Group Captain leads November charge

Hugh Collingridge expects Group Captain to give a good account of himself in the £2 Million totescoop6 November Handicap on Saturday.

The six-year-old, who is set to bypass his engagement in the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton in favour of a trip to Doncaster, won on the level for Sylvester Kirk and Roger Charlton before progressing into a smart hurdler for Alan King.

Group Captain has had just two runs since joining Collingridge, who feels his charge still needs some relief from the handicapper – despite having been happy enough with his recent run at Ascot.

“It probably wouldn’t be the best thing to pitch him against Katchit at Wincanton – we have all season to go over hurdles – so it looks like he’ll be going to Doncaster,” revealed the Suffolk handler.

“I was very pleased with him at Ascot last time where he wasn’t beaten far.

“I don’t think the ground was quite soft enough for him and the race wasn’t really run to suit.

“When he came to me he was rated 110, which was absolutely ridiculous but I kept on pestering the handicapper and he dropped him to 105.

“He is now down to 96 and I think he is now getting somewhere near a competitive mark.

“He will be a big price but if he gets a decent draw, a decent run round and a bit of soft ground, he will run a very big race as he worked beautifully this morning.”

Group Captain is a best-priced 40-1 for Saturday’s mile-and-a-half encounter on Town Moor.