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Equinties - Long Walk Saturday
BGP Capital
December 20, 2025
Gm Equinauts
We’ll be working hard next week to deliver our biggest newsletter ever.
Thank you to all who have supported us this year, we’ll be back even bigger and stronger next year.
Before we get stuck in, PLEASE check out the Tote pots up for grabs. Boy oh boy they’re exciting. They’re putting on a £150k placepot for Ascot but more,
£180K FOR THE SCOOP 6! (13.50, 14.05, 14.25, 14.40, 15.00 and 15.35).
On a Saturday, you have to be playing through the Tote purely from a value perspective.
Click this link to get involved: Tote | Offers
Let’s dive in!
HEADLINE ROUNDUP
VANDERFUL
Ascot’s big day may be today, but yesterday’s performances are worthy of talking about, because we think there were some nice ones.
We’ll start with STEEL ALLY, as this was the obvious won! Our preview liked him for the Grade 2 Noel Novices’ Chase and he subsequently bolted up , and Sam Thomas thinks he could be a Grade 1 horse now. Who can blame him, watch this:
He said: "He could be [a Grade 1 horse] on the back of that, and I don't see why we can't be dreaming. It's a nice problem to have.
"He's always shown a touch of class. He settled, jumped and it's very pleasing to see him put the race to bed like that.
"I don't know exactly what trip he wants, but the more he settles the further he can go. He's always threatened to be a good horse, so it's nice we've been patient with him and that he's starting to show that."
It was a good effort, no doubt. You can’t be too negative on the horse at all. The small thing in our heads is that the race fell apart slightly. NO QUESTIONS ASKED seemed to travel into things before finding nothing. Wind op needed? Furthermore, JAX JUNIOR and PERSONAL AMBITION landed no kind of blow.
He deserves his chance in Grade 1 company, but he may have been flattered yesterday. PUSH THE BUTTON did run well in second to be fair, and he could be one to follow this season.
Pauling may have lost that race, but VANDERPOEL bolted up in the novices’ handicap chase, and he is finally starting to show connections just what he can do.
He said: "It's taken him two runs and half of that race to start to become the chaser we thought he'd be. I thought he was my best novice chaser, but he's been quite disappointing.
"He's a phenomenal work horse, and he's the best novice chaser you'll ever see jump at home, but he wasn't putting it together on the track. He was good there, but he'll be a lot better."
The handicapper will have his say, but that word will probably be 7-8lbs, which would put him in the area of being a mid-130 horse. We’d say he can still be competitive off that, for sure.
Elsewhere, CRYSTAL ISLAND won on hurdling debut for Nicky Henderson in the same silks of JANGO BAIE. There was a bit of nice chat about him on social media yesterday for the effort, and while he does deserve plaudits, he didn’t visually take our eye out.
Maybe he is just one that will be a lot better in time, so to do this so early is impressive, but OFF THE JURY is a 131 horse who is fairly exposed, and who knows what the third will turn into. We’d say that if he’s to really go to the top, proper staying trips will see him in his best light.
Maybe we’re just feeling cynical because it’s Christmas soon? We’d just like to see this performance again before we tie ourselves up in the hype.
BASS HUNTER completed the card with a good bumper win, and do you remember when Chris Gordon was getting all giddy about the horse in his At The Races stable tour? Well, we do, and he was bang on.
Champion Bumper horse? We’d suggest not racing him there despite how tempting it might be. He looks fast and might prefer a flatter track. More, this Ascot race has flattered to deceive in the past, and we’d be remiss not to think the Irish are yet to unleash some weapons over the sea.
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