Walkon gives punters hopes of a prosperous end to 2011
The Nick Williams-trained For Non Stop sets the standard based on his effort at Cheltenham last time where he pushed Al Ferof all the way, being beaten just a neck in the finish. That would suggest he’s already a much better chaser than he was a hurdler but I’d like to see more of him before getting too excited.
The extra couple of furlongs should be in his favour and he receives a handy seven pounds from Cue Card and Walkon, but he was a faller on his debut over fences and also hit the turf once over hurdles.
There’s no hiding place in this race and if he has frailties in the jumping department, they’ll be exposed today.
Cue Card heads the field and he lost little in defeat when just touched off by chasing debutant and Albert Bartlett winner Bobs Worth.
He has talent in abundance but his jumping hasn’t been entirely convincing and he may struggle to defy a penalty.
Walkon is also penalised for his debut success over fences but it was a really taking performance.
As a juvenile hurdler Alan King’s horse suffered only two defeats in a six-race season and they both came at the hooves of former Triumph Hurdler Zaynar.
He renewed rivalry with his old adversary when making his chasing debut at Exeter earlier this month and he finally got one over on his fellow grey.
Zaynar, who enjoyed the benefit of previous outings over fences, did plenty for the form when trouncing the opposition in a Grade 2 Novices’ event next time out.
Walkon, trained by Alan King, missed the best part of two years after his first seaso over hurdles, and he didn’t appear to have improved with his three runs last season.
However, his one run over the bigger obstacles highlighted him as a natural for this discipline and he should take a world of beating here.
Minella Class, who won the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle last season, faced a near impossible task on his chasing debut but he shaped with real promise behind Peddlers Cross. He’s built for this game and it’d be no surprise were he to give the selection most to do.
The unknown quantity is four-year-old Criqtonic, who has his first start for Paul Nicholls. He has winning form over fences and could be another precocious French chaser but he’ll have to be really special to win this one.
Early prices suggest Walkon will be around the 5-2 mark and given that he’s entitled to show improvement for his first start over fences, that looks a very nice way to finish off 2011.
*************
The novice chasers really dominate the best of the weekend’s action and tomorrow’s Dipper Chase at Cheltenham is another exciting race which should reveal much for the months ahead.
Solix came from France with a big reputation and though he failed to make a real impact in two competitive handicap hurdles last season, he’s unbeaten in two starts over fences this term.
He justified odds-on favouritism on his chasing debut but his jumping was hairy - to say the least.
He proved he had a huge engine when following up at Cheltenham last time out but there was still some cause for concern in his jumping. He looks worth more than his official rating of 150 and should go close here but if he’s put under pressure, it’ll be interesting to see how his jumping holds up.
Sonofvic is easily the most interesting runner as he made a very smart start to his chasing career when running Feltham Chase winner Grands Crus to two lengths. The distance perhaps didn’t do justice to the superiority of the winner but, nevertheless, it was a huge run by the runner-up and he doesn’t need to improve too much to be competitive here. The fact that he receives weight from the previous winners in the race is a huge plus and he can take this en route to even bigger things.
Alan King’s Invictus, who has won both starts over fences, the Grade 1 winning hurdler Saint Are and the classy Champion Court add further class to the contest but Paul Nicholls has made no secret of his regard for Sonofvic and if he has improved for his seasonal debut, he can repay that faith.
