Defi Du Seuil could make punters Tingle on cracking winter Saturday

There is many a good tune played on an old fiddle – so we could be in for some sweet music on Saturday.

Un De Sceaux, One For Arthur plus old rivals Native River and Might Bite have been virtuosos for a while now and each has the chance to delight ITV4 viewers with their talents once again.

But it may be more a case of, 'When the cat's away the mice will play', at Sandown, where Defi Du Seuil could be the one squeaking the most joyfully.

Cats don't come much bigger than Altior, an outstanding two-miler who bolted up in the Betfair Tingle Creek Chase (3.00) at 8-13 last year.

But he is away racing over longer distances at present, offering his usual prey the chance to make merry in his absence – which may not be a lengthy one, if recent hints from Nicky Henderson are any guide.

The betting suggests the mouse who roars will be Defi Du Seuil, the pocket-sized chaser who is becoming Britain's answer to Tiger Roll.

Like the similarly diminutive dual Grand National winner, he has shown size does not matter and progressed from Triumph Hurdle victory, developing into a high-class, Cheltenham-winning chaser.

His defeat of Lostintranslation at the festival last spring looks all the better now the winner is favourite for just about every big chase bar Bradley Walsh's celebrity Christmas special.

And a reappearance Shloer Chase success over two miles made the Altior-less Tingle Creek an obvious target for Defi Du Seuil’s bid to enhance his remarkable Grade 1 record.

He has run at the highest level on seven occasions and won five times, which is a pointer to his chance of doubling Philip Hobbs’s tally of Tingle Creeks, 18 years after success with Flagship Uberalles.

That 2001 winner did the rounds and had won the race the previous two years for two different trainers, starting out with Paul Nicholls, who has gone on to collect the prize another nine times.

Which fact alone ensures respect for his Politologue, the 2017 winner and also runner-up in last month’s Shloer, and outsider Dolos.

Watch last year's Tingle Creek Chase

Nor will Un De Sceaux be any pushover. The bold-jumping front-runner won this in 2018 and was once likened to the bunny from the Duracell ad by then jockey Ruby Walsh, who said: “He just keeps on going and there’s no stopping him."

Interestingly, all five leading contenders in the Tingle Creek started out in France. Henry VIII probably wouldn’t haved liked it but the Grade 1 novice chase (1.50) run in his name has nearly as strong a Gallic flavour.

Torpillo, who crossed the Channel to join Nigel Twiston-Davies last year, displayed the precociously sound chasing technique for which French horses are renowned when scoring impressively on his first run over fences at Warwick last month.

And smart hurdler Grand Sancy, who was bred in France, demands attention on his chasing debut in a race Nicholls has won four times since 2011.

Henry VIII’s first wife Catherine of Aragon was from, well, Aragon so he might be keener on the Spanish import Nube Negra who won twice over fences in October and has long been aimed at this by Dan Skelton.

Saturday cards and betting

Everton 0 Aintree 1

This is a day when even the most ardent Everton fan may be considering taking the A59 out of Liverpool before match time.

The lunchtime kick-off threatens to be a misery fest for the Goodison Park faithful, with top four-chasing Chelsea favourites to inflict more suffering on the relegation-threatened home side.

At least the newly-dismissed manager Marco Silva is now free to join those travelling three miles north to Aintree, which stages possibly its best ever day's racing away from the Grand National meeting.

The feature Randox Health Becher Chase (1.30) is as strong a race as ever, its 18 runners including 2017 Grand National winner One For Arthur and the remarkable Vieux Lion Rouge – who has cleared a modern-day record 183 National fences in seven races over the last three and a half years.

The Chair, Becher's Brook and the rest will create their usual thrills in the Virgin Bet Grand Sefton Handicap Chase (3.15) as well.

But we also have a Gold Cup rematch in the Virgin Bet Price Boosts Many Clouds Chase (2.40) as Native River takes on Might Bite, the pair who served up such an epic duel at Cheltenham 21 months ago.

And an 11.30am start, thanks to the addition of the Listed mares' chase salvaged from frozen Carlisle last Sunday, means Blues fans will at least have three races to enjoy before they start anxiously checking for news from across the city.

Elliott ready to roll at Navan

Gordon Elliott is allowing others the Aintree limelight on Saturday, with Becher Chase topweight Alpha Des Obeaux his only runner at a course where he will be the star turn when Tiger Roll bids for a third straight Grand National next April.

