War Chief to Demolish Rivals at Chepstow

3:20 Chepstow – War Chief

Alan King is largely renowned as a successful National Hunt trainer, but he does occasionally have runners on the flat, and when his runners are entered or races without any obstacles, they should be respected. He has the lightly raced War Chief entered in the 1 mile, Class 4 handicap at Chepstow and this exciting prospect should be able to take this contest before moving onto better things. He is currently available at decent odds, but is likely to be backed on seasonal reappearance and is the call.

War Chief made his debut last season over 8.5 furlongs at Wolverhampton. The horse was slowly into stride but got the hang of things and went very close, eventually finishing third, beaten just ¾ length. Unusually, King dropped War Chief back to 7 furlongs and switched him to turf for second start, and that combined with the experience of his debut run, resulted in a sensational performance, as the son of Aqlaam destroyed his field by 5 lengths. Was again a little slowly away, but it didn’t matter as he showed plenty of class and ability and strode clear in the latter stages.

The horse has been off the track for over 200 days, and some would see that as a negative, but it shouldn’t be taken as such when the horse is coming from the King stable. His flat handicappers off for 6+ weeks do very well; 40/282 (14%) for £64 LSP, with the horses winning 50% more than they are entitled to based on odds. He looks a decent bet at 2/1 3.00 +200 2.00 2.00 -0.50  with Bet365.

4.30 Musselburgh – Ralphy Boy

Up to Bonnie Scotland for our second selection, and we like the profile of course specialist Ralphy Boy. The 8-year-old son of Acclamation may be getting on a bit, but he retains plenty of enthusiasm and at a big price, looks to have a chance of making the frame. He will provide some profit if finishing in the first 3 in this 9-runner affair, and could go off shorter than the odds of 12/1 13.00 +1200 12.00 12.00 -0.08  with SkyBet, Ladbrokes and BetVictor that are currently available.

Ralphy Boy has been a stable stalwart for the Alistair Whillans stable, and he showed he retains some ability when finishing midfield in an 8 furlong contest at the course just yesterday. The horse dwelt early, but was making headway when checked in the home straight, and he ultimately lost all chance from there. That was his second start back of the season and is likely to have blown away the cobwebs. The horse is dropped back to 7 furlongs today and does very well when turned out quickly; 3/9 with a further 2 places when returning to the track within 7 days of his last run. He absolutely loves Musselburgh and is 4/15 with a further 4 places at the course. Alistair Whillans does very well when he turns his horses out within 2 weeks of their previous run when the horses are not complete no hopers ( 16/1 17.00 +1600 16.00 16.00 -0.06  or shorter); 69/357 (19%) for £114 LSP, with his horses winning 54% more often than they should do based on odds.

There is a strong market leader in the form of the Roger Fell trained Tadaawol. A fairly unexposed 4 year old, this horse has shown good form in recent starts, finishing a close second on the last two occasions. With that being said, he has only won 1 from 10, so maybe doesn’t put it all in at the finish, and for that reason, he is opposed.

Tips Summary

15:20 Chepstow – War Chief to win
Friday 5th May
Odds:  2/1 3.00 +200 2.00 2.00 -0.50

16:30 Musselburgh – Ralphy Boy each way
Friday 5th May
Odds:  12/1 13.00 +1200 12.00 12.00 -0.08