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A low key weekend with Sunday clash promising to be the highlight

This is probably one the quieter weekends of the National Hunt season, with relatively low key cards at Warwick and Market Rasen. Undoubtedly the highlight of the weekend promises to be the clash of Envoi Allen and Asterion Forlonge at Punchestown tomorrow. The 11lb received by Willie Mullins' inmate should make things interesting and we may find out a little more about how good Envoi Allen actually is. I think it could be close given the weight differential and the fact that it is right-handed should see us treated to a real race between two of this season's top novices.

Reverting back to today's action for now, the Classic Chase is the highlight at Warwick and I have decided to swerve the race for a bet. I couldn't come down on the side of one. Early in the week, Captain Chaos caught my eye but clearly I wasn't the only one as his price collapsed from the early 16/1 available. He looks well handicapped on his form from this time last season but he does need the blinkers to work again as his form this season has been uninspiring to say the least. There is also the danger of serious competition for the lead here and if he does get to the front, it might have taken a lot of energy to do so. I think he is at his best when able to dominate and that might be a chance that Harry Skelton might have to take. Django Django also caught my eye but he is becoming hard to predict, although certainly well-handicapped if putting his best foot forward. Alan King's Notachance looks the solid one and will almost certainly feature at the business end but he is priced accordingly. 

In terms of a selection, I can't resist a small interest on Midnight River in the Leamington Novices Hurdle at 2.25. Dan Skelton has an excellent record at Warwick and I get the impression that this has been the target for quite a while. The horse was an excellent second to Does He know at Cheltenham in October and it is that run rather than his underwhelming win last time that marked him out as a really decent novice. The stable have made it quite clear in the past few days that he would improve for the run at Leicester and if he can reproduce the Cheltenham run, he can go very close here. There is still the possibility of more improvement to come from him and he looks overpriced, probably a slight over-reaction to his last run. 


0.5pt win Midnight River (9/1 General) Warwick 2.25 *use BOG firms


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