Kate Tracey, Sam Boswell and Declan Rix are again nominated for the top bets for Saturday’s races at Doncaster (live on Sky Sports Racing) and Cheltenham.

The team are particularly interested in the Cheltenham feature show ‘Supporting the Hunter Family Foundation December Gold Cup Handicap Chase’ – run over two miles and four furlongs at Prestbury Park.

JP McManus’ Jagwar currently leads the market, with Vincenzo and Hoe Joly Smoke also favored. Elsewhere on the pitch, Venetia Williams and Charlie Deutsch will look to bring home the trophy again with Matato after scoring alongside Jamie Rand last season.

Kate Tracy…

“I’m focusing on Paddy Power’s performance because when we go into the Gold Cup in December that race is doing really well. Hoe Joly Smoke – which doesn’t surprise me, he’s finding himself in the spotlight now because he’s the one that’s the headliner. He’s had issues in the past though, so I don’t know if I’d row and trust him to be that headliner rather than a solid horse in the race – that’s Vincenzo.

“We tend to associate Sam Thomas’ horses with their re-emerging horses, who performed well and performed well on their season debuts. However, I still hope for more from Vincenzo. On his penultimate start, he finished behind Booster in the Greatwood Handicap Chase Bob, who got lost in the horsemanship melee of the championship, was arguably the moral winner of the race but was robbed late in the race by a quirky but talented horse who will remain with me as he was so good in fencing last season and of course his recent performances have been marred by panic attacks.”

Declan Ricks…

“I thought there were horses to answer for along the way. I thought Hoe Joly Smoke was running well in Paddy Power but his jumping has let him down in the last two races. Jagwar – you know the stable hasn’t quite fired up yet. Along with Vincenzo, Dylan Johnston lost his 3lb weight and he moved up in the handicap. Kim Roark has actually come off the fence, although I was impressed with his jumping last time before he failed at the fence. Colonel Harry – Is the ground soft enough for him?

“I keep thinking Emperor Sheng 12/1 is a good, rock solid bet. He does come here after a somewhat disappointing performance as a beaten favorite at Old Roan Chase. The game has initially been unsuccessful so far this season, but he hasn’t been beaten. He was only beaten by eleven lengths and I thought he was in much better shape than the distance and had the right to come out of it.

“I read some quotes from Richard Johnson that said he wasn’t in top condition that day – he had tweaked his muscles and so on. I think he will run much better than the price and is a good one-way player. The Hobbs and Whites are still going well and the new course going into Cheltenham will suit him very well. A good positive ride on this stiff track will bring out the best and I’m really excited to be racing on 12/1.”

Sam Boswell…

“It was a great game to watch, wasn’t it? When you look at those guys ahead of the punt, we all think back to Paddy Power’s performance. Jagwal didn’t play that day and when the season comes back – even though he’s probably fresh enough and done a lot of work at home – I just wonder coming here and playing the first game of the season, it’s going to be tough, isn’t it?

“The two guys behind Panic Attack – Hoe Joly Smoke and Vincenzo – big pat on the back for them, but they were short enough on the bet. Kim Roque – I don’t know how to weigh that horse! At 11/2, I wasn’t prepared to risk it, but it’s a really interesting connecting position.

“I would have mentioned Galau, but she is the stable Colonel Harry Beating Gaborio at Sefton last time did us no favors. Is the ground soft enough? That was the problem and it was a concern, but they did a great job getting the horse back. His performance last time was impressive – I wouldn’t want to go any shorter than 7 seconds, but if he takes his chance, that’s a good price. Il Ridoto I think it would be interesting if the ground actually dried up and Colonel Harry came out. I think he’s making up for the time the horse lost in taking some time off injury and could go well. “

Watch the weekend winners in full on the At The Races YouTube channel…