This huge handicap takes place at Newbury on Saturday 27th November
Enrilo leads Eklat De Rire, Fiddlerontheroof and Ontheropes in the betting
Kitty's Light and Demachine are our ante-post tips
Expired
Kitty's Light charging home in The bet365 Gold Cup Handicap Chase at Sandown back in April. (Getty)
One of the most important races of the season takes place at Newbury next weekend, and this year's Ladbrokes Trophy is shaping up to be an absolute cracker.
Today, I've taken a look through the ante-post betting for this historic Grade Three handicap, and picked out my best Ladbrokes Trophy ante-post bets.
Table Of Contents
2021 Ladbrokes Trophy Odds
2021 Ladbrokes Trophy Ante-Post Guide
2021 Ladbrokes Trophy Ante-Post Tip 1 - Kitty's Light
2021 Ladbrokes Trophy Ante-Post Tip 2 - Demachine
2021 Ladbrokes Trophy Odds
Name
Odds
Enrilo
6/1
Eklat De Rire
7/1
Ontheropes
7/1
Fiddlerontheroof
7/1
Kitty's Light
10/1
Remastered
12/1
Cloth Cap
12/1
Bar
14/1
*Odds taken on 17/11/21*
2021 Ladbrokes Trophy Ante-Post Guide
In four of the last five seasons, the ground has been good or good-to-soft at Newbury on Ladbrokes Trophy day. The weather forecast this year looks pretty clear during the week building up to the race, meaning horses who need softer ground, like Remastered, will almost certainly come out.
Eklat De Rire has done most of his running on very soft ground. When Royal Pagaille and Chris's Dream are withdrawn, Henry De Bromhead's raider would be left carrying 11-8, so it would be a big ask for Eklat De Rire to win with that much weight on ground which is unlikely to suit.
Ontheropes may have won at Limerick in October, but the ground that day was soft. Willie Mullins' has done his best work on softer ground and was withdrawn earlier in his career when the going was descirbed as good. I'm not sure he will take up his entry either.
Enrilo fits the profile you need for the Ladbrokes Trophy winner. He's a young, improving, second-season chaser. While he has been lightly raced throughout his career, he's proven himself capable of contending at a high level and will likely be left carrying a weight around 11-1.
The only downside to Enrilo is his price. At 6/1, he offers little in the way of value for an each-way bet. So, I've looked further down the betting for a couple of each-way tips and there were two names who really captured my imagination.
2021 Ladbrokes Trophy Ante-Post Tip 1 - Kitty's Light
He may be the youngest horse in the field, but KITTY'S LIGHT has already proven himself to be a classy, hardy staying chaser, and I'm definitely going to back Christian Williams' five-year-old.
Jack Tudor's mount was flying up the hill after jumping the last in the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown back in April, only to receive a shoulder barge from the hanging Enrilo, which is the only reason why he didn't win that handicap. On his reappearance at Chepstow, Kitty's Light lost out to Chirico Vallis on the head-bob, before finishing a somewhat fortuitous runner-up to Fusil Raffles in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby.
11-3 would be the most weight Kitty's Light has ever carried in a handicap, but Jack Tudor's three-pound claimer would lower that by three pounds. Williams' five-year-old is an excellent jumper, who has improved with racing each season and often saves his best for the latter stages of his races. 10/1 looks a lovely each-way price.
Richard Patrick riding Demachine (yellow/red) to victory at Ascot last season. (Getty)
2021 Ladbrokes Trophy Ante-Post Tip 2 - Demachine
Kerry Lee is yet to have a runner in the Ladbrokes Trophy, but it seems she'll be arriving at Newbury with a lively contender in DEMACHINE.
Having run just four times over hurdles, Lee's seven-year-old kicked off life over fences with two impressive wins last autumn, beating future winners like Morning Vicar and Hold That Taught in convincing fashion. Demachine then finished third behind Paint The Dream here at Newbury, and second to Remastered in the Reynoldstown on his most recent run back in February.
Paint The Dream was exceptionally well-handicapped that day and the winner was afforded a very soft lead for the entirety of that race. Demachine traveled and jumped better than Remastered for 90% of the Reynoldstown, but veered a little left at the final two flights, allowing the leader to hold on and claim victory.
Although he hasn't run yet this season, Lee did take Demachine for a racecourse gallop at Newbury at the weekend and the horse looked in excellent shape. Richard Patrick's mount will likely carry 10-10 into the Ladbrokes Trophy, and Demachine certainly seems to be ahead of the handicapper.
Verdict
Kitty's Light and Demachine are our two ante-post selections for the 2021 Ladbrokes Trophy.
2021 Ladbrokes Trophy Ante-Post Tip 1: Kitty's Light Each-Way @10/1 at Ladbrokes - 8 Units
2021 Ladbrokes Trophy Ante-Post Tip 2: Demachine Each-Way @16/1 at bet365 - 5 Units
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