THE first of three Cheltenham Festival pieces with my five Ante-Post selections, with my five Long Shots and Five Irish selections to come.
There has with the Dublin Festival and Saturday’s racing been plenty of surprises as everything builds up to a fascinating Cheltenham Festival.
Cheers!
The Wine Tipster
Tuesday March 14th
2.10 Cheltenham – Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase Grade 1 (2m)
Banbridge might be being targeted at the Turners over the longer trip by Joseph O’Brien, for which he is Unibet 9/2, however I hope they revert to the Arkle over the minimum distance, as there is a real opportunity here with his high cruising speed and efficient jumping at Cheltenham.
We know that Banbridge has done nothing but impress at Cheltenham, beating a good field off level weights in November, a run that looks all the better after Tommy’s Oscar’s win in the Lightning at Doncaster at the end of January.
Banbridge came home really strongly at the Dublin Festival in the Irish Arkle to finish second, beaten ten lengths by the now Arkle favourite El Fabiolo, with Appreciate It in third and Dysart Dynamo fourth, who are both much shorter in the betting for The Festival. Banbridge cannot be overlooked in this Arkle.
Unibet 20/1 each way
Wednesday March 15th
1.30 Cheltenham – Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle Grade 1 (2m 5f)
Gaelic Warrior was one of the more impressive winners at the Dublin Racing Festival, who took the 0-150 handicap with plenty in hand and that will surely be the end of his handicap ventures, with any of the Grade 1 hurdles still open to him at the Festival.
He has a tendency to jump right at his hurdles, a trait that arguably cost him victory in the Fred Winter last year when a warm favourite. The Ballymore therefore has been the stated preference and will just give him a little more time to sort his feet out, rather than the hustle and bustle of the Supreme where jumping to his right is going to cost him track position if he continues to do so. He remains unexposed and it really begs the question of how high he could rise, given he’s barely been tested yet.
Unibet 4/1
Wednesday March 15th
2.10 Cheltenham – Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase Grade 1 (3m ½f)
The Real Whacker trained by Pat Neville has been overlooked and if trained by some higher profile trainers he would be favourite for the Brown Advisory.
After his win at Cheltenham over 3m in November, the assumption was he wouldn’t be quick enough back at 2½m last time but again his jumping proved a key asset and this likeable type shrugged them off one by one until only Monmiral proved any danger, and then not for long. The Real Whacker does hold an entry in the Turners and interestingly also in a very open Gold Cup Unibet 50/1, however surely he will go in the Brown Advisory where he has a great chance.
Unibet 5/1
Thursday March 16th
3.30 Cheltenham – Stayers’ Hurdle Grade 1 (3m)
Goshen for the Gary Moore team was beaten 4½l by Paisley Park at Kempton over Christmas in the rescheduled Long Walk Hurdle and at the time like many others it appeared he didn’t really stay. However, rewatching the race he was ridden with a little more restraint than is normally the case, presumably to try and get the trip, and that didn’t maximize Goshen’s main weapon, which is that he can gallop for a long time at a high speed so it would be great at Cheltenham to see him go out and be prominent in race before moving ahead. His tendency to hang to his right will be noticed less on the New Course than it would be the Old, and he would, of course, have hacked up in the Triumph on the same track but for that final hurdle unseat.
Remember he’s simply not a chaser, and a genuine Grade 1 hurdler cannot be a 50-1 chance for a wide-open Stayers.
Unibet 50/1 each way
Friday March 17th
4.50 Cheltenham – Mares’ Chase Grade 2 (2m 4½f)
Jeremy’s Flame for the Gavin Cromwell team is classy over hurdles and fences, and took her form to a new level when thrashing some of the better mares Tweed Skirt and Zambella included this side of the Irish Sea when taking the Lady Protectress at Huntingdon last month, jumping and travelling well and putting the race to bed very easily after the last, barely coming off the bridle to score. That piece of form is as good as anything in the race and it’s hard to see why she should be a double-figure price at present.
Unibet 10/1 each way
