Holiday Bets

Lots of rain around at the moment and the ground will be very soft at least for tomorrow's card at Ascot and with that in mind I'm turning to an old friend in Reve de Sivola for the Long Walk Hurdle. With Big Buck's on the sidelines now the division he dominated for so long is wide open and I think the Nick Williams horse is capable of making his mark. He was a top class staying novice hurdler with a victory in the Challow and a good effort behind Peddlers Cross in the Neptune back in 2009/10 and after not taking that well to fences in the two seasons since (which included a long time off with a tendon injury) he is back over timber and looked decent enough behind Big Buck's first time out at Newbury where after being outpaced initially he stayed on well albeit a fair way behind the winner. Reve's stamina comes into play far more over hurdles than it ever did over fences because he was never comfortable over the larger obstacles and expended too much energy getting from one side to the other. His Challow victory was on heavy ground (with Finian's Rainbow amongst his victims) and I think he's worth a bet at 5s tomorrow. Favourite Smad Place is respected but his best form is not on ground as soft as he'll encounter tomorrow.
With Al Ferof out of the King George and the prospect of deep ground looking certain at Kempton on Boxing Day I'm pretty much resigned to my fate in the race but we'll have to see. I think Long Run will likely win now but he's not a bet at under 3/1. I'm hoping to gain compensation in the Lexus at Leopardstown where I managed to get 2/1 on Flemenstar on the machine a few days ago. Sprinter Sacre aside he's the most exciting chaser in training and I expect him to take this step up to three miles in his stride.
Long Walk Hurdle:
Reve De Sivola £50w @ 5/1 (won)

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King George:
Al Ferof £30w @ 10/1
Finian's Rainbow £15w @ 8/1
Lexus Chase:
Flemenstar £40w @ 2/1