Jumps Racing Saturday 21st

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3.45 Ascot All For Free 4pts win @ 7/1 Betfred All For Free is improving quickly and he ran well last time out to suggest he can get competitive in this. The step up in trip here looks certain to suit as he stayed on well at Sandown to nick 2nd on the post from Tanks for That. Since hacking up at Ascot in December he has risen 16lbs in the weights but gets in this race carrying a feather weight. It does mean he has to race from 1lb out of the handicap but I think there is plenty more improvement to come. His nearest rivals in the betting have to concede nearly 2 stone to All for Free which is a tough ask. If he continues in the same form of his last few runs then I think he will be very tough to keep out of the frame. I thought he would struggle in his last race against plenty of higher rated animals but he ran a cracker. This looks just as competitive but the weight he gets from the field could prove decisive. In the last 8 runnings of this race only 1 horse has carried more than 10-13 to victory and that was Regal Heights in 2008. Last year was the first shock in this race in 8 years when Tatenen won at 22/1 but it tends to go to something near the head of the betting. All for Free is improving rapidly and I am hoping he can make the most of his light weight here and take this competitive handicap chase.

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Re: Jumps Racing Saturday 21st 2.35 Ascot Shoreacres 1.5pts EW @ 7/1 William Hill This horse comes here on the back of 2 excellent runs. On both occasions he has been beaten by unexposed horses from big yards but this race looks a good opportunity to get his head in front. Shoreacres is a tough and genuine front runner and the drop back in trip here looks certain to suit. He does face speedier rivals today but he should be able to use his stamina and try and make all. He is clearly a good horse and is more than capable of winning this if he can continue in the same good form he has shown on his last 2 starts. Today Barry Geraghty takes the ride which is obviously a big positive as he is by far the most successful jockey at this track in recent years. This horse didn’t excel over fences, which is why they have brought him back over hurdles but it seems to have done the trick. He finished an excellent 4th in the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham and followed that up with a 7th in the Supreme Novices’ the following year. He does however only have 1 win over hurdles to his name but he very rarely runs a bad race. There are a couple of unexposed horses in this race and a few that have plenty to prove. Ciceron was well punted last time out when winning and he should make his presence felt with the stable continuing in cracking form. Brendan Powell isn’t exactly in the best of form at the moment but I think everything looks set for a big run from Shoreacres. He is getting on a bit now and this looks a reasonable opportunity to notch a first graded success.