Saturday Ascot Preview

The first contest of the day at Ascot on their first jumps card of the national hunt season is the Class 4 Novice Handicap Hurdle and Tegerek for Jonjo O'Neill is an eye-catcher.

This five year old was a smart hurdler last year being in and around the frame on his first season over flights and now this year he can use his experiences to kick on.

He made a modest seasonal debut at Carlisle with it looking like the soft ground and extra distance finding him out slightly and now back in better conditions he should go well.

Ecco for trainer Paul Nicholls looks massively the one to beat in this Novices hurdle over two miles off the back his final performance last season and seasonal debut.

Nicholls put him in the Grade One Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham last season and he finished a credible sixth which overall is good form in this field,

He made a really bright seasonal debut at Wincanton a few weeks back when getting off the mark for the season and should back that up here if handling the surface.

The Class Three Novices Handicap Chase sees some smart ex hurdlers take to the field and the Oliver Sherwood trained five year old Cervaro Mix looks a smart gelding.

At a nice each way price this new chaser made a nice start to life over the bigger obstacles when winning at Fontwell in May before backing that up with a decent third at the same track.

They were both on good ground but having previous on good to soft makes him a player in this one and has to be watched.

The Listed Handicap Hurdle midway through the card looks a highly competitive affair and The Eva Williams trained The Last Day is highly thought of from his yard.

The seven year old was a useful novice hurdler last season with two good seconds and then getting off the mark on his final outing of the season at Carlisle.

The more rain the better for this horse but will still handle most conditions and this trainer is in a fine bit of form and he should go well.

One of the feature contests of the day is the Listed Sodexo Handicap Hurdle and Nicky Henderson is starting to unleash some of his horses and Adjali looks a bright prospect this season.

He had a fairly decent campaign last season making a winning start at Market Rasen and then running in defeat behind some really smart Grade one hurdlers.

Listed events look to be his level and showing last season that he goes well fresh give him every chance in this contest with good to soft conditions being right up his street.

The penultimate race of the day sees the Grade Three Gold Cup Handicap Chase with many familiar runners and with such a big field we have two selections.

The first is the Gary Moore trained Larry who is a very versatile horse winning events on good and heavy ground last year and seems to be a highly improving chaser that is worth watching at this price.

One at a slightly bigger price and another nice each way angle is the Rebecca Curtis trained Relentless Dreamer Who won at Cheltenham around this time last year and on his seasonal debut was a strong third that makes him a player on Saturday.