Cheltenham Thoughts 2/3

First the bad news, Punchestowns has been ruled out of the Gold Cup which increases the amount of money lost on non-runners. Not that he had much of a chance anyway.

On the brighter side Riverside Theatre has been confirmed for the Ryanair and as well as that horse I have decided to back Tranquil Sea as well. I punted him in the race last year but he was very disappointing. His final prep that time had come just over two weeks before the contest in an event run on heavy ground at Leopardstown. Not ideal in hindsight. This time around he's been geared exclusively with the Ryanair in mind and at 8/1 is worth an interest considering his close form ties with Poquelin, who is half the price and pretty poor value. Riverside Theatre's participation kind of makes the bet I had on Gauvain a bit redundant so I've laid that back at a slightly shorter price.

I've decided to get involved with Sizing Europe in the Champion Chase as there are a number of horses shorter than him in the betting who don't deserve to be. Golden Silver for example, a horse who has been beaten a grand total of 75 lengths in two previous visits to the Festival, is shorter in the place market at Betfair. That just can't be right. I have a position on the race already of course but Arkle winners have a terrific record in the Queen Mother when running in the race the following year and his price can't really be ignored.

It's funny, when I had five consecutive winners earlier in the campaign I was thinking I'd take it easier at Cheltenham because I'd already pretty much guaranteed my best ever Jumps season. But so many horses jump out at you as value propositions that one can't help but tuck in. I did think long and hard about these two most recent bets but ultimately I had good positions from a price point of view having first backed Master Minded in the Autumn and Riverside before he was confirmed for the Ryanair that I could afford to really.



Arkle
Mikael D'Haguenet £5w @ 17/1
Finian's Rainbow £40w @ 47/10

Champion Hurdle
Dunguib £20w @ 21/1
Hurricane Fly £50w @ 6/1

Champion Chase
Master Minded £75w @ 4/1
Sizing Europe £20ew @ 14/1

RSA Chase
Mikael D'Haguenet £49w @ 12/1

Coral Cup
For Non Stop £35w/£20pl @ 14/1

Ryanair Chase
Tranquil Sea £45w @ 8/1
Riverside Theatre £20w @ 65/10

World Hurdle
Zaynar £5w @ 10/1
Grand Crus £20w @ 3/1

Gold Cup
Denman £50w @ 82/10
Long Run £20w @ 66/10

£30 lost on NR's