Eyes on the prize: Tiger Roll being aimed at National hat-trick bid says Elliott

But he is likely to be centre stage closer to home at Navan, with 16 runners on the card including Eclair De Beaufeu and I'm A Game Changer in the feature Irish Stallion Farms EBF Klairon Davis Novice Chase (2.10).

Stablemate Festival D'ex is worth looking out for in the maiden hurdle (12.05) after a most impressive victory in the Goffs Land Rover Bumper at Punchestown in April.

So is Pertemps Final winner Sire Du Berlais on his reappearance in the handicap hurdle (1.05), opposed by Willie Mullins' 2018 National runner-up Pleasant Company who is starting out on his path to taking on Tiger Roll once again in the spring.

The going lowdown

Conditions at Sandown on Friday were described as testing by riders, who are set to be in store for more gruelling ground at the track on Saturday.

Light showers overnight could help loosen up the ground, although Saturday is forecast to be mainly dry and mild for the Betfair Tingle Creek Chase card.

Sandown's going on the chase track is described as soft, good to soft in places and it is heavy, soft in places over hurdles.

The going at Aintree for its Randox Health Becher Chase meeting is good to soft on the chase and hurdle tracks and soft on the Grand National course.

The outlook on Merseyside on Saturday is dry and breezy, while temperatures may reach 9C.

Flat fun all through the night

Jumps fans may have half a dozen of the potential highlights of the season to look forward to in less than two hours on Saturday but the delights are more spread out for Flat enthusiasts – who could be in for a marathon session.

Wolverhampton's evening card features a fast-track qualifier for Good Friday and the debut of Waldkonig, a 600,000gns two-year-old half-brother to Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Waldgeist. Waldkonig's trainer John Gosden launched Enable's amazing career on the all-weather at around this stage of the 2016 campaign.

That leads on nicely to Maximum Security, the colt who was controversially disqualified after passing the post first in the Kentucky Derby and has since come through a serious bout of colic.

The next chapter of his eventful year comes in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile (9.16) at a chilly Aqueduct in New York.

And if you are staying up for the Graded action at Los Alamitos in California, there may be little point in going to bed with Sunday's Hong Kong International meeting getting under way at 4am British time.

Come through that lot and you can tell Stradivarius all about stamina.

Hong Kong cards and betting

Today on ITV4 Racing: ARMCHAIR GUIDE

1.30 Aintree
Randox Health Becher Handicap Chase (Grade 3)
3m2f
The 2017 Grand National winner One For Arthur takes on former Becher victors Walk In The Mill and Vieux Lion Rouge.

Read Road To Cheltenham At racingtv.com Henry VIII Novices’ Chase (Grade 1)
1m7½f
Four-year-old Torpillo bids to become the youngest winner of the first Grade 1 novice chase of the season since 2008.

Download The App At Virgin Bet Fillies’ Juvenile Hurdle (Listed)
2m1f
Alan King has had two winners and two seconds in this race's seven-year history and runs Fakenham scorer Midnights' Gift this time.

Jumeirah Hotels And Resorts December Handicap Hurdle (Listed)
2m
Imperial Cup winner Malaya returns to the course and distance of her biggest success, taking on Man Of Plenty who took this race 12 months ago.

Virgin Bet Price Boosts Many Clouds Chase (Grade 2)
3m1f
Native River and Might Bite, first and second in the Cheltenham Gold Cup last year, cross swords again – Native River has won each of their previous four meetings.

Betfair Tingle Creek Chase (Grade 1)
1m7½f
Former winners Politologue and Un De Sceaux are among the dangers to Defi Du Seuil in the pre-Christmas championship event for 2m chasers.

Virgin Bet Grand Sefton Handicap Chase
2m5f
Dual Topham Chase winner Ultragold attempts to score a third victory over the Grand National fences.

3.35 Sandown
Betfair London National Handicap Chase
3m5f
Veterans Houblon Des Obeaux and Carole's Destrier, who won this in 2015, take on progressive youngsters Classic Ben and Dragon D'Estruval.

Look back on a record-breaking year with the Racing Post Annual 2020, the perfect gift for every racing fan. Bigger and better and only £12.99, this year's 224-page book features all the best stories from a brilliant racing year. Order your copy here