Act Alone (7-2) covered our stakes on Wednesday and the show moves on to Catterick on Thursday. It isn’t that often that Mr McCoy pays a visit to Catterick Bridge so it would be a surprise if he came away without a winner.
The pick of his rides looks to be Getabuzz in the 1.05. Tim Easterby’s gelding looked sure to win at Wetherby last time after Catcher Star blundered at the last but he failed to grab his opportunity and was pegged back at the finish. Easterby clearly feels that the son of Beat Hollow was not putting it all in that day and blinkers are on for the first time tomorrow.
Gold Show got no further than the third flight when fancied at Wetherby last month and looks the main threat off bottom weight. The grey mare had previously stayed on well when beaten only a length in third at this course and she receives a handy 10lbs from McCoy’s mount. Sealous Scout looked very one-paced when second to Oscars Den at Carlisle but this race won’t take too much winning so is another with prospects.
The feature race is the North Yorkshire Grand National and Merlin’s Wish is a big tip for this race having been diverted from the Warwick Chase this weekend. The fact that the grey was ante-post favourite for Warwick suggests that the nine-year-old son of Terimon has a big chance in this. The handicapper took a dim view of his 25 length victory at Market Rasen and has bumped him up 13lbs so this is by no means a formality.
Diamond Harry is not the force he was a few years ago when winning the Hennessy Gold Cup but he showed up well for a long way at Cheltenham last time. Malcolm Jefferson’s Sun Cloud won last time out at Hexham and could still be improving whilst Sue Smith has her horses in good form and is represented by Green Wizard.
Looking further ahead, there is still no information about running plans for either of the two big handicaps this weekend. The Warwick Chase and the Lanzarote Hurdle were priced up by the bookies on Monday but you would have to be psychic to know what is running let alone winning! Hopefully the picture will become clearer shortly so that I can seek out the best value bets.
Getabuzz (1.05)
Merlin’s Wish (2.35) at 9-4 BetVictor, Paddy Power
