The Cesarewitch always makes for a thrilling event, simply because it sports a huge field of runners which horse racing punters adore.
The maximum number of starters allowed on this particular Newmarket course is an impressive 34, making the Cesarewitch one of the highlights of the Newmarket Future Champions Festival, and one of the best betting mediums of the entire Flat season.
Some people even refer to the Cesarewitch as the “Grand National of the Flat” and it’s easy to see those comparisons with the Aintree event.
Dual purpose horses (i.e Flat & Jumps) and dual purpose trainers have done well in this race down the years, so let’s take a look at a selection of antepost contenders:
Gordon Elliott’s Samui (8/1) has been on the Ces radar for many a month now. Sent hurdling in May 2023, the now five-year-old even made it to the County Hurdle last season where he finished 8¾ lengths behind Absurde.
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That form has actually come full circle because the last time we saw Samui he was finishing 3¾ lengths behind the same horse in the Listed Chester Stakes.
In truth that race was far too short for him, and I believe that his best piece of form this season was his two lengths defeat to the Irish plot job Extensio at the York Ebor meeting. That race was just 2m½f and he looked to be crying out for a crack at a 2m2f Handicap.
Samui – dual purpose, Elliott – dual purpose, the horse certainly ticks alot of boxes!
Tony Martin’s horses are currently running under the licence of his sister Mrs O’Leary and their runner Zanndabad (16/1 in our horse racing betting) is an interesting entry.
The five-year-old was very unlucky in the Chester Cup back in May with his race notes reading “towards rear, not clear run over 2f out, switched right over 1f out, good headway and went third inside final 110yds, eyecatcher”.
The vast expanse of the Rowley Mile means that there are no hard luck stories to be told in the Ces, and the Iffraaj-gelding should be a major player in a race of this nature over this trip.
I am slightly taken aback that Falcon Eight (66/1) is such a massive price in the antepost betting for this Newmarket feature.
The nine-year-old is a former winner of the Chester Cup and in his 31 race career he’s won seven races, including 6 Flat races (2 x Stakes) and one Maiden Hurdle.
Admittedly he’s been out of form for the majority of this season but he did show plenty in this season’s Chester Cup and was doing all his best work at the finish.
Never put into the race on his last run at Galway, I suspect the Dermot Weld outfit had one eye on this prize that day.
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Another outsider I’d like to see take her chance is the John McConnell-trained Anna Bunina (40/1 in our betting).
The eight-year-old mare is the proverbial “all-rounder”, with victories on both the Flat and over the Jumps.
Many people will have forgotten that she actually won the Scottish Champion Hurdle in 2022. Last season McConnell sent her down the Pertemps hurdling route and she is very interesting returning back to the Flat.
Suggested bets: Zanndabad (16/1) & Falcon Eight (66/1) E/W.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Alamy*
