The Mandarin’s Sunday Selections for 22nd December 2024

The Mandarin’s Sunday Selections from Fakenkam

Sky Bet Acca Freeze Handicap Hurdle 12.13
Faded Fantasy
A pretty weak race for Sunday’s opener at Fakenham, but Faded Fantasy should be capable of winning this. First-time blinkers are added to aid the concentration, and this return to hurdling should put this Make Believe gelding in the frame at least. Tim Reed’s She Won’t Mind looks the best of the rest in a contest that will not take much to win.

Sky Bet Build A Bet Mares’ Novices’ Handicap Hurdle 12.43
Brave Jen
It could pay to side with Tom Ellis’s Brave Jen for this Mares’ Handicap Hurdle. This Kayf Tara mare should act well on Fakenham’s sharp track, and this ground should be good enough to show her at her best, with not an awful lot to beat in this line-up. Tim Easterby’s Uokhun looks the one that could improve from her brace of third places, so is feared most, but Brave Jen gets the vote.

£50,000 Queen Boudicca Series Qualifier Mares’ Handicap Chase 1.13
Kosasiempre (nap)
Stuart Edmunds holds the key to this with Kosasiempre, who lines up fresh from a win at Leicester at the start of the month. Charlie Hammond didn’t have her all out to win by a cosy 5 & 1/2 lengths, and with some cut in the ground here at Fakenham, the December double looks on the cards. The Handicapper has taken note of that Leicester win, but the 7lb rise seems fair, so Kosasiempre gets the nudge ahead of course and distance winner Micronormous.

Sky Bet Super Week, Supersized Maiden Hurdle 1.43
Go West (nb)
Paul Nicholls makes the trip up to Norfolk with Go West, and this Bumper winner looks the one to follow here. He went well for a long way on his return to action at Plumpton three weeks back, tiring in the final 2 furlongs but not pushed out by Harry Cobden. This looks a decent opportunity to get off the mark over timber, with Lucy Wadham’s Miss Cynthia likely to give Go West the most to think about. Miss Cynthia was smart on the flat, finishing fourth in the Group 1 Prix du Cadran, so should be in the mix, but Go West gets the tick for the in-form Paul Nicholls.

Sky Bet Club Stayers’ Handicap Chase 2.13
Ballyrashane
The chance is taken on course and distance winner Ballyrashane to get upsides of Christian Williams’s Jony Max. Ballyrashane won here in March and ran well enough at Plumpton last time out to get our selection for this Stayers’ Chase. In receipt of nearly a stone from Jony Max, and with course form to boot on Fakenham’s tight bends, Ballyrashane is taken to serve it up to the jolly.

The Mandarin