Jump Racing - 27th Dec

[BKI Punter]

Chepstow 2:45 Countrywide Flame 2pt EW - 3/1 (VC) Fav is too short and the Hinterland form no longer looks great. My selection lost by half a length to Secret Witness who's here, but was conceding weight. Off levels today and I think CF holds the strongest claims of the three. He's improving with every race and handles any ground. 1:25 Kempton - Sprinter Sacre - 5/4 2:40 Kempton - Finian's Rainbow - 8/13 3pt win double with Bet365. Two small fields and I'm siding with the Henderson double. Sprinter Sacre looked awesome on chase debut and I think this track is going to suit him far better than Peddlers Cross. He didn't go for the CH so never got to prove himself at the top hurdle level which is why he's a fair price. FR will also be suited to Kempton, slight worry is that Wishful will want the lead as well but that horse has had a horrible year so far, and I'm not sure two miles is his trip.

[Lars]

Re: Jump Racing - 27th Dec CADOUDALAS (13:30) returns to testing ground which he looks to really need to show his best and today’s ground will be ideal for him, and although the same can be said for a few of these, I feel a mark of 137 is workable now upped in trip, which should suit alongside the fact that the Richard Lee yard are starting to hit form. A three-time winner last season over 2 miles on soft/heavy ground, he went a fair way up in the weights but did his winning in two ways, really easily or in particularly game fashion (as was the case on his last start in the 2010-11 season). He looked a real mud-lark and was even targeted at a couple of races at Cheltenham, albeit the ground didn’t come up slow enough. I’m not convinced he’s only able to act at the two mile trip, especially as he doesn’t look the quickest and is certainly bred to be useful at this distance, being a half-brother to a Cheltenham Festival winner at this trip. His two starts this season have both been on good ground, which is on the quick side for this animal but his seasonal reappearance wasn’t without promise (well-backed, still in with a chance when making a huge blunder) and although his last start was too bad to be true, I’m prepared to give him another chance. Cadoudalas has in the past shaped that he will stay this 2m3½f over fences (winner at about this trip over hurdles), is a particular fan of testing ground and is a course winner here at Chepstow. He’s 14/1 and based on his last run it’s easy to see why but I’d expect a vastly improved performance now back on his preferred ground, with the step up in trip not likely to be a concern. Richard Lee has had a couple of winners recently and the yard seeming to be peaking at the right time, and although the stable have more high-profile horses later in the card, I’d expect the selection to run a big race, especially when this race lacks strength in depth and is full of some quite quirky characters. Bets 13:30 Chepstow – Cadoudalas; 1.5pts @ 14/1 Ladbrokes (bog)