The Weekends Racing – by The Sportsman Racing

The next horse to keep onside on Saturday is Bears Affair in Kempton’s 2.40. There are no prizes for guessing who trains this fellow – Henderson again. Bears Affair puts his unbeaten record on the line in the Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle and is very much the one to beat. The seven-year-old son of Presenting looked a terrific prospect when winning two novice hurdles in 2011 before being switched to fences where he showed a disinclination for his new code. Returned back to the smaller obstacles, Bears Affair has been re-invigorated having thrashed Class 2 company at both Kempton and Aintree. A 22lbs rise since winning at Kempton may not be enough to derail this progressive hurdler. Black Thunder, represented by Champion Trainer Paul Nicholls is the live danger. Emma Lavelle can land the novice chase at Warwick in the 1.15 with Highland Lodge. The seven-year-old won two outings from three over hurdles and its been the same story over fences with his last win at Cheltenham his best performance to date. Bowling along in the van from flags down, Highland Lodge saw off the well-regarded Our Father with plenty to spare and provided it’s testing ground at the weekend, the likes of Restless Harry will find him hard to catch. On Sunday, retain some funds for Nicky Richards’ Eduard; the five-year old was unfortunate last time when bumping into Melodic Rendezvous who is high on the bookmakers lists for both the Supreme Novices Hurdle and the Neptune Novices Hurdle. That was only Eduard’s fourth career outing and he remains a horse of much promise. Eduard has been swimming in some serious waters but it’s his opponents who may find themselves out of their depth come Kelso’s 1.10.]]>