Fine Form
My Immortal UT – 3.00
can ensure the Irish continue to make their presence felt in England with success in the Jenningsbet Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter.
Barry Connell may not have been able to see his stable flagbearer Marine Nationale triumph at the Cheltenham Festival after an injury ruled him out, but his stablemate can go some way to making amends in Staffordshire.
The Midlands Grand National is a real test of stamina run over a four-mile-two-furlong trip, and although the good to soft ground is quicker than the testing conditions this meeting is often run in, there is plenty of rain due in the area.
My Immortal faces 16 rivals in the premier handicap, for which he carries 11st 11lb under a top amateur in Finian Maguire.
The 10-year-old was ridden by the same jockey in his most recent start, a five-length win in a Listed staying chase at Punchestown.
The gelding seemed to relish the extended trip and the cut in the ground and though this marathon distance is a step into the unknown, Connell stated after his last victory that he expects the horse will have the wherewithal to manage any test of stamina.
The Punchestown race he won was also a port of call for the 2022 Midlands National winner Screaming Colours, who was fourth in the race in the year prior, so My Immortal’s path to Uttoxeter seems to bode well.
On the same card, Jonjo and AJ O’Neill’s
Seaniecon UT – 4.10
can win the Jenningsbet ‘National Hunt’ Novices’ Hurdle.
A smart horse with a point-to-point win to his name, the five-year-old was narrowly beaten on his hurdling debut and came back to take his next start by 28 lengths when stepping up in trip.
He is back down to two and a half miles here, but he is clearly a horse with a good deal of ability and he can demonstrate that by getting his head in front again.
At Kempton, Nicky Henderson’s
Califet En Vol KM – 3.18
can take the Virgin Bet Supports Safe Gambling Handicap Chase over two and a half miles.
The seven-year-old was last seen winning over the same course and distance last month, earning himself a rise in the handicap from 136 to 141.
There is untapped potential despite that and Kempton is clearly a track he is fond of, as both of his runs there to date have resulted in victory.
The Kempton going is good, which also favours the gelding as he seems to have been kept away from testing conditions thus far.
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