Unbeaten chaser halved in price for the Sky Bet Chase for in-form trainer

Charlie Longsdon: trainer is operating at a 33 per cent strike-rate in the last two weeks

Charlie Longsdon has been in fine form in the last two weeks and his unbeaten chaser Tea For Free has been well supported in the Sky Bet Chase to give the trainer and jockey Lilly Pinchin another Saturday victory.

The eight-year-old made it four wins from four starts over fences in a Newbury novices' handicap chase on New Year's Eve last time out and has been shortened to 7-2 for the 3m premier handicap, having been as big as 6-1 this morning.

Longsdon's last nine runners have yielded three victories, a strike-rate of 33 per cent, with none of them finishing out of the first four, and he kicked off Doncaster's two-day meeting with a win and a close second from his two runners yesterday.

Pinchin has been on board for all of his wins and a 7lb rise for his six-and-a-half-length victory may not stop him from making it five wins on the bounce.

Ga Law continues to head the betting at around 5-2 but is trying the three-mile trip for the first time, having scored in the Paddy Power Chase over 2m4f at this course in November.

Mister Coffey is a notable absentee having been around 7-1 in the market before being withdrawn due to the going.

Cheltenham Trails day card given go-ahead

Cheltenham's Trials day card will go ahead as planned on Saturday after the course came through a morning inspection on raceday.

An inspection was held on Friday but a second check was called due to the threat of frost, but temperatures remained above freezing overnight.

Clerk of the course Jon Pullin said: "Based on the forecast we had yesterday there was some doubt about whether we would go ahead, but thankfully temperatures stayed above freezing throughout the night. We didn't drop below +1.5C so thankfully it was an easy decision this morning."

The going remains soft, good to soft in places on the New course and good to soft, soft in places on the cross-country course, but fence five (and 28) will be passed due to an area of unsafe ground.

Pullin added: "There is just an area on the landing side of fence five that has been affected by the last two weeks' frost so we will bypass that fence – it's jumped as fence five and 28 – but that's the only one they'll need to do that with."

Saturday's nine-race card, due off at 11.40am, promises to offer numerous clues for the Cheltenham Festival in March, with Gold Cup second- and third-favourites Protektorat and Noble Yeats due to clash in the Paddy Power Cotswold Chase.

Last year's Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Energumene faces Edwardstone, the main rival to his crown, in the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Clarence House Chase that was salvaged from last Saturday's abandoned Ascot card.

Also among five races due to be shown live on ITV is the Dahlbury Stallions At Chapel Stud Cleeve Hurdle, which popular stayer Paisley Park will bid to land for a fourth time.

Non-runners

Cheltenham

11.40: Fils De Roi (going)
1.50: Now Where Or When (going)
3.35: Bonttay (going), Blenkinsop (coughing)
4.10: Castel Gandolfo (going)

Doncaster

12.55: Watergrange Jack (bad scope), Zafar (bruised foot)
1.35: Saint Segal
3.15: Mister Coffey (going)
3.50: Jaytee (going)
4.25: Luna Aoife (lame), Remember Ally (inflammation)

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