Spinal Research Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
Dunguib, last year’s winner of the Festival bumper, is unbeaten over hurdles and may well be a superstar. The only factors against him are his relatively inexperienced jockey and a rather sloppy round of jumping on his last start. If we are going to oppose Dunguib what are we going to oppose him with? The Nicky Henderson trained Oscar Whisky who has won both his starts over hurdles in impressive style and comes into the “could be anything” category is one possibility. The Irish pair of Blackstairmountain and Flat Out, both trained by Willie Mullins are others for the short list. The former is probably best suited by good ground and has Ruby Walsh in the saddle while Flat Out, a winner on his hurdles debut at Punchestown last month is open to any amount of improvement. Get Me Out Of Here, the mount of AP McCoy is another to consider. A strong traveller he won the Totesport Trophy at Newbury and is unbeaten in 4 starts over hurdles.
Dunguib may well turn this into a procession but he is bound to be a short price and I would suggest a small each way interest in one of the potential improvers such as Oscar Whisky, Blackstairmountain and Flat Out.
Irish Independent Arkle Challenge Trophy Steeple Chase
There is a strong Irish challenge in the Arkle but I am hoping that this race will go to a British trained runner. Somersby has a lot going for him. He has a nice blend of speed and stamina and so far has jumped well in his races. The other one I like is Riverside Theatre who is an efficient jumper that will like the ground. Somersby and Riverside Theatre would be my 2 against the field. Paul Nicholls seems sweet on the chances of Woolcombe Folly and he might be worth as small each way interest.
William Hill Trophy Handicap Steeple Chase
My original short list for this race consisted of Casey Jones, Kicks for Free, Exmoor Ranger and The Package. No horse rated 150 or more has won this for 27 years which is rather a compelling statistic and if taken literally would get rid of Casey Jones who is rated 151! He goes well fresh and will be suited by the track as he showed when 5th in the RSA Chase last season behind Cooldine. Exmoor Ranger has run well in a couple of decent handicaps this season, winning at Newbury and only going down by nose at Sandown behind Monkerhostin. He should be suited by the ground.
The Package has not always looked entirely genuine but I was impressed by his course win in December. He will be held up by Timmy Murphy, tactics that have proved successful in this race in the past. Kicks for Free has run well at the Festival in the past, only going down by a nose in the Coral Cup in 2008. He looks well treated at the weights. These are the 4 I would concentrate on although there are plenty of others with chances such as Character Building while Officier de Reserve could go well at a silly price.
For my final selection I will exclude the pair that are higher in the weights and side with The Package and Kicks for Free – final answer!
Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy
This race is incredibly open with very little to choose between the main contenders. Go Native has plenty in his favour having won at the Festival last season and he goes for the million pound bonus here having won the Fighting Fifth and the Christmas Hurdle. Celestial Hero has form figures of 122 at Cheltenham and looks likely to be in the frame again. In such a tight race Medermit could be the one most capable of improvement. He was possibly a bit unlucky when 2nd to Go Native in the Supreme Novices last season and is one of my main fancies tomorrow. Barry Geraghty has chosen to ride Punjabi rather than Zaynar and this horse has a remarkably consistent record at the top level.
My initial fancy for the race was Solwhit as he seems to have the ideal blend of pace and stamina but he has had a slight setback in recent weeks which just puts me off. It is also possible that he needs more give in the ground to be seen at his best over 2 miles.
The 4 I am most interested in are Go Native, Celestial Hero, Punjabi and Medermit. It may well be Go Native’s race to lose but he is rather a short price for so open a race and you may want to look for value elsewhere. Medermit may well have improved past some of his rivals while the battle hardened Punjabi and Celestial Hero are likely to be on the premises.
Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Steeple Chase
Enda Bolger has a monopoly on these races and it seems a matter of whether the fact that Garde Champetre has gone up in the weights will allow his stable companion L’Ami to get the better of him. I am not so sure that weight matters so much in these races and I think that Garde Champetre will get the better of L’Ami with the pair first and second. Of the remainder Sizing Australia looks the one most likely to threaten the Bolger supremacy.
David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle Race
Quevaga has had an injury since running away with this last season but I will still take her to prevail again. Sway, Easter Legend and Carole’s Legacy are possible alternatives at bigger prices. Sway’s form has been on soft ground in France so there may be a question mark about her ability to handle the conditions. I will stick with Quevega for my selection but if you would like a small each way on something at a bigger price I would suggest Easter Legend and Carole’s Legacy.
There is also racing at Sedgefield where Moorlands Teri, a recent winner at Exeter is my only selection. He runs in the 1.45.
Today’s pictures are all of past winners of either the Champion Hurdle or the Arkle. From the top down they are Katchit and Rooster Booster (pictures courtesy of Lisa Miller) and Hardy Eustace and Moscow Flyer (pictures courtesy of Sarah Aspinall).
ahorse 