The Boulton Group Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter is the annual post-Cheltenham Festival feature live on Sky Sports Racing; watch every race from Uttoxeter, Fontwell, Newcastle and Wolverhampton on Sky Sports Racing on Saturday
Saturday 18 March 2023 07:27, UK
A typically competitive Midlands National headlines a jam-packed Saturday on Sky Sports Racing with action from Uttoxeter, Fontwell, Newcastle and Wolverhampton.
Saturday's annual post-Cheltenham Festival feature, the Boulton Group Midlands Grand National Handicap Chase (3.00) looks a typically competitive contest with 18 runners lining up for the four-mile-and-two-furlong marathon test.
Top weight and the classiest name in the field goes to Sam Thomas' Classic Chase star Iwilldoit, a former Welsh National winner, who has to carry 12st under regular rider Stan Sheppard.
Charlie Longsdon's Guetapan Collonges looked perfectly primed for this when following up a fourth-placed effort in the Classic Chase with victory at this track last month over three miles.
Ben Clarke's The Galloping Bear rarely seems to run a bad race and comes into this having found only Kitty's Light too good in the Eider Chase.
After another week of domination at the Cheltenham Festival, Willie Mullins sends two here with Classic Chase runner-up Mr Incredible and Cork National winner Captain Kangaroo.
Champion jockey Brian Hughes rarely visits Newcastle without success and has five rides on the card on Saturday, including the Micky Hammond-trained Geryville in the Guinness Nitro Surge Handicap Chase (3.25).
The seven-year-old was a winner over course and distance last March, beating two rivals including The Ferry Master, who reopposes here.
Cash To Ash will relish what is likely to be testing ground conditions but needs to bounce back to winning ways for the first time in just over two years.
Top weight Omar Maretti is also on the comeback trail after disappointing in the Grand National Trial at Haydock last month.
The Bet Online At BetGoodwin Handicap Hurdle (3.12) looks as if it could boil down to a match-up between last-time winners Monjules and Heure De Gloire.
The former, trained by Harry Fry, has scored twice over hurdles at Sedgefield before putting a disappointing effort at Huntingdon well behind him to win over course and distance last month.
David Pipe's mare Heure De Gloire ran with credit at Newbury on New Year's Eve before scoring at Leicester at the start of February.
Milton Harris' Polyphonic, a former course and distance winner, could be the danger to the top two as he seeks to improve on a disappointing effort at Kelso last time.
