Hunter Chase - 4.30 Wetherby

[Darran]

It is great to see Road To Rome back on a racecourse because he was really badly injured when he last raced in a point in May 2019 and it was thought we wouldn't see him race again. Quite simply he wins this if he is anywhere near the level he showed 2 years ago. The 3 hunter chase wins were all impressive especially his one in the Walrus at Haydock he recorded an RPR of 149. He then ran a cracker at Cheltenham when finishing 4th to Hazel Hill and I suspect by Aintree he needed a break, but even so he still finished 5th. Nothing else in this field can get anywhere near that if if he hadn't got injured then I reckon he would be a 1/2 shot to win this.

For me the only other possible winner is Duhallow Tornado who raced very lazily last week at Catterick before eventually finishing 2nd. It's not the first time he has run like that as he did it at Cheltenham when 4th in May 2018. Blinkers for the first time is a good idea as he clearly needs something to help concentrate his mind on the job. The other slight concern is his jumping though as he was quite slow and deliberate last week and at Hexham back in November. If he does that around here then that isn't going to help him either. If Road To Rome is ridden in the same way he was before then he is going to try and make all which Rio Bravo did to Duhallow Tornado last week and he just couldn't get there. Road To Rome could well be a better version of Rio Bravo.

There isn't too much to say about the rest. Itstimeforaprint ran OK when 3rd on his only start last season, but has a fair bit to find on the top 2. Mr Pepperpot was 2nd in the African Belle/Cousin Pascal race at Alnwick which is clearly reasonable form, but he showed little in a couple of hunter chases a couple of years ago and I suspect he's only back under rules because there are no points at the moment. Snow Castle was well behind Mr Pepperpot on his final start of last season. He did beat Greensalt the time before, but that one threw the race away. The 2nd at Hexham in his only hunter chase to date was a fair effort, but I don't think he's backed that performance up since.

If the front two in the market do under perform then Teeton Surprise strikes me as the one who could take advantage. He won his Restricted at Larkhill by 30L last January although Dubai Quest did fall when in front so he probably wouldn't have beaten him given what that one has done since. He then failed to run his race at Didmarton. This season he went to Larkhill in December and ran a decent enough 6th to Salvatore. He then went to Wincanton and finished 6th again this time to Sametegal. On form he can't beat the other two, but he could well be best of the rest for me if you do want to take a chance on something at a bigger price and Bet365 offer a market where they bet without the front two in the betting so that could be an angle with him as well.

Initially I wasn't sure what I was going to do when it came to this race, but as I have written the preview and really thought about I think Road To Rome is a fair bet here. His trainer has proven time and time again that he can work wonders and I would be surprised if he lacked for fitness. I also think that if he wasn't showing something then they would have retired him. I accept you can't be certain until a horse actually runs in a race, but I actually think that is factored into the price as like I mention above I think he would be a 1/2 shot if he hadn't had a year off with injury. For me you need the blinkers to work for Duhallow Tornado as well as Road To Rome to have lost at least a stone in ability for him to win so I am rather keen on Road To Rome and happy to take a chance he can still run to a decent level of form.

Road To Rome 2pts @ 11/8 with Bet365