5th March 2016

Paul Nicholls has a phenomenal record in Saturday’s Greatwood Gold Cup at Newbury.  He has sent out the winner seven times in the last 10 years, including Cornish Sett’s dead-heat with Horus, and that is an unbelievably good record in such a competitive handicap …

Sametegal has raced just four times over fences, so he has bundles of scope for further progression.  He started off his chasing career by beating El Namoose and Three Musketeers and Amore Alato at Huntingdon in November.  He was weak in the market before that race, so he was probably expected to come on for it, and that form looks even stronger now than it did then.

He was travelling well when he was hampered and unseated in Three Musketeers’ race next time at Newbury, and there was no disgrace in getting beaten by More Of That next time at Cheltenham.

It was a little disappointing that he couldn’t win a three-horse race at Musselburgh last time, but that was a strange race, the pace was not strong and he found himself in front with a circuit to race.  The winner had traded at 1000 in-running, and Sametegal finished a really tired horse.

You have to forgive him that run, but you can.  He should be better on the better ground on Saturday, he remains a horse of potential over fences, and he is back down to a mark of 143, which is 7lb lower than his peak over hurdles.  He is lightly-raced enough over fences to retain the potential to go higher over fences than over hurdles, and, hailing from Ditcheat, it is probable that this race has been on his radar for a little while.

SAMETEGAL WON (ADV 9/1, SP 7/1)