'I'm baffled by his price' - Friends Don't Ask fancied for Norfolk National

4.25 Fakenham
Snellings Norfolk National Handicap Chase | 3m5f | 5yo+ | Sky

Fakenham provides a unique test for a marathon chaser and it’s surprising that only four of the 14 runners for the track’s feature event have previous experience around there.

Christian Williams, who does particularly well when he sends a team from Wales to deepest Norfolk, has already made a name for himself as an excellent ‘target’ trainer.

It’s likely the seven-year-old Strictlyadancer, who boasts form figures of 112 at Fakenham, has long been laid out for this race by Williams, and punters are likely to latch on to that fact.

The gelding underwent wind surgery before his most recent start at Haydock last month, but it’s disconcerting that he was reported to have finished lame on his right-hind following that run.

Christian Williams: runs StrictlyadancerCredit: David Carr

The year-younger Friends Don’t Ask, the only course-and-distance winner, beat Strictlyadancer by five and a half lengths in November to take his form figures at the track to 41.

Martin Smith’s raider is 7lb worse off with his old rival but brings a thoroughly progressive profile into this contest and took another step in the right direction with a determined Fontwell success in first-time cheekpieces last month. A mark of 102 could still underestimate this out-and-out stayer.

Sackett, with course form figures of 21, and Magic River (4B) also have Fakenham experience.

Of the others, Lord Getaway, who looked just the type for a race of this nature during his early chasing days, could go well if building on a recent Uttoxeter second to Hard To Forget.

His trainer James Evans landed this contest with Amiral Collonges in 2017.
Analysis by Richard Birch

What they say

Christian Williams, trainer of Strictlyadancer
We trained him for the race at Haydock last time as that was a good prize and we've aimed horses at this before in the past for the same reason. We're trying to turn him into a good staying chaser and he's not quite there yet but we're slowly getting there. He's better on a bigger, galloping track really but when you get these prizes you have to make sure you go for them.

Martin Smith, trainer of Friends Don't Ask
I was a bit baffled by his price to honest because he beat early favourite Strictlyadancer by nearly six lengths last time he ran at Fakenham. He's improved over the winter and he's only six. When we won that race in November we made a plan to finish the season with this race so he's been trained specifically for this.

Milton Harris, trainer of Magic River
He's fully exposed and presents a bit of a training quandary because he wants better ground but his body doesn't hold up to it all that well at his age. He ran well last time but I suspect one or two of the others may have underperformed. This is the best form he's been in all year and he'd have a big chance unless the ground became very soft. He'll be one of the favourites.
Reporting by Tom Ward

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