Timeform TV Focus: Friday 8 November

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Exeter

1.50 1 pt – 3 Deafening Silence 6/4 general, 7/4 William Hill, 2/1 bet365

Captain Teague had better novice hurdling form than Deafening Silence last season and seems highly likely to make a chaser, yet dig a little deeper and this de facto match takes on a different complexion. For starters, Deafening Silence wasn’t seen after his Sandown win in early-December and he may well have shown form comparable to Captain Teague had he had the opportunity later in the season. Secondly, Captain Teague ended his campaign on the back of a tame finishing effort in the Albert Bartlett that saw him beaten over 50 lengths, and while subsequent wind surgery may point to an issue that day, it still needs factoring in, as does the respective autumns their 2 trainers are having. Dan Skelton has been very fast out of the blocks this season and is sure to have Deafening Silence, who was successful on this card last year, well schooled and primed for this chasing debut, fairly valuable race that it is, and that makes him just about a bet at 6/4 in our book.

2.25 1 pt – 2 Djelo 10/3 general

Martator’s ultimately smooth success at Ascot on Saturday provided a trademark autumn signal that the Venetia Williams yard is rolling now, which ought to bode well for the stable’s year-younger Djelo in Friday’s feature Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter. Djelo hasn’t been seen since underperforming at the Grand National meeting, but he’s won first time out in both seasons for Williams and the second of those – a narrow verdict over Master Chewy, with the pair twelve lengths clear of the rest, at Aintree – couldn’t read much better now. That wasn’t Djelo’s only notable performance during a very positive first season over fences, either, as he went on to add two more wins in the next few weeks, including making all in fine style in the Grade 2 Noel at Ascot at Christmas time, before finishing placed behind such leading British-trained novices as Nickle Back at Sandown and Grey Dawning in the Turners at Cheltenham. It’s worth noting also that the reopposing JPR One was 6/1 compared to Djelo’s 9/4 when the pair ‘met’ (Djelo was wiped out of the race at the first by the errant Matata, who ultimately succumbed to JPR One in a close finish) at Lingfield in between, whereas the current betting, seemingly wrongly, has the former shorter this time.  

3.00 1 pt e/w – 8 Asian Spice 8/1 Bet Victor, Coral/Ladbrokes

Bryony Frost’s return to Britain to resume her partnership with Sans Bruit in the preceding race has garnered most of the headlines yet it could be argued she’s got better claims with a ride on her father’s Asian Spice in one of the supporting handicaps on the card. Now, an each-way bet in an eight-runner race on drying ground a day in advance runs the risk of the place terms altering markedly should one of the others be taken out, but the value should the field remain intact looks too tempting to allow the potential negatives to dissuade a bet. Exeter form is the starting point, as Asian Spice won two big-field handicaps at the track last season, the first a race that worked out remarkably well and the second a narrow defeat of Ito Ditto – rated 106 then and more than a stone higher now thanks to a couple of subsequent wins - with daylight back to the rest. She ought to be spot on now back against mares after a recent return from a break that saw her do best of those held up in a 0-120 open handicap at the track.

3.35 2 pts – 9 Coco Mademoiselle 2/1 general, 9/4 bet365

A couple of these have dropped to handy marks but with the stable form offputting for Tightenourbelts and the trip on the sharp side for Bangers And Cash, Coco Mademoiselle really does stand out, even at the 2/1 mark. A dual winner over hurdles last season, she may have been a beaten favourite on her chasing debut at Worcester at the end of September but immediately advanced her form nonetheless, jumping soundly in the main, and she’s now able to go handicapping from her hurdles mark of 122, which looks very appealing on that Worcester form. She’s got the physique to be better in this sphere and won an Irish point earlier in her career, too, and she can take this before making up into a very useful chaser this season.