Cheltenham Preview Day 4
Triumph Hurdle
I am not alone when I echo some of the quotations I have seen suggesting this is the probably the most competitive race of the week. I was sitting with a friend who compiles his own ratings and he had 12 of the horses within 4lbs of each other. Some will improve and others will regress but either way you will need some luck to find the winner. Ivanovich Gorbatov is trained by Aidan O’Brien who trained the great Istabraq back in the day. If this horse is anywhere near that level, then he will win this hard held. I cannot have him though as at the likely price around 5.50 he is far too short. He tends to get hurdles wrong and has clouted a few in his races. If he does that in this race, then he will be found wanting. We could forgive him because the ground was desperate so this better ground may help him, but I cannot have a horse in a Grade 1 around Cheltenham if there is any concern about his jumping. The forgotten horse appears to be Leoncavallo who is currently at around 25/1 with the bookmakers. Yes, he unseated his rider last time at Cheltenham but that was a mistake and his jumping was okay prior to that blunder. He’s beaten Sceau Royal and that horse is priced at around 5/1 which seems very strange? The concern will be his ability to see out this 2m at a breakneck speed, I don’t think they will dawdle! Although many see this as a pure speed race, you need a horse that can stay this trip in a true run race. I will take a small position pre-race and look to trade out in running. Because the price is so high you can use small stakes which minimises your risk.
Vincent O’Brien County Hurdle
I am really looking forward to seeing Great Field line up in this race, he looks to be a very exciting prospect. Once again it is another W Mullins horse and owned by JP McManus. He absolutely hosed up last time out without breaking sweat but he did pull and he will need to settle better in this or he could be found wanting. If I could get 9/1 or bigger then I would risk a small stake on him. If they can get him settled and perhaps buried behind runners, then we could see his price shrink. If he pulls, then I can see the on-course players getting stuck into him. I would like to see Dan Skelton win this for the UK with Superb Story who ran well in the Greatwood Hurdle last time at Cheltenham. He didn’t have the smoothest of passages as they ran for home but despite finishing well he was beaten 2 lengths by Old Guard. I like horses with Cheltenham form so I think he has a chance. The price is rather skinny but I wouldn’t put anybody off trading him in running. He should be close up as they run for home so a lay in running should be possible.
Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle
This is not a race I can get involved in but a horse I have in my notebook is running in the shape of Barters Hill. It would be great to see Ben Pauling have a winner at the festival and this horse has admirable qualities. I just loved the way he battled last time out having been challenged for the lead. He is a front runner and despite being harangued he showed real fight to win by a narrow margin. That is never easy and it shows how tenacious he is. The price is a joke so I will simply watch and hope he wins!
The Gold Cup
I have been a fan of Don Cossack for a long time and when I watched him win the Melling Chase at Aintree in April 2015 I was blown away by the performance. He had finished 3rd at the festival that year behind Uxizandre in the Ryanair Chase. He stayed on well but was no match for the front two. He ran in the King George but I was not impressed by the ride he received and am not sure a tight right handed track like Kempton really suits him. He was baulked a few times and then came down. The price is crazy now but I took an early price and will probably hedge early. The buzz horse is Djakadam from the Mullins yard yet again! The rumours are he is flying at home and making Vautour look ordinary. I don’t know if that is true but we saw what Vautour did in the Ryanair when he was allegedly 90% so goodness knows what this horse is capable of. Anyway, I prefer to see things with my own eyes rather than rely on rumours so Don Cossack is still my preference.
Foxhunter Chase
I rarely bet in this race and this running will be no different. All I want is for Victoria Pendleton to have a great spin round and come back safe and well with all the other horses and jockeys. What she has done is quite remarkable with only 12 months in the saddle and I wish her well.
That’s it from me, good luck to all that play.
Category: Horse Racing
