Saturday’s Horse Racing Tips: Iron Bridge can earn his spot in the Grand National

The Cheltenham festival countdown has now well and truly begun as we enter a tricky four-week punting period that features horses largely incapable of making it to Prestbury Park.

L’Homme Presse is the chief exception this week as he bids to fend off Pic D’Orhy to win the Grade 1 Ascot Chase (3.36) for Venetia Williams, who looks to put the final touches on her Gold Cup hopeful. However, he’s an odds-on poke on ground that won’t be ideal so I’m readily bypassing that contest from a wagering perspective.

Nothing else catches my eye at Ascot, so it’s off to Haydock for my main bets this side of the Irish Sea. The going is already described as heavy (3.5 GoingStick reading at the time of writing on Thursday evening) and an extra 7mm of rain is forecast throughout Friday, so expect it to be very attritional.

The first race of interest is the 3m4½f Grand National Trial (3.15), which features a relatively small field of doughty staying chasers. Iwilldoit, the 2020 Welsh National winner, heads the weights and must have a good chance under 7lb conditional Dylan Johnston if he bounces back to something like his best, but that’s not necessarily a given due to the breaks in his racing career.

Classic Chase winner My Silver Lining is sure to garner some support, as will the consistent Credo, but I think there is a clear standout here in the form of Iron Bridge and I can’t believe that he’s still available at around 11/2 for the in-form Jonjo O’Neill team.

This eight-year-old has far fewer miles on the clock than the majority of his rivals and shaped like a really nice future prospect in his novice chasing campaign last year, during which he won twice and placed twice, largely over inadequate trips.

After looking rusty on his return at Newbury, he bounced right back to form when second at Chepstow last time in the Welsh National. Nassalam freaked that day and produced a monster display to win for Gary Moore, so I’m not reading too much into the winning margin, but Iron Bridge performed creditably to fill the runners-up spot and prove that he stays extreme distances.

O’Neill has freshened him up since (52-day absence) and looks to have found the perfect spot to get an all-important victory that will see him go up the weights and potentially get into the Grand National final field. If he doesn’t win here, connections can probably wave goodbye to that seasonal target.

With a lot of untapped potential and ideal deep ground, I expect Iron Bridge to take this prize. And I wouldn’t be shocked to see him go off around 11/4 or 3/1 rather than the much bigger price currently available.

Just 35 minutes later I will be having my second bet on the card as Cuthbert Dibble lumps topweight for Nigel Twiston-Davies in the Pertemps Hurdle Series Qualifier (3.50). He is another horse who I believe is pretty well handicapped with a lot of improvement left to come.

Cuthbert Dibble lacked fluency over his obstacles in the early part of last season and paid the price, but began to improve his technique going into the spring and racked up a couple of victories at Ffos Las and Leicester. They sandwiched a fifth-placed finish in the EBF Final at Sandown, in which he was given a stinker of a ride by Sam Twiston-Davies.

Not only was he buried behind runners on the rail, which caused him to miss virtually every flight of hurdles, but it was so difficult to make up ground in testing conditions that day, so he performed remarkably to finish where he did. Unsurprisingly, the form is working out well with eventual winner Crambo looking a real player in the Stayers’ Hurdle division while Etalon (fourth) and Crebilly (sixth) have proved victorious recently.

Cuthbert Dibble returned to the track at Chepstow on heavy ground last month and sluiced up - a performance that suggests an 8lb hike won’t hold him back. Finn Lambert’s allowance negates 5lb from that rise, which should make him very tough to beat.

Finally, it’s off to Gowran Park for a rare Irish bet. I just can’t let the Thomas Cooper-trained D Art D Art go without support in the 2m4f handicap hurdle (2.52) off what appears to be a workable mark of 121. This horse has the potential to be rated 135 in the near future so this is an attractive proposition. 

A winner on debut last year before finishing down the field in a red-hot Champion Bumper at Cheltenham, D Art D Art has hinted at significant talent in three hurdling runs, not least when successful at Cork on his penultimate outing. 

He was sent to Down Royal last time in search of a third career success and went off 5/4 jolly to get the job done, but he made a bone-shuddering mistake just as the pace quickened and he lost all chance in a split-second. Nevertheless, I was impressed with how he regained his momentum and rallied up for second.

Extra distance and a weaker heat on handicap debut should see him make amends. I haven’t had much luck with rider Donagh Meyler in the past (not that I’ve bet on his rides all that often!) but hopefully that changes on Saturday.

Saturday’s Horse Racing Tips

D Art D Art (2.52 Gowran Park) @ SP
Iron Bridge (3.15 Haydock) @ 11/2
Cuthbert Dibble (3.50 Haydock) @ 6/4