King and Edward to rule the roost in Queen Mother March 14, 2023 THERE might only be seven runners in this year’s Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase (3.30pm), but it’s a race that’s deep in quality. And while we might not have a horse of the calibre of Sprinter Sacre or Moscow Flyer in here, the fact we don’t almost makes it a more intriguing puzzle to solve. The [...]
Connell’s Good Land won’t let rivals Passe in Ballymore test March 14, 2023 YOU HAVE to go back six years to find the last Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle (1.30pm) winner trained on these shores and this year’s race really does highlight the overwhelming strength of the Irish battalions that travel to Cheltenham. Ireland have five of the top six in the betting, with Willie Mullins accounting for four of [...]
Sir Gerhard set to give Colombe a Real Whack March 14, 2023 THIS year’s Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (2.10pm) looks a competitive heat, with cases to be made for over half the 11-strong field. I’m largely in agreement with the market regarding the first three up the Cheltenham hill, if in a slightly different order. In my opinion, current second-favourite SIR GERHARD is a class above the rest and if [...]
Be Bold in your Endeavours and back Camprond March 14, 2023 YOU DO not get many harder races to find the winner of than the 26-runner Coral Cup (2:50pm). The last two were 50/1 and 33/1 and there have only been two single-figure priced winners in the past decade. You cannot rule anything out, but I must admit that I do find it hard to ignore [...]
Delta can make easy Work of rivals to win second Glenfarclas March 14, 2023 NOBODY who witnessed the aftermath of last year’s Glenfarclas Chase (4.10pm) will ever forget the image of both DELTA WORK and runner-up Tiger Roll being led into the iconic winners’ enclosure together. Both warriors had given their all in a titanic battle up Cheltenham’s famous hill with Delta Work just being that bit more suited to conditions [...]
Thyme feels White for a Sublime Grand Annual Chase March 14, 2023 BOTH Dinoblue and last year’s runner-up Andy Dufresne have clear and obvious claims in today’s Grand Annual (4:50pm). The latter runs off the same mark as last year, while Dinoblue makes just his fourth start over fences and looks ominously well-handicapped. None of this has been lost on the bookies, though, with the two sharing [...]
Pachisi set to dig Deep and Stride forth March 14, 2023 ALL EYES will once again be on reigning Champion Jockey Zac Purton when he has his card marked in eight of the nine races on the mid-week card at Happy Valley. It hasn’t been easy for bettors in the territory over the past week, with numerous short-priced favourites beaten at both the Valley and Sha [...]
Yiu’s Nimble can fly home in a Nimbus of winning glory March 14, 2023 BANK on the Ricky Yiu-trained NIMBLE NIMBUS to supplement last month’s course and distance victory in the competitive Ap Lei Chau Handicap (2.50pm) over the extended mile. The New Zealand-bred five-year-old has been a model of consistency this season, winning twice and placed twice from just five runs. There was a lot to like about [...]
What’s that coming over the Hill? It is a monster! March 14, 2023 TIMING is a huge thing in sport. Imagine how many more Grand Slams Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic would have won if the other two hadn’t been around. In the aftermath of day one at last year’s Cheltenham Festival, there was plenty of controversy comparing the Supreme Novices’ winner CONSTITUTION HILL with dual [...]
Jon looks a très Bon bet to land the Arkle March 14, 2023 NICKY Henderson and Willie Mullins have won seven of the last 10 runnings of the Sporting Life Arkle (2.10pm) and it will be a huge shock if one of them doesn’t land the prize again this year. The two stables are responsible for the first four in the market and even though Mullins saddles four [...]