There are four meetings on the final day of 2024 - three in Britain and one from Ireland - and the Racing Post’s Graeme Rodway has three picks from Warwick’s seven-race card.
13:20 – Special Acceptance @ 11/8
13:50 – Royal Deeside @ 10/1
14:20 – Sporty Jim @ 6/1
13:20 – Special Acceptance - 11/8
The 3m veterans’ handicap chase looks like a good opportunity for Special Acceptance to get his reward for a string of consistent efforts, including on his last start in a similar race at Huntingdon.
Special Acceptance has run only twice since joining Billy Aprahamian’s stable from Paul Webber and he filled the runner-up spot on both occasions. However, his latest effort in a veterans’ chase at Huntingdon came in a stronger race and the winner that day, The Wolf, has scored again since.
The selection pulled 16 lengths clear of the third on that occasion and made several jumping errors along the way. He would surely have given the winner a race with a cleaner round.
That will be in the forefront of Freddie Gingell’s mind here, but he is one of the best jockeys in this race and, if anyone can get Special Acceptance into a jumping rhythm, he is probably the man.
13:50 – Royal Deeside - 10/1
The 2m4f handicap chase comes up next and Pep Talking will be a warm order to complete a hat-trick. However, he races off a career-high mark now and will need to run another personal best.
It’s worth taking him on with Royal Deeside, who was a close third off this mark over 2m at the track last month. That was over hurdles, but he has a big chance if reproducing that form over fences.
Royal Deeside has run only once since and was too keen to get home over 2m31/2f at Doncaster last time, but this sharper track evidently suits him well and he should stay this far judging on Flat form.
His Flat pedigree is an obvious question mark now that he makes his chasing debut, but Alan King has had plenty of horses through his hands and surely wouldn’t be sending this lightly raced four-year-old over fences unless he thought he would jump them. It’s therefore worth taking the hint.
14:20 – Sporty Jim - 6/1
The 3m2f handicap hurdle can go to Sporty Jim, who went into plenty of notebooks when a staying-on third over 3m1f at this course last time and looks capable of better over a furlong further.
Sporty Jim was the only horse to get into the race from the rear on that occasion and he did all of his best work inside the final couple of furlongs, showing that he has the ability to win off this mark.
That was his best effort since joining the Rob Summers stable and a 1lb rise in the weights might underestimate this lightly raced seven-year-old’s rate of progress, especially if he is closer up early.
Beau Morgan, who was on board last time, is back claiming 5lb in the saddle and Sporty Jim looks dangerous from the bottom of the weights in a race where many of his rivals look to be more exposed.
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