Horse Racing – Pasco to Enjoy Return to Home Comforts

I’m reliably informed that the idiom ‘horses for courses’  originated in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The sentiment is as true today as it was back then, however, and a prime example is Pasco. Paul Nicholls‘ seven-year-old has won three of his five starts at Newbury, venue for this weekend’s Grade 3 Raymond Mould Supporting Greatwood Gold Cup Handicap Chase, and finished as runner-up in the other two, most recently when only beaten half-a-length when trying to give Mount Oscar 6lbs over C&D in November. Big things were expected of Pasco last season after he’d won two of his first three races over the larger obstacles. But he’d probably gone off the boil by the time Cheltenham and Aintree came around and he’s been a little stop-start this campaign, falling on his return to action at Kempton and running much too freely when only third at Exeter on his latest outing. Critics maintain that his last run proves he doesn’t truly stay beyond 2m, but I won’t buy into that. I think a more sustainable theory is that Pasco simply acts best on a flat track and there aren’t too many inclines at Newbury. At 4-1 with William Hill, he makes infinitely more appeal than stablemate Big Fella Thanks (a general 8-1) who needs a lot further than this. A similiar remark could also be applied to Our Vic (10-1 with Paddy Power and Sportingbet) who also seems to prefer the mud nowadays and hails from a yard going through a pre-Cheltenham lull, and Can’t Buy Time (7-2 with Blue Square). Likely to be vying for favouritism with Pasco come post time after a a surprise win at this level over 2m5f at Cheltenham last time, this easier track may not be ideal and he looks high enough in the weights now. Battlecry earns top marks for consistency (he’s finished second in his last three races) but fewer for attitude. He appears to ‘throw the towel in’ (there’s another popular saying for you) far too readily for my liking once headed and I think there is better value than the 13-2 on general offer for Trevor Hemmings’ front-runner. The selection, then, is Pasco – why ignore the obvious?