Hereford will need the weather forecast to be incorrect to race on Wednesday but the Cotswold Hereford BMW Chase is an interesting contest if the meeting gets the go-ahead. It’s a novices’ limited handicap and at least four of the six declared runners appear to have decent claims on the form book.
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Charlie needs to up his game
Aye Aye Charlie hasn’t done a lot wrong over fences to date but requires some improvement if he is open his account.
A best 6/4, the eight-year-old does most of his racing at Cheltenham so this is probably a slight drop in grade for Fergal O’Brien’s charge, who has won a bumper and a hurdle.
This is his first-ever run in a handicap so the assessor has had to employ a little guesswork in allotting him a rating of 132. It looks about right and a first win over the larger obstacles would be no big surprise.
Mac is back in the right grade
Bobo Mac found life tough in a Grade 3 handicap at Warwick last month and eventually finished behind Head To The Stars (5/1 with William Hill).
But, despite competing on identical terms, it would be no surprise to see the top weight reverse the form at Hereford, which is a right-handed track like Ludlow where he was in good form at the end of last year.
Tom Symonds’ runner is tackling heavy going for the first time in this country but handled the surface in Ireland and is 6/1 with Bet365 to resume winning ways.
Will Champs be Ice Cool under pressure again?
ICE COOL CHAMPS (widely available at 4/1) placed twice over fences off higher marks when trained by Philip Hobbs but looked a much-improved performer on his first start for Kerry Lee at Wetherby.
He won by 10 lengths without being asked a serious question so a 10lb rise in the weights looks fully justified.
Whether it was a wind operation or the change of scenery that sparked the improvement will probably remain a mystery but Lee has an excellent strike-rate when targeting chases at Hereford so presumably believes her recent acquisition has further scope for improvement.
Considering his age, he’s had a very light career to date so that confidence may be rewarded.
Hereford Horse Racing Betting at Coral
Hereford 15.10 Prediction
Bobo Mac is much respected back on a right-handed course and is fancied to reverse Warwick running with Head To The Stars eased in distance. Aye Aye Charlie is the least exposed over fences and wouldn’t need a great deal of improvement to figure running in his first handicap but Ice Cool Champs was so impressive at Wetherby that he deserves a chance to shrug off a 10lb rise in the weights and double his tally over fences.
Hereford 15.10 Current Odds
 |
 |
 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Aye Aye Charlie | 6/4 | 6/4 | 6/4 |
| Ice Cool Champs | 4/1 | 4/1 | 4/1 |
| Bobo Mac | 6/1 | 5/1 | 5/1 |
| Head To The Stars | 7/2 | 5/1 | 4/1 |
| Driftwood Haze | 12/1 | 12/1 | 14/1 |
| Destinee Royale | 8/1 | 12/1 | 9/1 |
(Betting Odds were taken from Bet365, William Hill & Betfred on February 11, 2020 at 18.00)
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