Betfair Ascot Chase Preview – Saturday, February 16th
Even though this stands as a pretty small field, the Betfair Chase is a high-class one. With the Cheltenham Festival 2019 right around the corner, this is prime time action in the National Hunt season.
It is also a race in which favourites have been rewarding punters recently. This year it is Waiting Patiently who takes the role of a favourite at 7/4 odds to win* (betting odds taken from bet365 on February 14th, 2019 at 8:29 pm).
Betfair Ascot Chase Odds*
Waiting Patiently 7/4
Cyrname 11/4
Politologue 7/2
Fox Norton 6/1
Charbel 12/1
Aso 16/1
* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on February 14th, 2019 at 9:46 p.m.)
Table of Contents
Favourites rule
First, off the bat, all but two of the last ten editions of the Betfair Ascot Chase have been won by the favourite. The other two winners in that sequence of renewals had started as the third favourite.
Waiting Patiently is out looking for a title defence in this latest renewal.
He was last out at King George in December, his only run since crossing the line first in last season’s Ascot Chase. That run at King George didn’t go well, as he unseated jockey Brian Hughes at the 10th.
So will the lack of a decent run hinder him? Politologue, who is sitting in that spot as the third favourite will be looking to getting back to winning ways. After a victory at the JLT Melling and the Christy 196 Chase last year, he finished the year with a fourth place to Clan Des Obeaux in the King George.
He never got going from the back and then made a mistake at the twelfth, leaving him with nothing in the tank.
Tizzard trends
The popular Fox Norton should be eyeing up a return to Cheltenham soon after his second-place finish to Special Tiara in the Queen Mother last year. He was beaten by old foe Altior in early January at the Clarence House Chase and back in December last year was taken down by Politologue at Sandown. Trainer Colin Tizzard is one of three men to have won this race more than once though (Nicky Henderson and Alan King).
Cyrname a threat
Cyrname has been well backed after simply cruising to victory at January’s bet365 Handicap Chase. He seems to like his runs early in the calendar year. Bringing up the rear are Charbel in the market, the latter losing narrowly to Politologue at the course in November.
This is a race in which age is no great leveller as seen in the likes of Silviniaco Conti’s win as a 10-year-old and Cue Card at 11 landing the triumph. That should then not phase the two older horses in the field who are Fox Norton and Aso (9-year-olds).
Prediction
The fact that Waiting Patiently is going to try and defend here with no run in twelve months aside from mishap at the King George in December, should open the field up. That is even with favourites delivering often in the Betfair Ascot Chase.
If Politologue can get his timing right he should be in the mix and at 7/2 is in that third favourite spot* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on February 14th, 2019 at 9:46 p.m.). We aren’t quite sure if he has the beating of Waiting Patiently if the latter is on his game though.
But with two wins from two at Ascot, Politologue has to be worth a look to upset the favourite, who again may not be at his sharpest.
