“Ones to watch” — Elliott’s Honesty Policy Ascot raid as Mark Walsh chases Long Walk glory. Britain’s two biggest meetings on Saturday are hosted by Ascot and Haydock and there’s a significant amount of prize money on offer. The Ascot Long Walk Hurdle is the pick of the bunch and there’s lots of Irish representation at both tracks. We’re going to assess the chances of all nine Irish raiders in Britain on Saturday. 12.20 Haydock - Ayiko @ SP Stuart Crawford raids Britain’s northern tracks regularly, although he has just one winner from 16 runners at Haydock over the last five seasons. Ayiko produced a career best performance to win a maiden hurdle at Ayr in January and ran a cracker to finish third in a hot Listed handicap at Fairyhouse last term. There could be more to come over fences and he’s one of two strong candidates. 12.40 Ascot - Firefox @ 1/1 Gordon Elliott’s Firefox was a talented novice hurdler a couple of seasons ago and placed in all three spring Grade 1s over two miles. It was a similar story over fences last season and he tended to find one or two too good. This looks like an excellent piece of placement and a return to winning ways seems likely. 12.40 Ascot - James Du Berlais @ 10/3 Trained by Willie Mullins, James Du Berlais is talented on his day but can be a little inconsistent. A rating of 160 suggests he’s too good for handicaps, but he tends to struggle in higher grades. He won a valuable handicap chase at the Punchestown Festival and he should be very competitive here. 2.05 Haydock - O’Toole @ 11/1 O’Toole has missed lots of racing over the years and is very lightly raced for a nine-year-old. He won a handicap hurdle at Ayr on his penultimate start, which came after a lengthy absence, and he was runner-up in a Grade 2 novice chase before that. A respectable second at Cork on his reappearance, he could run a big race. 2.05 Haydock - Brucejack @ 14/1 Peter Fahey’s Brucejack is yet to win over fences but has finished second on three occasions. He would have benefited from slightly more aggressive tactics when a respectable fourth in the Porterstown last time but the gelding is an interesting outsider here. 2.05 Haydock - Velvet Elvis @ 33/1 Velvet Elvis is a three-time winner over fences and the most recent of those successes came off a mark of 142 at Fairyhouse in February 2024. He ran a stormer to finish second to subsequent Grand National winner Nick Rockett in the Thyestes Chase at Gowran last season. Disappointing at Navan last month, he may well improve for the run although some help from the handicapper may be required. 2.25 Ascot - Honesty Policy @ 3/1 Elliott’s Honesty Policy was progressive over hurdles last season and he won a Grade 1 novice hurdle at Aintree in the spring, before finishing second to Jasmin De Vaux at Punchestown. He looks like one to watch in the staying hurdle division this season and Mark Walsh heads over to Ascot just for this ride. 2.25 Ascot - Colonel Mustard @ 20/1 A useful performer on his day, Colonel Mustard does tend to struggle at the top level. He did well to beat The Yellow Clay in the Lismullen Hurdle when last seen, but this is a hot race and it’s likely that several of his rivals will prove too strong. 2.40 Haydock - Walks The Talk @ 7/1 Walks The Talk is unbeaten in two starts over hurdles and is definitely going in the right direction. She easily defied a penalty at Kelso last month and has earned a step up in grade. That being said, this looks like a warm event and others are preferred.
