UK Horse Racing Tips

It’s hard enough finding winners in the ante-post markets for major races and little easier forecasting the weather more than six months in advance, but anyone who thinks we might be in for a wet spring could do worse than take odds of around 33/1 about mud lover Katenko for April’s Crabbies Grand National at Aintree.

A decent sort in his native France in the 2010/11 season, Katenko rather lost his way after that and appeared on the downgrade when joining the Venetia Williams yard last November. The change of scene and routine soon appeared to have done him the world of good though, the gelded son of Laveron beginning the season on a handicap mark of 129 and ended it as a horse not too far off Gold Cup class, with a rating of 157.

After being badly in need of the outing on his first start for new connections at Haydock in November, Katenko encountered his favoured heavy ground when running second to the decent Wyck Hill in the listed Champagne Bollinger Silver Cup Handicap Chase at Ascot a few days before Christmas.

Early in the New Year, he showed his Ascot effort to have been no fluke at all when staying on strongly to land the £31,000 first prize in Sandown’s 32Red.com HBLB Handicap Chase off a mark of 136.

In heavy ground, three weeks later Katenko turned out for the valuable Grade 3 Murphy Group Handicap Chase at Cheltenham having been raised 11lbs for his Sandown victory. It proved no barrier to success though as Williams’ charge slammed a good field, scoring by an impressive 16 lengths from the very useful Fruity O’Rooney.

A bout of colic ruled the much improved chaser out of the Gold Cup, but he is fully recovered now and the latest odds at betfair suggest that he could be a force to be reckoned with at Aintree if he gets his essential testing underfoot conditions.

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