part of the season.

He started his campaign off in this race in November finishing second to If The Cap Fits who went on to land the race for two consecutive years.

He then headed to Cheltenham for his second start in the Grade Two International Hurdle and he stayed on best of the rest up the hill to take the race.

The gelding, after a superb win went to Sandown as a final run before the Champion Hurdle at the festival and finished second behind Grade One winner Quel Destin.

The Champion Hurdle was just too much for the gelding, being outclassed in a race that did not suit him and it saw him finish near the back of the field.

He was 3/1 in the week which looked huge value against hurdlers who have something to prove and now being fit after his first run of the season, he could be the winner of this race.

On Saturday the feature race of the entire day is the Grade One Betfair Chase and we can't look past the favourite Lostintranslation for Colin Tizzard.

The son of Flemensfirth has been a superb stable star for the yard over the last few seasons, picking up Grade One wins and mixing it with the best chasers in the sport.

The eight year old last season was fancied to run a big race in the Gold Cup and he did when finishing a close third behind dual winner Al Boum Photo and Nicky Henderson's Santini.

Before that the chaser started his season off at Carlisle when landing the Intermediate Chase in fine style which set him up perfectly for a tilt at the Betfair Chase against two time winner Bristol De Mai.Having the run under his belt made the difference as he went on to stay on better than the Nigel Twiston-Davies horse up the straight and it saw him land his first black type event out of novice company.

He then headed to Kempton on Boxing Day for the King George VI Chase and nothing went right for him throughout the race with his jumping ultimately letting him down and he was pulled up before the finish.

Having been raced frequently before that, Tizzard then gave him some time off and he was next seen in the Gold Cup where he managed to place and overall gave a superb performance.

He is said to be in fine form ahead of his seasonal debut and he is the rightful favourite for the event, being the one to beat.

With no selection in the bumper, our final pick for the day at Ascot comes in the Class 2 Handicap Chase and the Kim Bailey trained First Flow takes the eye.

The more rain the better for this horse who has been a model of consistency for the yard, being a smart horse over hurdles, but since going over the bigger obstacles has a record of four wins in eight races.

At the back end of last term the gelding went on to land a hat-trick of wins at Leicester, Doncaster and Carlisle and the eight year old should have more to offer this term.

The final runner of the day for us at Haydock comes in the 3 miles 4 furlongs Stayers Handicap Chase and Fortified Bay for Jennie Candlish could outrun his odds.

The eight year old gelding has been a likeable horse for the yard winning twice over fences last term at Market Rasen and Newcastle.

He made his return at Carlisle in a staying event in November and finished a fair fourth of 12 in heavy conditions, he will be much fitter for the race and getting nicer conditions today can see him go close at a double figure price.